[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 173 (Thursday, October 26, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8258-H8259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE HURRICANE AND OPIOID CRISES

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to urgently have 
set up an appeal process on an expedited basis for my constituents and 
those across the disaster-impacted areas of a FEMA denial appeal 
system. Thousands of my constituents have been denied FEMA assistance.
  Pictures just came to my phone last evening, and I am urging the FEMA 
Director and all who can do so, including the President, we are not a 
10. We are in desperate need of help. People do not have their lives 
restored.
  I also want to make mention of the fact that today there will be some 
statement made on this horrific opioid crisis, which we as Members of 
Congress have been dealing with for over a year. We understand that 
this may be called a public health service emergency versus a 
catastrophic emergency, using the Public Service Act or the Stafford 
Act. The Stafford Act funds are almost completely diminished because of 
wildfires and hurricanes.
  The casualties of opioid abuse are 142 per day, which is like an 
airplane crash every single day. With this amazing and unbelievable 
budget that has been passed, the Halloween budget of 2017, there will 
be trillions of dollars cut away from the budget. It is imperative that 
the President call this an emergency and begin to use emergency funds 
to deal with the opioid crisis.

[[Page H8259]]

  The only thing you can say today, Mr. Trump, is that you are 
committed to an emergency both for Hurricane disasters and others, but 
as well as the opioid crisis.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record my letter to the President:
  Mr. President, thank you for the invitation for Members of Congress 
to attend the unveiling of your emergency declaration on combatting the 
opioid epidemic.
  This is indeed an epidemic that I agree must be addressed 
immediately. This problem has claimed many lives throughout our 
country, including my state of Texas and my home district of Houston.
  It is imperative that we act. It is equally imperative that we act 
responsibly and intelligently.
  We cannot merely make promises on which the American people are 
waiting for us to deliver, if we know that those promises will not come 
right away.
  We must have a clear goal and long-term commitment to truly 
combatting this devastating problem in the opioid crisis.
  Mr. President, where will this money come from, as this is a very 
costly endeavor?
  New funding streams would be required, and thus, making such a 
declaration without forethought relative to significant funding will 
prove to be a futile effort.
  There must be a strategy which we can realistically and effectively 
execute without causing harm to equally important and urgent areas.
  Despite your previous promise to address the opioid crisis, at a 
Commission meeting last week, no real solution was developed.
  Instead, the Commission suggested that funding be taken out of the 
Public Health Service Act or the Stafford Act, both of which are 
problematic.
  First, I believe the nation's public health emergency fund is empty.
  Second, the Stafford Act funds disaster relief for hurricanes and 
wildfires, which are under the jurisdiction of FEMA.
  As a Member of Congress that recently watched the fatal devastation 
inflicted upon my city of Houston, I can tell you firsthand, that we 
are still trying to wrap our minds around the catastrophic loss and how 
to now rebuild.
  America has experienced mass casualties due to recent hurricanes that 
occurred within the span of a month period, with approximate death 
tolls of 82 in Texas and Louisiana, 72 in Florida, 51 in Puerto Rico 
and countless disruptions and damages.
  The loss of lives, businesses and properties is astronomical as we 
continue to assess the damage in TX, LA, FL, VI and P.R.
  Therefore, I must caution the administration, to responsibly bear 
these facts in mind, as it attempts to combat the opioid epidemic, 
which is undoubtedly a very important issue.

                          ____________________