[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            OPIOID EPIDEMIC

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, for too long, companies like Purdue Pharma 
have lied, cheated, and swindled the American people, leaving death, 
addiction, and despair in their wake, all because of their greed and 
their desire to improve their bottom line.
  Through marketing lies and overdistribution of these dangerously 
addictive drugs, they have oversaturated parts of our country already 
struggling from high levels of addiction, while knowing but not 
disclosing their highly addictive nature and risks. Because of their 
tactics, this opioid epidemic now takes 115 American lives every single 
day.
  The time for holding these drug companies and their leaders 
accountable is long overdue. These companies rake in billions of 
dollars in profit every year on the backs of the American people, and 
not one of them has been prosecuted or held accountable.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting bicameral legislation, 
the Opioid Crisis Accountability Act, that would prohibit illegal 
marketing and distribution of opioids and empower prosecutors to punish 
those who break the law.
  We cannot allow perpetrators of this epidemic to continue ruining 
lives in this country. We must hold those responsible accountable for 
the damage, heartache, and suffering they have caused.

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