[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO OPERATION UNITE FOR THE INAUGURAL NATIONAL RX DRUG ABUSE 
                                 SUMMIT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2012

  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Operation UNITE, the non-profit anti-drug organization in southern and 
eastern Kentucky for organizing the inaugural National Rx Drug Abuse 
Summit in Orlando, FL April 10-12, 2012.
  This small grassroots organization took on the enormous task of 
uniting federal, state and local officials on a national stage to 
discuss obstacles and solutions for the prescription drug epidemic 
plaguing our country. In its first year, the Summit garnered an 
outstanding audience of 750 attendees, along with national headliners 
including: the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 
Gil Kerlikowske; U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin; the 
Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, CDC, Dr. Ileana Arias; Deputy Assistant Administrator of 
the Office of Diversion Control with the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration, DEA, Joseph Rannazzisi; the Director of the National 
Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, Dr. Nora Volkow; the Appalachian 
Regional Commission, ARC; and four members of the Congressional Caucus 
on Prescription Drug Abuse, including myself, U.S. Rep. Mary Bono Mack 
of California, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, and U.S. Rep. Nick 
Rahall of West Virginia.
  As a nation, we can no longer afford to sit quietly on the sidelines. 
The epidemic now claims more lives every year through drug overdoses 
than any other accidental death, according to the CDC. During the 
Summit, Director Kerlikowske called it a public health crisis, noting 
prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the 
country. In Kentucky, we are losing 82 people a month to drug abuse--
more than car crashes. This Summit brought forth the realization that 
unsecure medicine cabinets are more dangerous than our cars.
  President & CEO, Karen Kelly, highlighted the multi-pronged approach 
of the UNITE organization on the national stage as a model for the rest 
of the country. The Summit featured sessions on healthcare, advocacy 
and prevention, human resources, treatment and law enforcement. 
Together, leaders from each field shared resources and information at 
the Summit, crossing industry lines and state boundaries, for the first 
time in some areas.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
Operation UNITE on a successful inaugural National Rx Drug Abuse 
Summit. They tossed a pebble into a big pond and I believe the ripple 
effect will be tremendous in the years to come.

                          ____________________