[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   FAMILIES IMPACTED BY OPIATE ABUSE

  (Mr. KENNEDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I spent part of my day with a 
number of families from Taunton, Massachusetts, a city in my district 
that has been tragically impacted by opiate abuse.
  Of the families that were there, one young man stood out. Cory was an 
honor student from Taunton High School. He was a starting pitcher for 
the baseball team when a pitching injury sidelined him and forced him 
into surgery. After 12 bouts in rehab, he ended up overdosing on heroin 
and today continues to suffer brain damage from that overdose.
  Mr. Speaker, these stories have become far too common, not just 
across Taunton and across our Commonwealth in Massachusetts, but around 
our country.
  This is why I rise today to recognize the tremendous work of my 
colleague, Congressman Whitfield, and his work in introducing with me 
the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act, as 
well as our colleague Congresswoman Susan Brooks, who has introduced 
the Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and 
Enforcement Act.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no silver bullet to these challenges. Together, 
this body, piece by piece, can help craft the legislation that we need 
to get this epidemic under wraps.

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