[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       OPIOID AND HEROIN EPIDEMIC

  (Ms. KUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to highlight the crucial 
importance of addressing the heroin epidemic that is sweeping across 
this Nation.
  I have been holding a series of regional briefings in my home State 
of New Hampshire to hear firsthand from communities working to fight 
this crisis. I have heard from far too many families who have lost 
loved ones to this epidemic because no treatment options were 
available.
  In the fall of 2014, a high school French teacher in one of my towns 
who was beloved by her students died of an overdose, in part, because 
she could not get access to the treatment she needed.
  And my good friend, Kriss Blevens, lost her stepdaughter, Amber, to 
addiction when no treatment beds were available.
  This is simply unacceptable. We need to take action now to fight back 
against this epidemic and arm our communities with the resources to 
help individuals struggling to overcome the devastating pull of 
addiction.
  I am a cofounder of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin 
Epidemic. We recently announced a package of 15 bills. I urge my fellow 
members to pass these bills this week. Let's help American families.

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