[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5873]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              OPIOID ABUSE

  (Mr. TIPTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIPTON. Madam Speaker, the opioid abuse epidemic has tragically 
touched every corner of this Nation with over half of all drug 
overdoses linked to prescription opioids. At least once a day someone 
in my home State of Colorado loses a friend or family member due to 
drug abuse.
  In 2013, Colorado was ranked as having the second most prevalent 
epidemic prescription drug abuse in the country. The Colorado 
Consortium was created that year to form a collaborative group 
dedicated to finding solutions to opioid addiction and abuse. Efforts 
like the Colorado Consortium can help supplement existing programs in 
areas where they already operate.
  However, without raising national awareness of the heroin and opioid 
epidemic, these local efforts will continue to struggle to gain the 
resources they need. There is no silver bullet. It will take 
multifront, coordinated approaches to aid communities in combating the 
opioid epidemic.
  Beyond securing our borders and enabling law enforcement to do their 
jobs, expanding opioid abuse prevention and education efforts and 
treating those afflicted with addiction are the most important actions 
that Congress can take. That is the focus of our work in the House on 
the bipartisan heroin task force.

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