[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12505]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             THE OBAMA LEGACY: A HEROIN AND OPIOIDS CRISIS

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, The Washington Examiner 
has released the newest part of a series: ``The Obama legacy--A raging 
problem with heroin and opioids.''
  Last year, the President announced a new effort to address the new 
public health crisis. This week, The Washington Examiner revealed:
  `` . . . the crisis had been building for five years at that point, 
and critics say Obama's reactions were too little and too late. Some 
say his government even contributed to the crisis by approving 
painkillers liable to abuse. . . .
  ``Prescription painkiller and heroin overdose deaths have risen to 
all-time highs. From 2009-2014, the rate of overdose deaths from heroin 
abuse increased by 240 percent. . . .
  ``When you add painkiller overdose deaths to the heroin numbers, the 
rate of overall deaths increased 25 percent from 2009. . . .
  ``In 2014, more than 14,000 people died of overdoses, the biggest 
total since the CDC began collecting data in 1999.''
  This is a failing legacy of destruction of families.
  I am grateful that Congress acted to address the opioid crisis, 
passing the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, 
enabling local communities to develop local solutions.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and may the President, by his 
actions, never forget September 11th in the global war on terrorism.
  Congratulations, Miss South Carolina, Rachel Wyatt of Clemson, first 
runner-up for Miss America.

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