[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5913]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         COMBATING OPIOID ABUSE

  (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I recently visited The Next 24, an 
addiction recovery residential home in New Port Richey, Florida. They 
do fantastic work to give those impacted by addiction a second chance. 
After all, the opioid crisis is not only a national epidemic; it is 
happening here in our local communities.
  Addiction knows no bounds and does not discriminate based on race, 
age, income, or ZIP Code. It seems like so many people have a story 
about how they have been affected.
  Thanks to the 21st Century Cures Act, Florida will soon receive $27 
million in new grant funding to help fight the opioid crisis. The $27 
million will go towards increasing access to treatment and recovery 
services, strengthening public education efforts, and improving pain 
management practices.
  This critical grant is the first of two rounds of funding to support 
an all-hands-on-deck approach in Florida to combat opioid abuse and 
save lives.

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