Hill: ‘Yearly Fatalities from Opioids Nearly That of American Fatalities in Vietnam War’
Washington,
June 22, 2018
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) issued the following statement after supporting over 50 pieces of opioid legislation during the last two weeks in the U.S. House: “Nearly 65,000 Americans died in 2016 due to drug overdoses – more than our losses in the Vietnam War. Of those 65,000 souls lost, 45,000 were from opioids, which is why the House prioritized comprehensive, bipartisan action - passing more than 50 bills in the past two weeks. During my Opioid Summit on Monday, I heard from families, practitioners, and other officials on how our Arkansas communities are coordinating to stop the loss of life in our state. These bills range from ensuring that health care providers have access to a patient’s complete medical history to allowing hospice employees to dispose of opioids after a patient’s death to securing our mail system from shipments of fentanyl and other dangerous synthetic drugs coming from China and Mexico - just to name a few.” Background: Read here about the over 50 opioid-related bills the U.S. House has passed over the last two weeks. |
