{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dean.house.gov/2021/8/congresswoman-madeleine-dean-leads-a-letter-to-extend-the-opioid-disaster-declaration", "Congresswoman Madeleine Dean leads a letter to Extend the Opioid Disaster Declaration", "2021-08-26", "2021", "2021-08", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Madeleine Dean", "D000631", "dean.house.gov", "dean", "https://dean.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC. \u2014 Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04) led a letter with Pennsylvania Congressional colleagues to urge the state leaders to call the Pennsylvania General Assembly back in session to extend the life-saving Opioid Disaster Declaration. The letter \u2014 addressed to Speaker Cutler, President Pro Tempore Corman, and Leaders Benninghoff, McClinton, Ward, and Costa \u2014 implored that the General Assembly reconvene by August 26th to extend the deadline.\n\nThe Opioid Disaster Declaration was first established in 2018 \u2014 after a tragic record of 5,403 Pennsylvanians died from opioids in 2017. The declaration granted the Commonwealth additional tools to combat the scourge of addiction. The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered this progress.\n\n\u201cNow is not the time to abandon this vulnerable population,\u201d Rep. Dean said. \u201cTo do so will have tragic and deadly consequences.\u201d\n\nAllowing the programs and efforts set up through the emergency declaration to expire is not a workable option. Due to the recent changes in the Pennsylvania Constitution, the General Assembly must act within 21 days to extend this declaration.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:11:17Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dean.house.gov/2021/8/congresswoman-madeleine-dean-leads-a-letter-to-extend-the-opioid-disaster-declaration"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.698302173987031, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}