{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=3115D829-AF1F-4010-B117-95827BF4EFAA", "OPIOID CRISIS: Senator Murray Admonishes Trump Administration for Continued Failure to Support Emergency Funding Needed to Combat Epidemic Devastating Washington State & Communities Nationwide", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Led by Senator Murray, Senate appropriations subcommittee meets to discuss need to provide emergency supplemental funding to combat opioid epidemic\r\nDespite White House\u2019s own Council of Economic Advisors estimating cost of opioid crisis at over $500 billion, President Trump has repeatedly failed to support adequate resources for hospitals, communities, states\r\nAt hearing, Senator Murray continued to highlight impact of opioid crisis in WA state\u2014\u201cNearly 10,000 people have died of an opioid overdose since 2000\u201d\r\nSenator Murray: \u201cWhat\u2019s needed to make a real difference in the lives of countless patients and families in Washington state and across the country struggling from addiction are real, immediate resources to fight this battle on the ground\u201d\r\n\u201cWe need more than tough talk from President Trump to address this crisis\u201d\r\n***WATCH VIDEO OF SENATOR MURRAY\u2019S OPENING REMARKS HERE***\r\n(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee, led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) for Senate Democrats, held a hearing today to discuss the additional funding needed to meaningfully respond to the opioid crisis with experts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).\r\nAs she has traveled around Washington state, Senator Murray has heard from countless patients, families, medical providers, and law enforcement members about the devastating effects of the opioid crisis on local communities.\u00a0\r\nIn her remarks during the hearing and questions with witnesses, Senator Murray called on the Trump Administration to commit to supporting the emergency supplemental funding desperately needed to give States and communities the evidence-based tools to combat the epidemic.\r\nICYMI\u2014Senator Murray continued to highlight CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald\u2019s absence from yet another hearing on the opioid crisis due to her potential conflicts of interest.\r\nKey excerpts of Senator Murray\u2019s opening statement (as prepared for delivery):\r\n\u201cEvery day, from every corner of our country, we hear more about the devastation being caused by the opioid crisis - from doctors who are treating babies born addicted to opioids, to parents who have lost children to an overdose, to veterans in chronic pain who are struggling with addiction \u2013 unfortunately the list could go on and on.\u201d\r\n\u201cIn my home state of Washington, nearly 10,000 people have died of an opioid overdose since 2000. That\u2019s 10,000 lives cut short \u2013 with countless more families and friends left suffering and picking up the pieces. And I know these heartbreaking numbers are reflective of what\u2019s going on in states all across the country.\u201d\r\n\u201cThe opioid epidemic is a public health crisis as well as an emergency\u2014and I\u2019m very disappointed the Administration not taken any decisive action to address it.\u201d\r\n\u201cWhat\u2019s needed to make a real difference in the lives of countless patients and families in Washington state and across the country struggling from addiction are real, immediate resources to fight this battle on the ground.\u201d\r\n\u201cMake no mistake \u2013 this epidemic IS an emergency.\u00a0 Every day 175 Americans die from an opioid overdose.\u00a0 Yet the administration has been shockingly silent when it comes to identifying resources to address this public health crisis of addiction here at home. \u201c\r\n\u201cLast month, the White House\u2019s own Council of Economic Advisors released a report estimating the economic cost of the opioid crisis to be at over $500 billion dollars\u2014just for 2015. That is six times larger than the most recently estimated economic cost of the opioid epidemic.\u201d\r\n\u201cLet me tell you \u2013 this cost is growing more each and every day \u2013 and it certainly won\u2019t be addressed by stunts like the president committing to donating his third quarter salary to HHS. It\u2019s long past time for this administration to get serious about this crisis.\u201d\r\nWatch video of Senator Murray\u2019s opening statement HERE.\r\nFull text of Senator Murray\u2019s opening statement (as prepared for delivery):\r\nThank you, Mr. Chairman for calling this hearing on such an urgent topic.\r\nI am very pleased to welcome the distinguished former Congressman from Rhode Island, Patrick Kennedy, who served on the administration\u2019s opioid Commission.\r\nI am looking forward to your testimony, as well as hearing from our witnesses from the Department of Health and Human Services about what additional actions are needed to stem this epidemic.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nI also want to note that I am, once again, disappointed that the director of the Centers for Disease Control, Brenda Fitzgerald, was unable to join us today to share her perspective.\r\nSince this is an Appropriations committee hearing, I will be pressing our witnesses to talk specifically about funding needs.\u00a0\r\nEvery day, from every corner of our country, we hear more about the devastation being caused by the opioid crisis - from doctors who are treating babies born addicted to opioids, to parents who have lost children to an overdose, to veterans in chronic pain who are struggling with addiction \u2013 unfortunately the list could go on and on.\u00a0\r\nIn my home state of Washington, nearly 10,000 people have died of an opioid overdose since 2000.\u00a0\r\nThat\u2019s 10,000 lives cut short \u2013 with countless more families and friends left suffering and picking up the pieces.\r\nAnd I know these heartbreaking numbers are reflective of what\u2019s going on in states all across the country.\r\nBecause this epidemic does not discriminate\u2014it can reach anyone\u2014and it can reach anywhere.\r\nSo\u2014the opioid epidemic is a public health crisis as well as an emergency\u2014and I\u2019m very disappointed the Administration not taken any decisive action to address it.\r\nWhat\u2019s needed to make a real difference in the lives of countless patients and families in Washington state and across the country struggling from addiction are real, immediate resources to fight this battle on the ground.\r\nAnd despite the work of the Commission and its recommendations, the Commission failed to identify any additional funding to battle the epidemic.\r\nMake no mistake \u2013 this epidemic IS an emergency.\u00a0 Every day 175 Americans die from an opioid overdose.\u00a0\r\nYet the administration has been shockingly silent when it comes to identifying resources to address this public health crisis of addiction here at home.\u00a0\r\nAnd just to underscore how inadequate this Administration\u2019s response to the opioid crisis has been\u2026\r\nLast month, the White House\u2019s own Council of Economic Advisors released a report estimating the economic cost of the opioid crisis to be at over $500 billion dollars\u2014just for 2015.\r\nThat is six times larger than the most recently estimated economic cost of the opioid epidemic.\r\nAnd let me tell you \u2013 this cost is growing more each and every day \u2013 and it certainly won\u2019t be addressed by stunts like the president committing to donating his third quarter salary to HHS.\r\nIt\u2019s long past time for this administration to get serious about this crisis.\r\nNow\u2014given the current budget caps, this subcommittee simply has not been able to provide the level of funding needed to make real progress in preventing and treating opioid addiction.\u00a0\r\nFunding in the LHHS appropriations bills has remained basically level.\u00a0\r\nBut the epidemic has not remained level, it has escalated. Overdose rates continue to soar.\u00a0\r\nThe epidemic is now being driven by synthetic drugs like Fentanyl that are 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.\u00a0\r\nAnd the most recent data suggest that more people are skipping prescription painkillers altogether and going straight to heroin as their first opioid.\u00a0\r\nGiven the scope of the crisis, emergency supplemental funding is desperately needed that will give States and communities the evidence-based tools that could turn this epidemic around.\r\nThe current situation is unacceptable. And we need more than tough talk from President Trump to address this crisis.\u00a0\r\nCongress\u2014and patients and families\u2014need this Administration to be an equal partner in fighting this epidemic and unfortunately its actions thus far are simply not enough.\r\nThank you, Mr. Chairman.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=3115D829-AF1F-4010-B117-95827BF4EFAA"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.697702169418335, "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"}