Highlights need for increasing federal funding to fight the opioid and heroin epidemic in Maine and across the country
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree took to the House floor last night to share stories of Maine constituents whose lives have been impacted by addiction and overdoses and highlight the need to adequately fund federal programs to address the crisis.
“In cities, small towns, and rural areas across the state, people are dying every week. Everyone knows someone – a family member, friend, neighbor – who has overdosed,” Pingree said. “And no one is immune – people from every imaginable background, income level, and generation are at risk.”
Pingree mentioned three people in particular.
David McCarthy of Falmouth, whose struggle with addiction was highlighted in a Washington Post article last summer entitled “And then he decided not to be.” He died of a heroin overdose after being sober for several months. His brother, Michael, overdosed the next day on the same batch of heroin, but his life was saved by a doctor who administered Narcan.
Chris Poulos, a University of Maine Law student who has previously struggled with drug addiction. His recovery has inspired him to help others with similar struggles, including through fellowships with both the Sentencing Project and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Helen, a mother and client of Crossroads, a treatment center for women in Southern Maine that Pingree visited in February. A program started with federal funds helped aid her recovery and she is now living in a long-term sober housing program with her young son.
This week, the House is debating a number of bills aimed at addressing the country’s current drug crisis. Pingree supports the legislation, but is concerned that Republicans in the House and Senate have blocked efforts to include funding necessary to help states respond to the epidemic.
“I can’t understand how it is possible that my colleagues fail to recognize the critical importance of investing in the lives of people suffering from addiction,” Pingree said in her speech. “Rather than provide them with access to health care and the supports they need to recover and regain their independence, it appears that some lawmakers would prefer to leave them to continue turning to our already overburdened emergency rooms for care, continue asking to enter treatment only to be turned away because they can’t pay, continue struggling to achieve recovery while also dealing with homelessness, food insecurity, and a range of other challenges. It is unacceptable.”
Pingree is a cosponsor of H.R. 4447 - The Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would authorize $600 million in emergency spending for prevention, treatment, and criminal justice programs.
