Sarbanes Statement on Trump’s Decision to Declare Opioid Crisis as Public Health Emergency

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) issued the following statement today after President Trump instructed the acting director of the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis as a public health emergency:

"By declaring the crisis a ‘public health emergency' rather than following the lead of his own Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which had recommended declaring a ‘national emergency,' the President has missed the opportunity to provide the level of resources that states and local jurisdictions desperately need to fund prevention, treatment and recovery programs. Without this crucial funding from the federal government, states like Maryland – which has been hit hard by this crisis – will continue to struggle to implement public health programs that can help stem the opioid epidemic and give families the support they desperately seeking.

"The President may fail to see it, but for the hundreds of thousands of families that are affected, the opioid epidemic is a national emergency that requires an urgent, all-hands-on-deck response. I will continue fighting for the kind of bipartisan action that can truly meet this challenge and bring relief to the many Americans who are suffering."

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