DEMS/DRUGS/GOP/PHARMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders are pressing ahead with an array of opioid-related efforts in coming weeks, teeing up bills and spending measures, while Democrats are calling the GOP actions belated and insufficient.
On Thursday [3-8-18], a bipartisan group of governors will testify before the Senate Health Committee on opioid addiction in their states. The White House also met with a number of governors last week and held a recent opioid summit to highlight steps it has taken…
Governors of both parties, however, say more action is needed. Kentucky’s Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, speaking at a recent forum on opioids, said his state suffered 1,400 overdoses last year…
Chris Christie, former Republican governor of New Jersey who headed a presidential commission on opioids, said the federal effort to battle the crisis has been hampered by a delays in filling key vacancies in agencies that tackle the opioid crisis and a reluctance in Congress to allocate more funding… At the behest of Senate Democrats, the Government Accountability Office will investigate the White House response to the opioid problem.
The opioid issue is playing into a coming special U.S. House election in Pennsylvania.”
-Stephanie Armour, “Opioid Crisis Gets Washington’s Attention,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 8, 2018 08:00am