“I want to thank the President for accepting this first recommendation of our July 31 interim report and declaring a national emergency on the opioid crisis.

It is a national emergency and the President has confirmed that through his words and actions today, and he deserves great credit for doing so. As I have said before, I am completely confident that the President will address this problem aggressively and do all he can to alleviate the suffering and loss of scores of families in every corner of our country.

We look forward to continuing the Commission’s efforts and to working with this President to address the approximately 142 deaths a day from drug overdoses in the United States.”