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The Paul Revere of Opioids: How Dean Hal Rogers Uses the CJS Bill To Fight the War on Drugs

December 23, 2024

Interior and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson’s (R-ID) final Appropriations 101 episode with Subcommittee Cardinals features Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY). Dean Rogers, the current longest serving Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, examines how entitlement programs are driving our nation’s debt and deficit. His unique perspective brings light to an issue that Congress rarely confronts head-on.
 
Additionally, the lawmakers discuss Rogers’ deep passion for addressing the opioid epidemic. By leveraging his dedication to saving lives and the subcommittee’s jurisdiction, Chairman Rogers is helping lead the charge of ridding deadly drugs, especially fentanyl, from U.S. streets.

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Watch Subcommittee Chairman Simpson and Subcommittee Chairman Rogers’ conversation here.

Simpson: “As I've tried to explain to people, we could do away with discretionary spending, completely. We could get rid of every agency. Some people may like that, but you can do away with all of it, and we would still have a budget deficit. It's going to take some courage from Congress to stand up and try to address some of the changes that are going to be necessary to get us toward a balanced budget.
 
Rogers: “To illustrate the attitude of the Congress toward entitlements, when I first came to Congress in 1981 with Reagan, mandatory spending was 55% of the budget plus interest. Now it's 72% and rising. Until we tackle mandatory spending, you will not come near a balanced budget.
 
Simpson: I tell people all the time, I'm not talking about cutting your Social Security or even reducing it if you are nearing the age of retirement, but we've got to change it… When Social Security started, there were 16 ½ workers for every retiree and the average lifespan was 64. Now there are 2 ½ workers for every retiree - that means not as many people are paying in per retiree - and the average lifespan is what 78-80? It’s a system that doesn't pencil out anymore. We’ve got to have the courage to take it and not put the fear of God into the American people that we're trying to take away their Social Security. Nobody is - we're trying to make it last.” 

Rogers: “One thing I wanted to mention too, in my bill, is the fight against fentanyl and the drug war. It’s a huge amount of spending, but it's making a difference. They have seized tons of fentanyl a year. The DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, is in the bill. We’ve beefed up their funding, because they're doing a good job of going after the cartel heads, arresting them in Mexico, and bringing them back to justice in the U.S. That's part of the fight.”
 
“I started an organization in my district called UNITE - Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment, and Education. We have chapters of that organization in every county - I've got 33 counties in my district. Now we've taken it national. We have a national summit for opioid abuse, including fentanyl. We had it in Atlanta, and then next year in Nashville. We'll have 4,000 people there from every avenue you could think of dealing with opioid deaths and abuse, especially fentanyl. The President comes to that summit, along with the Attorney General, Members of the House and Senate, nurses, and anybody having anything to do with the problem. It’s been very effective, and we're now seeing, thank God, a slight decrease in the number of deaths.”
 
Simpson: “There has probably been no stronger fighter against opioids than Hal. His district was one of the most heavily impacted districts and states with the oxycontin epidemic. Hal is an attorney by trade, and he has been probably the number one fighter in Congress to make sure we get the resources to fight that.” 
 
Rogers: “All I want to be is the Paul Revere of opioids.”
 

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