President Trump should declare a “national emergency” to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic, according to a draft interim report issued Monday by the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.
“With approximately 142 Americans dying every day, America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks,” the commission writes. The group adds a declaration from Trump “would empower your cabinet to take bold steps and would force Congress to focus on funding and empowering the Executive Branch even further to deal with this loss of life. It would also awaken every American to this simple fact: if this scourge has not found you or your family yet, without bold action by everyone, it soon will.”
The commission, created by a March executive order and chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, provides additional recommendations after the group conducted public hearings and met with representatives from the medical community, advocacy groups, governors’ offices, members of Congress, and key cabinet members of the Trump administration.
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