{"id":55462,"date":"2018-03-20T11:34:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T18:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=55462"},"modified":"2018-03-20T11:35:45","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T18:35:45","slug":"president-trump-on-combatting-the-opioid-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=55462","title":{"rendered":"President Trump on Combating the Opioid Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester, NH&#8230;Thank you to our First Lady, Melania, who has been so incredible. (Applause.) Thank you. And we are blessed to have you as our First Lady. Really are.  It\u2019s great to be back in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. (Applause.) I don\u2019t know if you remember, but this is the first place I came for the primaries. (Applause.) And this is the room right here. So I like this room. This has been a good room.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SxD0s5EkYas\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re honored to be joined by your wonderful and very talented Governor, Chris Sununu. Chris, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Chris. Oh, and there\u2019s another talented governor. Governor Sununu, stand up. (Applause.) I have to tell you, there was nobody tougher on Trump at the beginning. (Laughter.) It\u2019s true. There was nobody on television tougher. And then we met each other and we liked each other, and he went from the worst to the best. Governor, thank you. (Laughs.) I mean that, too. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank also Attorney General Sessions, and Secretary \u2014 thank you, Jeff. \u2014 (applause) \u2014 Secretary Azar, Secretary Nielsen, and Surgeon General Adams for joining us at this very important event.<\/p>\n<p>The First Lady and I just visited the Manchester Fire Department Safe Station. Talking about it all over the country. The Fire Chief, Dan Goonan, and all of the first responders with us today, thank you. You\u2019ve been incredible, and you\u2019re saving American lives.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also joined by a number of law enforcement officers who we love. Our police, DEA, ICE, Border Patrol agents, and Customs officers work night and day to keep drugs out of our communities and criminals off of our streets. (Applause.) So today, we thank you, we honor you, and we want you to know that we will always have your backs 100 percent. Thank you very much, law enforcement. Thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I especially want to acknowledge all of the families with us today who have endured terrible hardships because of the opioid crisis, and especially those who have lost precious loved ones. I\u2019ve been saying this for a long time, and it all started right here in New Hampshire, because I see what you\u2019re going through. About as bad as there is anywhere in the country. And I said I\u2019d be back, and we are back. And we\u2019re pouring a lot of money and a lot of talent into this horrible problem. And we pledge to honor the memory of those you lost with action and determination and resolve. We\u2019ll get it. We will not rest until the end. And I will tell you, this scourge of drug addiction in America will stop. It will stop. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Every day, 116 Americans die from an opioid-related overdose. In New Hampshire, the overdose, really, death rate \u2014 I mean, can you believe this? The death rate is double the national average. It\u2019s got difficulties like people wouldn\u2019t believe.<\/p>\n<p>Defeating this epidemic will require the commitment of every state, local, and federal agency. Failure is not an option. Addiction is not our future. We will liberate our country from this crisis. Never been like this. Hundreds of years \u2014 never been like this. And we will raise a drug-free generation of American children.<\/p>\n<p>Last October, we declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Should have been done a long time before. Since then, we\u2019ve worked with Congress to ensure at least 6 billion additional dollars, going through right now, in new funding in 2018 and 2019 to combat the opioid crisis. And we will be spending the most money ever on the opioid crisis. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>On our most recent National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, people across the country turned in more than 900,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs \u2014 more than the weight of three Boeing 757s.<\/p>\n<p>Our Customs and Border Protection \u2014 and these people, the job they do is incredible \u2014 seized nearly 1,500 pounds of fentanyl last year, nearly three times the amount seized in 2016. And I told China: Don\u2019t send it. (Applause.) And I told Mexico: Don\u2019t send it. Don\u2019t send it.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, ICE arrested criminal aliens with 76,000 charges and convictions for dangerous drug crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the Department of Justice prosecuted more than 3,000 defendants in cases involving opioid, all of the trafficking, and the related crimes \u2014 3,000 cases \u2014 including a pharmacist, a physician\u2019s assistant, and an opioid trafficker, each charged with committing serious drug crimes in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you are a dealer or doctor or trafficker or a manufacturer, if you break the law and illegally peddle these deadly poisons, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will hold you accountable. (Applause.) Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Here in New Hampshire, I applaud all of the Drug Enforcement Agents and law enforcement officers who recently coordinated Operation Granite Shield, an 18-hour enforcement action targeting drug traffickers that resulted in the arrest of 151 people. These are terrible people, and we have to get tough on those people, because we can have all the Blue Ribbon committees we want, but if we don\u2019t get tough on the drug dealers, we\u2019re wasting our time. Just remember that. We\u2019re wasting our time. And that toughness includes the death penalty. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You know, it\u2019s an amazing thing. Some of these drug dealers will kill thousands of people during their lifetime \u2014 thousands of people \u2014 and destroy many more lives than that. But they will kill thousands of people during their lifetime, and they\u2019ll get caught and they\u2019ll get 30 days in jail. Or they\u2019ll go away for a year, or they\u2019ll be fined. And yet, if you kill one person, you get the death penalty or you go to jail for life.<\/p>\n<p>So if we\u2019re not going to get tough on the drug dealers who kills thousands of people and destroy so many people\u2019s lives, we are just doing the wrong thing. We have got to get tough. This isn\u2019t about nice anymore. This isn\u2019t about committees. This isn\u2019t about let\u2019s get everybody and have dinners, and let\u2019s have everybody go to a Blue Ribbon committee and everybody gets a medal for, frankly, talking and doing nothing. This is about winning a very, very tough problem. And if we don\u2019t get very tough on these dealers, it\u2019s not going to happen, folks. It\u2019s not going to happen. And I want to win this battle.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t want to leave at the end of seven years and have this problem, okay? (Applause.) I don\u2019t want that. Right? Thank you. Not going to happen. Thank you all. A lot of voters in this room. I see that. Thank you. (Applause.) No, we\u2019re going to solve this problem. We\u2019re going to solve it with brains, we\u2019re going to solve it with resolve, and we\u2019re going to solve it with toughness. Because toughness is the thing that they most fear. That\u2019s what they most fear.<\/p>\n<p>So to the brave agents and officers, thank you for protecting us all.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, my commission on combatting the incredible crisis of opioids issued 56 recommendations. My administration agreed with all of the commission\u2019s goals, and we\u2019ve worked aggressively to put them into action.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I\u2019m here to announce additional steps that we\u2019re taking as part of our nationwide initiative to address the opioid crisis, and, by the way, the drug crisis \u2014 the general drug crisis.<\/p>\n<p>First, we\u2019re taking action to reduce drug demand by preventing Americans from becoming addicted in the first place. So important. That includes increasing federal funding for the development of non-addictive painkillers. And we have to come up with a solution where we come up with a painkiller that\u2019s not so addictive. And we can do it. We\u2019re not that far off. We can do it. These things are incredibly addictive. So we\u2019re going to find that answer also.<\/p>\n<p>Here with us today are Jim and Jean Mozer. They lost their beautiful son, Adam, to a fentanyl overdose. His addiction began with prescription pills he found in their kitchen cabinet. They have since begun the Zero Left initiative to help families get rid of excess painkillers. Jim and Jean, we\u2019re sorry for your loss \u2014 a great boy; he\u2019s a great boy \u2014 and we applaud your strength and your leadership. And where are you? Where are you? Come on up. Come on up here. Come on up here. (Applause.) Tell us about your boy.<\/p>\n<p>MS. MOZER: Adam was our oldest son. He was a great kid. He was a smart kid. Grew up out in rural East Kingston, New Hampshire. He had a degree in actuarial science, which, as many of you know, that\u2019s the science of forecasting risk.<\/p>\n<p>He was the kind of kid that made you feel really good about yourself. You give him five minutes; you really liked him. And, you know, he just made a bad choice one night. As smart as he was, he found his way into our kitchen cabinet. And, sadly, the rest is history. He got hooked on it, and had to go to the street eventually. And he found fentanyl.<\/p>\n<p>And he\u2019s been gone for two-and-a-half years, and we miss him every day. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, darling. You take care of yourself. Okay?<\/p>\n<p>MS. MOZER: Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you. Appreciate it. And so many cases like that.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also taking action to prevent addiction by addressing the problem of overprescribing. (Applause.) And our Department of Justice is looking very seriously into bringing major litigation against some of these drug companies. We\u2019ll bring it at a federal level. (Applause.) Some states are already bringing it, but we\u2019re thinking about bringing it at a very high federal level. And we\u2019ll do a job.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to cut nationwide opioid prescriptions by one-third over the next three years. We\u2019re also going to make sure that virtually all prescriptions reimbursed by the federal government follow best practices for prescribing. We\u2019ll ensure that opioid addiction is not subsidized by the American taxpayer. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The best way \u2014 so important \u2014 and the best way to beat the drug crisis is to keep people from getting hooked on drugs to begin with. As part of that effort \u2014 (applause) \u2014 so important. And this has been something that I\u2019ve been very strongly in favor of: spending a lot of money on great commercials showing how bad it is, so that kids seeing those commercials during the right shows on television or wherever \u2014 the Internet \u2014 when they see these commercials they \u2014 \u201cI don\u2019t want any part of it.\u201d That\u2019s the least expensive thing we can do, where you scare them from ending up like the people in the commercials. And we\u2019ll make them very, very bad commercials. We\u2019ll make them pretty unsavory situations. And you\u2019ve seen it before, and it\u2019s had an impact on smoking and cigarettes. You see what happens to the body; you see what happens to the mind.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re announcing a new website, CrisisNextDoor.gov, where Americans can share their stories about the danger of the opioid addiction and addictions.<br \/>\nBut we\u2019re thinking about doing, really, a largescale rollout of commercials that show how bad it is for the kids. And when they see those commercials, hopefully, they\u2019re not going to be going to drugs of any kind \u2014 drugs of any kind. And we\u2019ll save a lot of lives, and we\u2019ll make their life a lot easier.<\/p>\n<p>This epidemic can affect anyone, and that\u2019s why we want to educate everyone.<br \/>\nThe second part of our initiative is to reduce the supply of illicit drugs. Ninety percent of the heroin in America comes from our southern border, where, eventually, the Democrats will agree with us and we\u2019ll build the wall to keep the damn drugs out. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE: Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s pretty amazing. They don\u2019t want to go with DACA, because they don\u2019t care about DACA. But they\u2019re trying to tie the wall to DACA, and DACA to the wall. And they want to keep DACA for the campaign instead of getting it approved, which we could do very easily. The Republicans are totally in favor of doing something substantial for DACA. But the Democrats like it as a campaign issue, so they don\u2019t get it approved. And they want to tie it to the wall, which is okay with me. But both should get approved. They don\u2019t want it to be approved. Remember what I said: They don\u2019t want it to be approved. They want to make it part of the campaign. Well, we\u2019ll make it part of the campaign, also. And we\u2019ll win, because we\u2019re going to win on those issues. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>My administration is also confronting things called \u201csanctuary cities\u201d that shield dangerous criminals. And every day, sanctuary cities release illegal immigrants and drug dealers, traffickers, and gang members back into our communities. They\u2019re protected by these cities. And you say, \u201cWhat are they doing?\u201d They\u2019re safe havens for just some terrible people. Some terrible people. And they\u2019re making it very dangerous for our law enforcement officers. You see it all the time.<\/p>\n<p>As the people of New Hampshire have learned firsthand, ending sanctuary cities is crucial to stopping the drug addiction crisis. And your governor, who is great \u2014 the numbers are going down in New Hampshire. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve seen it, but the numbers are going down. Chris, we were just \u2014 stand up, Chris. (Applause.) It\u2019s really one of the few bright spots where the numbers actually are going down, and that\u2019s a tremendous achievement. Thank you, Chris. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>According to a recent Dartmouth study, the sanctuary city of Lawrence, Massachusetts is one of the primary sources of fentanyl in six New Hampshire counties. ICE recently arrested 15 MS-13 gang members \u2014 these are not good people, folks. Okay? These are bad, bad people. They don\u2019t use guns. They\u2019d rather use knives because it\u2019s more painful and it takes longer. These are bad people \u2014 in Boston, Massachusetts, which is a place where you have sanctuary cities.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m repeating my call on Congress to block funds for sanctuary cities and to close the deadly loopholes that allow criminals back into our country and into our country in the first place. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You know, some things are very understandable. We have lots of issues where we\u2019re on both sides of an issue, and you can understand the other side even though you don\u2019t agree. Sanctuary cities are hard to understand for people because they don\u2019t get it. They don\u2019t get it. You see what\u2019s going on in California, how terrible it is, how dangerous it is. And they\u2019re all trying to protect sanctuary cities.<\/p>\n<p>And whether it\u2019s Kate Steinle or so many others, they\u2019d be around today if these people weren\u2019t allowed back into our country through, in this case, the southern border, at least five times. And look at the damage, and then look at this verdict. Look at the verdict. Can you believe the verdict?<\/p>\n<p>So we have to get a lot smarter. We have to get a lot tougher. And speaking of tough, because here with us today is ICE Agent Derek Dunn. Derek worked with state police to uncover a major drug smuggling operation in Lawrence, Massachusetts. (Applause.) Where\u2019s Derek? Derek. Where\u2019s Derek? Come here, Derek. I love tough guys. We need tough guys. Come here, Derek. (Applause.)<br \/>\nAGENT DUNN: Just want to say thanks for everyone being here. And it\u2019s been a battle. It\u2019s been an absolute battle for our counterparts here at DEA and FBI and everybody \u2014 all the law enforcement, state police, and the local police. It\u2019s been an absolute battle. We all work together, and we\u2019re going to get this solved. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. He didn\u2019t know he was going to do that. (Laughter.) And you didn\u2019t know you were going to do that. But that\u2019s in honor of your boy, right? You made a big impact.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to mention ICE Agent Ron Morin and Manchester Police Detective Patrick Maguire. They helped lead the team that arrested a terrible human trafficker who used opioids to harm, in a very violent way, his victims. Thank you both for bringing the trafficker to a very strong and swift justice.<br \/>\nWhere are you guys? Thank you. (Applause.) Stand up, fellas. Thank you. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also shutting down illegal online marketplaces and preventing drugs that come from China and other countries from bypassing our borders. And we\u2019re getting very tough on it. It\u2019s not that we have a choice. We don\u2019t have a choice. We can be nice, and we can be soft and weak, and you\u2019re not going to have a country left. So we have to strengthen up, and strengthen up our laws so that we can do what we have to do. We have to stop this from happening.<\/p>\n<p>Drug traffickers kill so many thousands of our citizens every year. And that\u2019s why my Department of Justice will be seeking so many much tougher penalties than we\u2019ve ever had, and we will be focusing on the penalty that I talked about previously for the big pushers, the ones that are really killing so many people. And that penalty is going to be the death penalty. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>If you look at \u2014 if you look at other countries \u2014 I\u2019ve gotten to know the leaders of many countries. And I won\u2019t mention names, but you know the countries I\u2019m talking about. I go around, \u201cHow is your drug problem?\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t have much of a drug problem.\u201d \u201cWhat do you mean you don\u2019t have a drug problem?\u201d \u201cWell, we don\u2019t have.\u201d I say, how come? \u201cWe have zero tolerance for drug dealers.\u201d I said, \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d \u201cThat means we have the death penalty for drug dealers. We don\u2019t have a drug problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Take a look at some of these countries where they don\u2019t play games. They don\u2019t have a drug problem. We have court cases that last 10 years, and then they get out at the end. We got to be tough. We have to be smart. We have to change the laws, and we\u2019re working on that right now. The Department of Justice is working very, very hard on that.<\/p>\n<p>But the ultimate penalty has to be the death penalty. Now, maybe our country is not ready for that. It\u2019s possible \u2014 it\u2019s possible that our country is not ready for that. And I can understand it, maybe. Although, personally, I can\u2019t understand that. But there are people that are good people, that are strong, smart people, and they would differ with most of us. But I think unless you do that, unless you have really, really powerful penalties, led by the death penalty for the really bad pushers and abusers, we are going to get nowhere. And I\u2019m telling you, we are going to get somewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Companies must also be held accountable. The Department of Justice recently created a task force to coordinate investigations and lawsuits against manufacturers and other bad actors that harm our citizens.<\/p>\n<p>And I can tell you that Jeff Sessions, who\u2019s here with us now, feels so strongly about this. And they\u2019re working very hard and very effectively on that, and so we appreciate that very much. Thank you. Thank you, Jeff. (Applause.) Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>I can think of nothing more important. The third part of our initiative is to get lifesaving help to those who need it. We\u2019re going to make sure our first responders have access to lifesaving overdose-reversing drugs \u2014 which, by the way, are amazing.<\/p>\n<p>Here with us today is Mike Kelly, the president of Adapt Pharma. Adapt Pharma makes an overdose-reversing drug for opioids, which I\u2019ve watched and seen work. It\u2019s called Narcan. It\u2019s actually incredible. Today, we applaud Adapt Pharma\u2019s decision to provide free \u2014 free \u2014 Narcan to all high schools, colleges, and universities in America.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like you to come up, Mike. Come up. (Applause.) Where\u2019s Mike? Come up, Mike. That\u2019s really an amazing and generous offer. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Tell us a little bit about that, Mike. Please.<\/p>\n<p>MR. KELLY: So, Adapt is a small company that has a big job, which is to reverse overdoses. And we\u2019ve provided, free of charge, four boxes to all colleges and universities in the United States; two boxes free for every high school in the United States; as well as educational awareness for the nursing departments, as well as the faculty to train and teach everybody about the dangers of opioids and the risks, and also the benefits of having Narcan nasal spray near where opioids are.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>MR. KELLY: Thank you. Appreciate it. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mike. It\u2019s amazing, generous. And I\u2019ve watched the police and the fire \u2014 they come around and they\u2019ve become so good at it. But I\u2019ve seen people that are just about dead wake up.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the problem is, they then go back, in many cases, to the drugs, and they do it again and again and again. But we have to work on that. We have to work on that very, very strongly.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to recommend and commend a Richmond-based company, Kal\u00e9o, for donating more than 300,000 doses of their overdose-reversing drug to first responders, which has already saved more than 5,000 lives in a very short period of time.<\/p>\n<p>My administration has made clear that medical providers can share crucial information with family members about an overdose so that their loved ones can help them get into treatment. We need treatment.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re making medically assisted treatment more available and affordable, and we continue to increase competition and drive down drug prices. And we\u2019re driving them down. We\u2019re going to have a major news conference, probably at the White House, in about a month, because all of you people \u2014 and I\u2019m talking about prescription drugs, not necessarily the drugs that we\u2019re talking about here. But we pay, as a country, so much more for drugs because of the drug lobbies and other reasons, and the complexity of distribution, which is basically another term for saying, \u201cHow do we get more money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And if you compare our drug prices to other countries in the world, in some cases it\u2019s many times higher for the exact same pill, or whatever it is, in the exact same package, made in the exact same plant. And we\u2019re going to change that.<\/p>\n<p>And I would like to ask Secretary Azar just to come up and mention opioid, but also talk about how we\u2019re getting your drug prices down. And we\u2019ve already saved billions of dollars for our country, and it\u2019s reflected in much lower drug prices. Watch what\u2019s going to happen over a short period of time. This man is one of the great professionals, ran an incredibly successful drug company. Who knows better than the guy running the drug company, Eli Lilly? That\u2019s your company, right? Or was.<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY AZAR: It was.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Now you\u2019re on the other side, though. So nobody knows better. The most respected man in that industry \u2014 and we got him to work, because he loves our country.<\/p>\n<p>Would you tell them a little bit about what you have planned for drug prices and also opioids, in terms of stoppage? Please. Secretary. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY AZAR: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And, you know, you\u2019ve done a lot already to tackle this issue of drug pricing. So, last year, the FDA approved more generic drugs than it ever has in its history. And that brings prices down for patients, for the system, for everybody. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Great.<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY AZAR: You also changed the rules so our senior citizens pay less out of pocket for their drugs. That\u2019s $3.2 billion that they\u2019re paying less out of pocket for their drugs when they go to the pharmacy. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And then, we\u2019re going to be rolling out, as you mentioned, in about a month, a whole slate of other proposals around how we decrease the price of drugs and how we bring discounts that the middlemen right now are getting; how those will go to our patients, to individuals.<\/p>\n<p>Now we\u2019re attacking this with the same level of action, determination, and resolve that you\u2019re bring to the opioid crisis. And that\u2019s where we\u2019re focused on prevention and getting that one-third fewer illegal opioid prescriptions to our people. The second is the stopping the illicit flow of these opioids into our country. And the third is compassionate treatment for people \u2014 evidence-based, science-based, compassionate treatment \u2014 that can help people recover and stay away from relapse.<\/p>\n<p>So, thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Alex. You\u2019ll be seeing drug prices falling very substantially in the not-too-distant future, and it\u2019s going to be beautiful.<br \/>\nAnd I want to thank, also, Scott Gottlieb. Scott is working on different things, but one of them is called \u201cRight to Try.\u201d Do you know what \u201cRight to Try\u201d is? These are for people that are terminally ill. And there are very, very good-looking combinations of things, or pills, medicines, potential cures. And they\u2019re terminal, and they\u2019re not going to be living much longer. And we don\u2019t have the right to give them these experimental drugs or these early-stage drugs that really show promise, for whatever reason. But they say because they don\u2019t want to harm somebody, if you can believe it. They don\u2019t want to harm. So the people will oftentimes go to foreign lands, foreign countries. They\u2019ll do anything. They want hope. They want hope. \u201cRight to Try.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re working with Congressman Greg Walden and numerous other senators and congressmen. And I think we\u2019re going to have good luck. The Democrats have been pushing back on it, but I think many of them are also coming along. It\u2019s called \u201cRight to Try.\u201d A patient is terminal. There\u2019s good progress made with a certain drug. We\u2019re going to make it possible for that patient to get that drug. And maybe it\u2019s going to work. It\u2019s hope. It\u2019s incredible; they\u2019ve been talking about this for years and years and years. We\u2019re going to get it approved. So important. All right? (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>To further expand treatment, I\u2019m also calling on Congress to change the restrictive 1970s-era law that prevents Medicaid from paying for care at certain treatment facilities with more than 16 beds. It\u2019s such an important factor.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, my administration is granting waivers to states so they can help people who need treatment now, Governor.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also going to help inmates leaving prison get treatment so they can have a second chance to become productive, law-abiding citizens. And what we\u2019ve really done for the inmates \u2014 you know, it\u2019s very hard for them to get out of jail and get a job.<\/p>\n<p>What we\u2019ve really done for them \u2014 better than anything we can sign, any legislation that we can pass demanding that you hire \u2014 we\u2019re getting a great economy. It hasn\u2019t been this good in many, many years. Some people say it\u2019s never been this good.<\/p>\n<p>And what\u2019s happened is, as you see, unemployment is way down, and people are starting to hire inmates. And the results are incredible. Some of these employers are calling up, saying, \u201cWow, what great people.\u201d We\u2019re giving them a second chance. It\u2019s very, very important. So the tremendous economy is helping us very much with that program.<\/p>\n<p>We want every American \u2014 (applause) \u2014 thank you. We want every American to be able to be able to reach their full God-given potential. And we will succeed together as one people, one nation, and one great American family. Because Americans never give in, and we never, ever give up. This group never gives up, right? Never give up. Your boy. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The brave families here today remind us that the strength of America is found in the heart of our people. We see America\u2019s heart in the parents who won\u2019t accept addiction as the fate of their children. And if something horrible has befallen that family, they go around and they want to make sure it never happens to another family. And that\u2019s why we thank you so much, and we thank your boy. (Applause.) He did not die in vain.<\/p>\n<p>We see it in sons and daughters who cheer on moms and dads as they recover. We see it in the doctors and nurses who provide constant and loving care. We see it in the heroic law enforcement officers who race into unimaginable danger. We see it in EMTs and firefighters who act so quickly to save so many lives. And we see this American heart in the men and women who fight every day to help rescue their fellow citizens from the grips of addiction.<\/p>\n<p>These are the courageous souls who remind us that, for America, there is nothing beyond our reach. Nothing at all. (Applause.) Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>We will defeat this crisis, we will protect our beautiful children, and we will ensure that tomorrow is better, brighter, stronger, and greater than ever before. Because as long as we have trust in our citizens, pride in our country, and faith in our God, we will not fail. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>Together, we will end the scourge of drug addiction in America once and for all. We will win. We will beat it. We\u2019ll be tough. We\u2019ll be smart. We\u2019ll be kind. We\u2019ll be loving. We\u2019ll do whatever we have to do. But we\u2019re going to win.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester, NH&#8230;Thank you to our First Lady, Melania, who has been so incredible. (Applause.) Thank you. And we are blessed to have you as our First Lady. Really are. It\u2019s great to be back in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. (Applause.) I don\u2019t know if you remember, but this is the first place I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,33,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-health-fitness","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3202018-113301-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}