President Trump condemned for boasting about 'historic action' on opioid crisis
President Trump is expected on Wednesday to tout the “historic action” that has supposedly been taken since he declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency — but drug experts, Democrats and federal watchdogs say the celebration is premature and downright offensive.
With characteristic fanfare, Trump will host an afternoon event at the White House dubbed “A Year of Historic Action to Combat the Opioid Crisis,” even as the crisis took at least 48,000 lives last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Government Accountability Office released a report on Tuesday concluding the administration has only taken three of the 17 steps made available to it as part of Trump’s public health emergency declaration in October 2017.
“President Trump, as this report shows, has broken his promises to do his part,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whose state has been badly hit by the epidemic. “I’ve asked this administration time and time again to show what actions they are taking to meaningfully address this crisis. No response. To me, it looks like empty words and broken promises. Hand-waving about faster paperwork and speeding up a few grants is not enough — the Trump Administration needs to do far more.”
A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-news-trump-boasting-historic-opioid-crisis-20181023-story.html
