Rep. Bob Dold highlights efforts to advance legislation aimed at reducing opioid abuse in Republicans’ weekly address Saturday, in the latest effort instance of GOP members facing tough re-election fights highlighting the issue.
“I’ve seen firsthand the unimaginable suffering that heroin has brought onto families in our community and around the country,” Dold, a Illinois Republican, said in a statement Friday.
In his remarks, which were recorded earlier, but set to be posted online Saturday, Dold describes one of his constituents, 20-year old Alex Laliberte, who died of a heroin overdose after struggling with a prescription drug addiction.
“This type of abuse spans every demographic, financial situation and community. It can literally happen to anyone,” Dold says. “That’s why the opioid epidemic demands a national response. We can’t let politics get in the way of giving people a second chance at recovery.”
Dold, who represents a suburban Chicago district, is a top election target for Democrats hoping to make big gains in the House this year. For the third time, he faces Rep. Brad Schneider D-Ill, in November.
Dold has aggressively attacked Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, who could be a historically unpopular presidential nominee, in a bid by the lawmaker to highlight his independence and limit association with Trump and GOP’s unpopular national brand.
With heroin deaths rising around the country, endangered Republicans have moved to sponsor bills aimed at curbing the epidemic. The legislation offers members means to show they are focused on local problems. That’s a common, if difficult, tactic by members hoping to avoid being among casualties in a wave election.
“Putting the spotlight on … a subject of interest to suburban voters — perhaps especially females who may be independents or crossover Democrats — is a plus for Dold,” the Chicago Sun-Times noted Friday.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., two endangered Senate Republicans, are among sponsors of an anti-opioid bill the Senate passed, 94-1, last month.
House Republican leaders say they expect to hold votes on multiple opioid bills in May, after committee action this month. Dold has offered a bill that would increase access to an overdose antidote called naloxone.
“Next month, the House will take up legislation that not only helps those suffering today, but works to prevent addiction before it begins,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement Friday. “Bob Dold is hard at work to help fight this growing threat, and I look forward to his address.”
House Republicans’ timeline drew criticism Thursday from Portman. “I hope that the talk of hearings and markups isn’t an excuse to delay action,” he said.
“The House must act, and soon,” Portman said. “I’m not going to be patient on this.”
