The causeation and so its unfortunate within this whole process that hasnt come up. Yet, still the number one incline of opioid addiction is with the older generation. These are people who had slipped disks, arthritic knees and our standard of care is to go with oipiates first instead and arting with m. R. I. s work with the cause first. Instead we want to numb the pain first and thats where were missing it. Host in terms of the older population, the hill reports one in three beneficiaries in medicares Beneficiary Program received a prescription for opioids in 2016. Thats from the hill. Arlington, virginia, next up and this is michelle, republican line. Caller yes, hi. Thank you for taking my call. I just like to say i really appreciated the first lady and also the president s leadership and the compassion that theyve shown in making this known as a Public Health crisis all across our nation. I really appreciate the president s actionoriented approach. He looks at this like a corporate c. E. O. Its a problem we need to solve and not just gloss over and bring it out into the open. Recognizing the problem publicly. Again, making sure its brought out into the light of day. And not shaming people. And showing the true compassion in realizing that people get hooked to drugs not of their own fault. Theyre given prescription, you know, its the number one cause of death for americans under the age of 50. And people are being given these prescriptions and then through no fault of their own they get hooked. And then maybe start look for illicit drugs once their prescription is no longer available. So ive just appreciated the compassion that was shown and the leadership and looking at this as a problem that we all as a nation need to face and all of us can help out in our own communities. As some of the ladies brought up earlier about the Public Awareness campaign, saying no to drugs and bringing it out into the open. Host all right. Lets here from stephens point, wisconsin. Brian. Caller hello, thank you for cspan. I do need to speak on the people who are really suffering. We have a wonderful system in wisconsin where they use every option first before opiates and what has happened is legitimate pain people that have gone through and had the surgeries and every option available to them, even the Cancer Patients now, they cannot find a physician to prescribe and the physicians did start people on opiates after some of those things. And theres been a big change around here. Deaths see some of the from opioids, i can speak about a few friends i had when their prescription was done and they had no more refills, instead of street l to the host yeah. Caller they finished off their prescription and became one of those hazards of the Opioid Crisis. Really, we need to address those legitimate pain patients. You cant show compassion and expect somebody to wait a year for a prescription when theyve been on these medicines for years. Host on the unused prescriptions, the president today promoting prescription National Takeback day. National Prescription Drug takeback day which is happening this saturday. If youd like to find out more out that, their website is takebackday. Dea. Gov. Lets hear from jacksonville, florida. Joel is on the republican line. Caller i also think that why is it we prescribe a lethal substance to remedy something that is not lethal . Pain may make you want to die but it wont kill you. And opioids the doctors have become pushers in my mind. I think as long as we keep those pills out there, more people are going to die. I dont see how were going to get around that. Host mike is next from on the democrats line. Caller i was calling. We heard this tune before from several different president s. I just wish we would have heard more about federal funding for treatment because stopping it from the beginning, well, thats one thing. But theres millions of people out there who are already addicted, who need help. I didnt hear any talk about federal funding for treatment centers. So thats what id like to hear. Host the president today declaring a national Public Health emergency. Usa today said that can last for 90 days but can be renewed any number of times. There are 13 localized Public Health emergencies already in effect for hurricanes harvey, irma, marie and nate and the california wildfires. Our capitol hill producer tweeting saying the president signed the aid bill for hurricane, wildfire and flood relief. Lets get a call from jerry, independent line, go ahead. R yes, i am a permanently injured to a thoracic back. Misdiagnosed for the past eight years because m. R. I. s, xrays and cat scans wouldnt diagnosis what happened. He ligaments are torn with a rib hip to spine. I was given opioid scripts or referred to pain clinics. But having my best friend, a nurse, die of an accidental overdose for her pains, i never went to a pain clinic or took those pain meds. These doctors, rather than even trying to find out whats wrong, they just patch you pass you off to a pain clinic. Its an extremely painful condition which is only treated thoracic surgery or therapy injections. Its not treated by opioids. Host thanks for all the calls as well. Again, if you missed the president s speech you can find it online as well as all of our coverage on this issue, washington journal segments, congressional hearings, cspan. Org. Type in opioid in the search box. Now todays announcement from the white house, the president introduced by the first lady melania trump. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] mrs. Trump thank you. Thank you. Thank you all for being here today. It touches my heart to see the many familiar faces of the people i have been lucky to get to know over the last few months. Thank you for the time and strength it takes for each of you to tell your stories. We are here today because of your courage. The Opioid Epidemic has affected more than two million americans nationwide and sadly the number continues to rise. We lost than 175 americans to overdoses every day. And millions more are struggling with addiction. As many of you know, addiction affects children in many different ways. And i have recently taken a larger interest in what i can o to help fight this epidemic. [applause] i have been participating in meetings and listening significances and i have been visiting with people who have been affected by this disease. You want to tell you what i have learned from the men and women on the front lines of this epidemic. Don talked to me about his son, garrett, who took medication for adhd and suffered from depression and anxiety. He explained that social media played a part in his sons erratic moods and behaviors. Garrett started to buy synthetic opioids online and selfmedicated for his depression, passing away from an overdose just eight days efore his 21st birthday. Don taught me that the stigma of drug addiction must be normalized and talking about it is the only way to do it. Coach david mcgee talked about his friend who became addicted after his pain medication were prescribed for a sports injury. His friend died from an overdose and through his tragic loss coach mcgee taught me how important it is to educate kids, athletes and parents because his friend was not weakminded. In fact, like so many of our kids today, he was competitive and strongwilled. Jean, who is in her 10th year of recovery, drug addiction is an effective disease but with the proper support and medical attention a person can move on to live a healthy and happy life. We are so proud of you for all that you have overcome and pray for you as you continue on this journey. Where are you . Hello. [applause] when i had the honor of visiting lilys place in west virginia, a center for infants born addicted to drugs, i learned to help babies succeed we must help their parents succeed. Replacing the priority of by placing the priority on the whole family,ly lilys place is giving infants the best opportunity to thrive because their parents are being given the support and tools they need o succeed. I want to thank Rebecca Crowder and the staff at lilys place for their heroic efforts. [applause] i have learned so much from those brave enough to talk about this epidemic and i know there are many more stories to tell. But what i found to be the common theme with all of these stories is that this can happen to any of us. Drug addiction can take your friends, neighbors, or your family. No state has been spared. And no demographic has been untouched. Which is why my husband and his administration has dedicated itself to combating this Health Crisis by using every resource available. m so proud to support him today as he sees this commitment through. I look forward to continue my work on behalf of children across the country and hope that citizens everywhere will join forces with this administration to help end this Health Crisis. Hank you very much for being here with us today. God bless you all and god bless the United States of america. [applause] President Trump thank you, melania, for your moving words and your devotion. Theres a very deep devotion, i can tell you that, to our nation and its children. Thank you also to members of congress, my cabinet, governors, members of congress, state, local leaders, First Responders, and Health Care Professionals gathered here today. We have some truly incredible people in this room, that i can tell you. Most importantly, we acknowledge the families present who have lost a cherished loved one. As you all know from personal experience, families, communities, and citizens across our country are currently dealing with the worst drug crisis in American History and even, you really think about it, world history. This is all throughout the world. The fact is, this is a worldwide problem. This crisis of drug use, addiction, and Overdose Deaths in many years, its just been so long in the making. Addressing it will require all of our effort and it will require us to confront the crisis in all of its very real complexity. Last year, we lost at least 64,000 americans to overdose. Thats 175 lost american lives per day. Thats seven lost lives per hour. In our country. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States by far. More people are dying from drug overdoses today than from gun homicides and Motor Vehicles combined. Think of it. Motor vehicle crashes. Gun homicides. More people by far from drug overdoses. These overdoses are driven by a massive increase in addiction. To prescription painkillers, heroin, and other opioids. Last year, almost one million americans used heroin. And more than 11 million abused prescription opioids. The United States is by far the argest consumer of these drugs, using more opioid pills per person than any other country, by far, in the world. Opioid Overdose Deaths have quadrupled since 1999 and now account for the majority of fatal drug overdoses. Who would have thought . No part of our society, not young or old, rich or poor, urban or rural, has been spared this plague, drug addiction. And this horrible, horrible situation thats taken place ith opioids. In west virginia, a truly great state, great people, theres a hospital nursery where one in every five babies spends its irst days in agony because these precious babies were exposed to opioids or other drugs in the womb, they endure nausea, pain, anxiety, sleeplessness and trouble eating, just the same as adults undergoing detox. Some of these children will likely lose one or both of their parents to drug addiction nd overdose. They will join the growing ranks of americas opioid orphans. Such beautiful, beautiful abies. Beyond the shocking death, though, the terrible measure of the Opioid Crisis includes families ripped apart and for Many Community a generation of lost potential and opportunity. This epidemic is a National Health emergency. Unlike many of us, weve seen and what weve seen in our lifetimes, nobody has seen anything like whats going on now. As americans, we cannot allow this to continue. It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge. Of drug addiction. Never been this way. We can be the generation that ends the Opioid Epidemic. We can do it. [applause] that is why, effective today, my administration is officially declaring the Opioid Crisis a national Public Health emergency under federal law. And why i am directing all executive agencies to use every appropriate Emergency Authority to fight the Opioid Crisis. This marks a critical step in confronting the extraordinary hallenge that we face. As part of this emergency response, we will announce a new policy to overcome a restrictive 1970s era rule that prevents states from providing care at certain Treatment Facilities with more than 16 beds for those suffering from drug addiction. [applause] a number of states have reached reached out to us asking for relief and you should expect to see approvals that will unlock treatment for people in need nd those approvals will come very, very fast, not like in the past. Ery, very quickly. Ending the epidemic will require mobilization of government, local communities and private organizations. It will require the resolve of our entire country. The scale of this crisis of addiction is why, soon after coming into office, i convened a president ial commission headed by governor Chris Christie that has consulted with experts across america to listen, to learn, and report ack on potential solutions. We await the final report which will come in next week and i know some of the report has already been seen because i want to see it as quickly as possible and some of the things that they are recommending are common sense but very, very important and theyre going to have a tremendous impact, believe me. Tremendous impact. Today i will detail many of these aggressive steps with my dministration, which weve already taken. After we review and evaluate the commissions findings, i will quickly move to implement appropriate recommendations but i want the American People to know the federal government is aggressively fighting the Opioid Epidemic on all fronts. Were working with doctors and medical professionals to implement best practices for safe opioid prescribing and we will do something very, very special, we are requiring federally employed prescribers to receive, finally, special raining. The centers for Disease Control and prevention has launched a Prescription Awareness Campaign to put faces on the danger of pioid abuse. I want to acknowledge cs doctor cvs caremark that it will limit certain firsttime opioid prescriptions to sevenday supplies among other important eforms and i encourage other ompanies to do their part to help stop this epidemic. [applause] the f. D. A. Is now requiring Drug Companies that manufacture prescription opioids to provide more training to prescribers and help prevent abuse and addiction and has requested hat one especially highrisk opioid be withdrawn from the market immediately. We are requiring that a specific opioid, which is truly evil, be taken off the market immediately. [applause] the u. S. Postal service and the department of Homeland Security are strengthening the inspection of packages coming into our country to hold back the flood of cheap and deadly fentanyl, a synthetic opioid manufactured in china and 50 times stronger than heroin and in two weeks i will be in china with president xi and i will mention this as a top priority. [applause] and he will do something about t. I am also pleased to report that for the first time the department of justice has indicated Major Chinese drug traffickers, and they have really put very, very strong clamps on them, theyve indicted them, the drug traffickers, for distributing fentanyl into the United States so jeff, thank you very much. Good job. [applause] and theyve been indicted and were not going to forget about them, believe me. They are doing tremendous harm o our country. The Justice Department is aggressively and really valiantly pursuing those who illegally prescribe and traffic in opioids both in our communities and on the internet and i will be looking at the potential of the federal government bringing major lawsuits against bad actors, what they have and what theyre doing to our people is unheard of. We will be bringing some very major lawsuits against people and against companies that are hurting our people and that will start taking place pretty soon. [applause] were also supporting First Responders and medical professionals access to the tools they need to prevent deaths through lifesaving overdose medications. T my direction, the National Institute of health headed up by francis collins, has taken the first steps of an ambitious Publicprivate Partnership with pharmaceutical companies to develop nonaddictive painkillers and new treatments for addiction and overdose. So important. [applause] i will be pushing the concept of nonaddictive painkillers very, very hard. We have to come up with that solution. We give away billions and billions of dollars a year and were going to be spending lots of money oncoming up with a nonaddictive solution. We will be asking dr. Collins and the n. I. H. For substantial resources in the fight against drug addiction. One of the things our administration will be doing is a Massive Advertising Campaign to get people, especially children, not to want to take drugs in the first place because they will see the devastation and the ruination it causes the people and peoples lives. Watch what happens if we do our jobs, how the number of drug sers and the addicted will start to tumble downward over a period of years. It will be a beautiful thing to see. I learned myself, i had a brother, fred, great guy, best looking guy, best personality, much better than mine. [laughter] but he had a problem. He had a problem with alcohol. And he would tell me, dont drink. Dont drink. He was substantially older and i listened to him and i respected but he would constantly tell me, dont drink. He would also add, dont smoke. But he would say it over and other and over again. And to this day ive never had a drink. And i have no longing for it. I have no interest in it. To this day ive never had a cigarette. Dont worry, those are only two of my good things. I dont want to tell you about the bad things. Theres plenty of bad things too. But he really helped me. I had somebody that guided me. He had a very, very, very tough life because of alcohol, believe me, very, very tough, tough life. He was a strong guy but it was a tough, tough thing that he was going through. But i learned because of fred. I learned. And thats what i think is so important. This was an idea that i had, here if we can teach young people not to take drugs, just not to take them, when i see friends of mine that are having difficulty with not having that drink at dinner, where its literally almost impossible for them to stop, i say to myself, i cant even understand that, why would that be difficult . But we understand why it is difficult. The fact is, if we can teach young people and people generally not to start, its really, really easy not to take them. And i think thats going to end up being our most important thing. Really tough, really big, really great advertising. So we get to people before they start. So they dont have to go through the problems of what people are going through. [applause] we are already distributing nearly 1 billion in grants for addiction prevention and treatment and over 50 million to support Law Enforcement programs that assist those facing prison and facing addiction. Weve also launched an 81 Million Partnership to Research BetterPain Management techniques for our incredible veterans. And soon [applause] and by the way, secretary shulkin is here, you have done an incredible job for our veterans in a very short period of time. And soon, h. H. S. Will launch a task force to develop an update best practices for Pain Management across the federal overnment. I am urging all americans to help fight this Opioid Epidemic and the broader issue of drug ddiction by participating in the national Prescription Drug takeback day this saturday. When you can safely turn in these dangerous and horrible drugs for disposal, that will be a wonderful, wonderful period of time for you. All of these actions are important parts of my administrations larger effort to confront the drug addiction crisis in america and confront it head on. Straight on. Strong. Were going to do it. Were going to do it. For too long we have allowed rugs to rah vadge american ravage american homes, cities, and towns. We owe it to our children and to our country to do everything in our power to address this National Shame than human tragedy. We must stop the flow of all types of Illegal Drugs into our communities. [applause] for too long, dangerous criminal cartels have been allowed to infiltrate and spread throughout our nation. An astonishing 90 of the heroin in america comes from south of the border where we will be building a wall which will greatly help in this problem. [applause] well have a great impact. My administration is dedicated to enforcing our immigration laws, defending our maritime security, and securing our borders. We also have to work with other countries to stop these drugs where they originate. We have no choice. We have to work with others, we have to get together because hey have similar problems to what we have, some countries have bigger problems than we have. Whether that country is china, whether its a country in latin america, it makes no difference. Were going to be working with all of them. Were taking the fight directly to the criminals and places that theyre producing this poison. Here in america, we are once again enforcing the law, breaking up gangs and distribution networks, and arresting criminals who peddle dangerous drugs to our youth. In addition, we understand the need to confront reality right smack in the face that millions of our fellow citizens are already addicted. Thats the reality. We want them to get help they eed. We have no choice but to help these people that are hooked and are suffering so they can ecover and rebuild their lives with their families. Were committed to pursuing innovative approaches that have been proven to work like drug courts. Our efforts will be based on sound metrics and guided by evidence and guided by results. This includes making Addiction Treatment available to those in prison and to help them eventually Reenter Society as productive and lawabiding citizens. Finally, we must adopt the most common sense solution of all, to prevent our citizens from becoming addicted to drugs in the first place. [applause] e must and are focusing so much of our effort on drug demand reduction. We must confront the culture of drug abuse head on to reduce demand for dangerous narcotics. Every person who buys ill list drugs here in america should know they are risking their futures, their families, and even their lives and every american should know that if they purchase Illegal Drugs, they are helping to finance some of the most violent, cruel, and ruthless rganizations anywhere in the world. Illegal drug use is not a victimless crime. There is nothing admirable, positive, or socially desirable about it. There is nothing desirable about drugs. Theyre bad. We want the next generation of Young Americans to know the blessings of a drug drugfree life. In this enormous struggle against drug addiction and Opioid Epidemic, it really is that, it is an epidemic, our greatest hope is the same as it has always been. Through every trial, america has encountered throughout our history, the spirit of our people and the strength of our character, we win. Each of us has a responsibility o this effort. We have a total responsibility to ourselves, to our family, to our country. Including those who are struggling with this addiction. Each of us is responsible to look out for our loved ones, our communities, our children, our neighbors, and our own health. Almost every american has witnessed the horrors of addiction, whether its through their own struggles or through the struggle of a friend a coworker, a neighbor, or frankly a family member. Our current addiction crisis and especially the epidemic of opioid deaths will get worse before it gets better, but get better it will. It will take many years and even decades to address this scourge in our society. But we must start in earnest now to combat National Health emergency. We are inspired by the stories of everyday heroes who pull heir communities through the depths of despair through leadership and through ove. Fire chief dan noonan of new hampshire, great state, runs the program safe station which allows drug dependent residents to seek help at fire stations at any time. Jesse and Cindy Swafford of ohio have provided a love, stable home to children affected by the Opioid Crisis. I am calling on every american who join the ranks of Guardian Angels like chief noonan and the swaffords who help lift up the people of our great nation. Together, we will care for our citizens, our children, and our orphans and you know what im going to say, our foster youth. So many, many, but were to lift them up and take care of them. We will work to strengthen vulnerable families and communities. And we will help to build and grow a stronger, healthier, and drugfree society. Together, we will face this challenge as a national family. With conviction, with unity, and with a commitment to love and support our neighbors in times of dire need. Orking together, we will defeat this Opioid Epidemic. It will be defeated. We will free our nation from the terrible affliction of drug abuse, and yes, we will overcome addiction in america. We are going to overcome addiction in america. We have fought and won many battles and many wars before. And we will win again. Thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. Thank you. [applause] kop koppe [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] President Trump this is very important. Combating the National Drug demand and Opioid Crisis. O important. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seat. Today marks 50 years since arizona senator john mccain was captured in vietnam and the beginning of his time as a prisoner of war. We spoke recently with senator mccain about his military service, his imprisonment and the legacy of the vietnam war. You can watch our interview tonight at 8 00 tonight on cspan, stream it online at cspan. Org or listen using the free cspan radio app. This weekend on book tv on cspan2 70th Anniversary Party in washington, d. C. Sunday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, reflection on the Trump Campaign and the 2016 president ial election in her book unbelievable my front row seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History. Its no secret politicians dont like reporters generally. Nixon had a fraught relationship with his press corps. There are legendary stories about ron ziegler, his press person, and getting into it with reporters. What was unusual about this was the very public nature of it, the way that he would go after reporters, myself included, from this stage of rallies and have the crowd, encourage the crowd to essentially turn on us and boo us. And at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on afterwards, journalist and former host of face the nation Bob Schieffer in his book overload finding todays truth in the deluge of news. What we have to do is keep doing what were doing and that is try to sort out the true from the false and thats an overwhelming job now. Its a bigger responsibility than we ever had because were dealing with so much more information. We now have access to more information than any people in the history of the world. But were running a little short on occur ators right now. Curators right now. We are getting so much information we cant process it. For more on this weekends schedule go to booktv. Org. This weekend on q a shoving and jostling. Their target was Charles Murray and i was a little bit behind him and kind of intensified. It looked like he was going to fall to the ground. At the time was a 74yearold man so i did what any decent human being would do when you see a 74yearold man on the verge of falling to the ground, i grabbed him by the arm. Both to make sure he didnt fall but also i was afraid of being it was a large i dont know how many but i was really fearful of being separated from them and being left behind. I took his arm. Thats when it all turned on me. Somebody pulled my hair. Somebody body slammed me. Middlebury College Professor llison stanger talks about a riot. Watch her sunday night at 8 00 eastern on cspans q a. Next, a look at the Refugee Admissions Program and concerns about fraud