Gentlemen, thank you for being here. Mr. Herbert thank you for having us. Mr. Mcauliffe thank you very much. Gentlemen, what do you plan to bring to the table . We will ask on behalf of the governor and what we are doing on the war on terror and Economic Opportunities and particularly, the role of states going forth. The role of states have a particularly important role, and we would like to foster relationships not only with the white house but also with the congress. You have been focusing domestically and locally on the opioid crisis. Mr. Herbert we have had governors reach out and see if they could help with abuse of all kinds of drugs, Substance Abuse and that is an area where we have significant concern and we recognize that the states are probably best suited to reach out with education aware awareness. We are trying to help people to get to the root cause of their criminal activity. Healthso involves mental courses to help get to the root cause and avoid having criminal behavior is that of just warehousing people to give them the effect of treatment that they need to have. We want to let our viewers know that they can join the conversation as well to ask any questions to governor gary herbert and Governor Terry mcauliffe. Republicans, democrats, and independence, you can each dial into your own lines. You can also respond on twitter. My question for you now, governor mcauliffe, the big news in South Carolina and nevada as well. You have been a longtime friend and confidant of both bill and Hillary Clinton. What do you see happening right now for the Clinton Campaign and how concerned are you about this surge for Bernie Sanders . How should their campaign be concerned about this surge for Bernie Sanders . Mr. Mcauliffe first of all, we have only had two contest, Hillary Clinton won in iowa and newie sanders won in hampshire. In nevada, i think it is going to be very close. Hillary clinton has a significant lead in South Carolina. Then we have 10 states, including virginia, and i think hillary will win a vast majority of delegates on that day. On march 15 that will be the end. So we have a number of delegates between march 1 and march 15. I believe hillary can statistically say that she will have enough delegates to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. First contest, there is a lot of press around them, and we can go through over half of the delicate crits half of the delegates and i think at the end of the race, we will see it had been a vigorous race. Indonald trump wins today South Carolina, i think he is probably well on his way to the nomination. I think anything could happen. Listen, we still have a couple of campaigns, we have a long way to go. I chaired hillarys campaign efforts, we went all the way to the end. We went to the last couple of primaries and caucuses. Governor mcauliffe, you sort of skipped over a little bit of what is happening in nevada today. It was supposed to be the start of Hillary Clintons firewall is more presented of of a broader population in terms of the national demographic. If this is a close call, what do you think this means for clintons momentum Going Forward . Mr. Mcauliffe i think it is going to be a very close call. If you recall eight years ago, senator clinton won nevada. Tight, itg to be very was very tight then and it is going to be tight this time. Clybourn has just come out to endorse Hillary Clinton. That is very strong for us in South Carolina. Say, these first four bank are very important, but we have to get to these big states that are more representative to the rest of the country. Nevada is a more presented of because of the latino population, South Carolina is more representative for the africanamerican communities, but listen, this is a long haul. We have a very competitive race and we are going to do it again this time. Governor herbert, you have not come out in support of any republican candidate yet. What you looking for . Mr. Herbert i was hoping a governor would emerge. I am partial to governors because they havent because they have experience in the executive branch. These others can be pontificators who just kick the who justntificators kick the can down the road. Somebody who has experience in a governors office. But i can tell you listening to terry talk, all of this monday morning quarterbacking, what should have taken place, what is going to take place, i think this election has some flaws in it. I know that iowa and New Hampshire should be first, but i wish we had rotating regional primaries were everybody had a chance to go first and we could actually shorten the campaign time. It would be less expensive. I think the people of america would be more focused. I think people would have an opportunity to participate and play. Rather, we have this contest where we have weeded the people out and i dont think that is a contest that the American People want to see, and i think the Republican Party and the Democratic Party alike need to get together and say, is this really the best way to select a president . I think this would be much better for the American People. Lets turn now to our phone lines. Judy is in indianapolis. Go ahead with your question or,. Ler i was calling about the governor in michigan. I understand the governors are in a meeting, and what are you doing to stop your colleagues from poisoning american citizens in the United States . Because it is really almost like the tyrants in africa. The president s in africa who take money from their people and have their constituents living in terrible conditions, this is america. All right, that was judy from indianapolis. Let me see if i can answer that. I note Governor Rick Snyder from michigan and i know he is a good man. We are good have Congress Kind of look at what happened and what would it wrong and what we need to do to fix the problem. Again, i understand the importance of water. I live in a state where water is a very scarce commodity, and so water is really the lifeblood of utah. So i recognize the challenges that we face in michigan. I know that the governor is not here because he is in fact helping to address the issue. He is going to be getting to the bottom of it. Day, each of each governor is responsible for his own state and his staff and the people he surrounds himself with and the mayor of the local county commissioners and the elected officials, it is not something that we have primary cause of for telling him what to do or what not to do. There are many governors in the sovereign state of michigan. Our next caller is jacob from california. Jacob, go ahead . Caller i want as the democratic governor about emails . The meeting of the National Governors association is called to order. I want to thank everybody for joining us today. I am charlie baker. I am the governor of the commonwealth of massachusetts, and im also the chair of the committee. We are joined by the vice chair, New Hampshire governor maggie hassan. My directions say to my left, but you are obviously to my right. Please see our legislative director after the meeting if you have any questions. Today marks the third time the governors have come together at an nga meeting to discuss the opioid crisis. Importantof the most challenges facing our state. Im not going to bore you on all of the facts and the statistics because we have other folks who have agreed to come to speak with us today. I do want to leave most of the time for our guests. We have divided the session into two panels, the first one will focus on the impact of opioid abuse and how the governors can better support those who are coping with a loved ones addiction, and then we will talk to our federal Industry Partners who will discuss how they are ramping up their efforts to tackle this crisis. Before we go to our first presentation, i want to give governor hassan a chance for some opening remarks. Ms. Hassan thank you, governor baker. In New Hampshire, we certainly recognize that opioid addiction has changed the way that we have done things, and it requires that we make some changes at a pace that is faster than many people are used to. But we also know that doing anything less is unacceptable and midst Public Health and the safety crisis that claimed the lives of more than 400 granite last year alone, three lives in the city of manchester on thursday night. That is why we have continued in New Hampshire to continue to Work Across Party Lines on a comprehensive approach that supports Law Enforcement and strengthens prevention, treatment, and recovery, including the authorization of our bipartisan extension plan. That is essential to expanding treatment capacity. This epidemic is reflected in the governors priorities for addressing the nations opioid crisis, something we will be discussing further in todays session. Working hardrs are to tackle opioid abuse in their states, this is an all hands on deck moment, and we cannot win this fight without the critical support of federal partners and the private sector. Our recommendations of governors includes identifying addiction, expanding access to treatment, and the lifesaving emergency overdose treatment nor can narcan. Of ourhe case in many states, some will say that we cant afford this additional investment. S believe that we cant not afford to make this expansion. Come together to underscore the importance of private sector leadership in changing the way that we treat pain and addiction in this country. Prescribing medication isessively or just in case not acceptable and continues to fuel the Opioid Epidemic. Today, the National Governors association is joining with the American Medical Association to combat the opioid crisis. We agree on Pain Management and Substance Abuse education beginning in medical school and continuing throughout a providers career. We believe that state Prescription DrugMonitoring Programs are an important tool. N addressing opioid abuse we also agree on closing the treatment gap and expanding access to narcan to save lives. Full to dr. Nk Patrice Harris of the American Medical Association thankful to dr. Patrice harris of the American Medical Association and all of our speakers today. Mr. Baker thank you very much, governor hassan. It is now my pleasure to introduce our first speaker. Can tell you this, anyone who has ever been to one of this next speakers meeting is never quite the same. Compelling, they are tragic in many cases, and they are hopeful in others. And are, by far, moving, joanne, it is wonderful to have your today. Ms. Peterson thank you so much. Mr. Baker push the button. There you go. Thank you. Ms. Peterson thank you so much, governor baker. Thank you so much for all of you who are coming here today to talk about this in or miss this enormous epidemic. My own family has grappled with my sonon over many years today is in longterm recovery and i couldnt be prouder of anyone on this earth. He lives a great life, so recovery is very possible, and i would just like to begin with that become with that because a lot of people can find coverage. So i did start this really 15 years ago. I didnt ask to. And i wasck by this blindsided by this. This was really going on for many years in the late 90s with the 80 milligrams oxycontin the was out there and they were so available. The schools were not prepared, teachers, police officers, communities, no one was prepared , and it just sort of seeped under the doorways of all of these homes, and it really just took some time to figure out what was going on. This crisis was going on for way too long and it has evolved and changed over the years but one thing that is definite is that it has grown every year, every day, and the death toll rises to startling numbers every year. Our groups in massachusetts alone, in just the past few months, some of our families have lost two kids, not one, but two. We had one family out in the western part of the state who just buried their daughter and now they just buried their son two weeks ago. This is an issue that affects every state, it affects every community, and he chooses people. We dont choose it. To be from grateful the state of massachusetts where governor baker and secretary sutter and so many in our state have worked so hard, including director botticelli in his position now and years back. People are talking about it now. The stigma is finally changing. It is still there, but it is changing. But i can tell you firsthand when you have a son or a daughter you are watching on a daily basis lose their life, lose their dignity, lose everything, and you are just trying to reach them and you cant, that drug is so powerful. With a it begins prescription from an injury in sports, which is very common way that it starts, or if it begins with an experiment, either way, it can become a way of life, and the family tends to be forgotten a lot of times. In theht see them Emergency Rooms sitting there for 12 hours begging for a bed, only to walk out later knowing that there is nowhere for their son or daughter to go, and to go with one eyeht open, knowing that they will run out the door for the first chance that they can get, and knowing you can get a phone call that they will die tonight, because you know that that powerful addiction is calling their name. You know they cant help it. They run out the door. They go get more. Unfortunately, lately, a lot of times they are buying something that they think is heroin and it turns out to be 100 sentinel. Few parents that have gotten their medical seminar reports back recently and it says 100 sentinel. So im speaking for families today. My family, your family, everybodys family. I am asking the medical community when they write out a prescription to think about it like somebody would think about gun safety. A prescription pad can be a very, very dangerous thing. It is necessary. People need pain medicine. That, aslly aware of many people are, but you shouldnt be prescribed things without asking questions. You know, do you have addiction in your family . Are you in recovery . Or even being educated, this is an opioid, lock this up, dont leave it in your medicine cabinet. To beow, it needs protected, there need to be better education in schools, realworld prevention, it should be in science classes, there should be something taught to children that is called addiction where it changes their brain. Narcan is a very powerful tool. We are the first parents has been ablehat to pass out narcan in our 23 chapters across massachusetts. Parents who are trained to give out narcan. We have had over 80 saves. Those are Family Members saving other Family Members lives. The most important piece is calling 911. We are there to help them try to get treatment. That is were the problem can really begin, once you save their life, you know, it is really tough to get a bed. It is getting better. There is a lot of work that is being done that we are very grateful for, but there is that gap. There is opioid addiction, it takes a long time, you need longterm treatment. I can say that from seeing i soften watching somebody suffer. That myself and seeing somebody suffer. And dayeen it, day in out, and over and over. Maybe in the end, people will get their lives back. I would like to mention siblings and families. They are a really underserved population. They dont get a lot of attention with her parents are so busy trying to save that loved ones life. And it is not easy to just let go. If your son or daughter had diabetes and they werent taking their insulin and they were ing chocolate to cookies it in chocolate chip cookies and just drinking soda, you wouldnt just let them do what they needed to do, they need treatment, and they need to manage their addiction. And that is what we are here to do. Educated,dy is grandparents, ands and uncles grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors, thisy be able to quash epidemic that is taking over our country. If we dont get a handle on it now, what is going to happen in 10 years . I think about all of the orphan children out there. There are tens of thousands of children out there that are now orphans, they have no mother or no father. There are grandparents out there who are trying to take care of children and they have spent their retirement funds. So i urge everybody to learn as much as they can about how they can help their state and i am honored and i thank you very much for allowing me to be here today to speak for the families. Thank you. [applause] mr. Baker so joannes little organization, little startup, has 23 chapters in massachusetts, so that tells you how prevalent this organization is. I used to say when i was campaigning for the governor ship, i couldnt have a meeting with 20 people without having a number of them as a part of this organization. Massachusetts, in 2014, there were 1300 people who were affected by this, which is 14 people per day. 14 people a day. There are a very few things that i can think of where it has adept death toll of 14 people a day. We talk about the difficulty associated with the treatment process and the treatment pattern. We did a study of everybody who entered a detox organization in massachusetts, and about 40 of them were in a detox facility at least four time