. >> as chair of this committee, i've worked to ensure that every person dealing with addiction can access comprehensive treatment and care and when it comes to the bad actors that fuel this crisis, i have use this gavel to hold them accountable for their actions. this feeling comes i recognize myself for an opening statement. as chair of this committee, i've worked to ensure that every person dealing with addiction can access comprehensive treatment and care and when it comes to the bad actors that fuel this crisis, i have use this gavel to hold them accountable for their actions. this feeling comes at a very difficult moment for our nation. overdose deaths in america have been rising for more than two decades and during the coronavirus pandemic, fatal overdoses skyrocketed to historic levels. tragically, overdose deaths increased by more than 36% 2020 and another 15% in 2021 with more than 100,000 lives lost. biden/harrid democrats in congress have taken aggressive action to address the supply and demand factors contributing to this races. president biden to office we have stopped more fentanyl at the border than ever before. this administration hasn't reached drug intervention seizing 800 pounds of pencil each month. this represents a or full increase in fentanyl interdiction over the previous administration's efforts in 2019. to build on this progress from a present biden three budget all for more than 10% in additional funding for interdiction efforts, a request i hope all my colleagues will support. at the same time, the administration and congress have made significant progress in treating addition -- addiction as the disease it is by expanding access to treatment and rare -- and wraparound treatment. the law. the first federal fund for harm reduction services. the administrations evidence has invested tens of millions of dollars in initiatives to reach underserved communities, combat stigma and expand access to life-saving treatment. these programs save lives and this administration has prioritize them also today we will hear from dr. rahul gupta. he will testify about the biden administrations 2022 drug control strategy. this national strategy focuses on what works, it uses evidence-based strategies to will them the progress already made by the biden administration and outlines a plan to invest in communities, present substance misuse and increase access to treatment and recovery services. the national strategy takes bold steps to ensure that medication to reverse overdoses is available to anyone at a moment of crisis. a strong bipartisan priority that will save lives. a strategy for most access to fentanyl test strips which are a vital tool for overdose death preventions among young adults. the national strategy also builds on the administrations progress to disrupt the supply of dangerous substances into the u.s. by targeting transnational criminal organizations that are manufacturing and trafficking fentanyl. this year's national strategy also goes further than any prior drug control strategy to address inequities that lead people in some communities with insufficient access to health care and makes them more likely to be pulled into the middle justice system as a result of drug misuse. the overdose crisis affects every community, represented by our committee members today. both democrats and republicans, we owe it to our constituents to do everything we and to build on the administrations progress and work together to advanced solutions to this public health races. that includes sending a strong bipartisan mental health bill to the present desk and a substance abuse disorder package that the house approved last week. it also means passing hr 63 11, the care act, a bill i authored and introduced with senator elizabeth warren and others that advances the objectives of the national drug control strategy by providing crucial resources to the local communities on the front lines of this public health crisis. i thank the director for appearing before the committee today and for the biden harris administration continued commit and to ending our nations overdose crisis. i now yield to my good friend, ranking member, for his opening statement. >> thank you, chairwoman maloney for calling this hearing today. our committee's mission is government efficiency and effective us. our committee's mission is to protect taxpayer dollars from rod waste and abuse. our mission is to haul -- hold government officials accountable. republicans on the committee have been pushing to hold hearings on the efforts by the biden administration finally have a top-level biden official testifying today. this is long past due. i urge the chairwoman to old more hearings when we can examine the many crises impacting america today. i thank you for testifying. there was an investigation into america's fentanyl crisis. we sent letters to the office of drug control policy, customs and border production -- protection and the dea to address the southern border and overdose epidemic. we appreciate the response from your agency but many important questions remain unanswered. one of these outstanding questions is how president biden's border crisis and this administration opening border policies have aiding and abetting trafficking of drugs like fentanyl in our country. fentanyl is being smuggled across the southwest border at unprecedented rates. u.s. customs and border protection seized over 11,000 pounds in fentanyl in fiscal year 2021. that's more fentanyl season one fiscal year than fiscal years 2020 and 2019 combined. the standard fatal overdose of fentanyl is two milligrams. 11,000 pounds of fentanyl is more than 5 billion milligrams. that means we seized about 2.5 billion lethal doses of fentanyl and one fiscal year. that does not include all the fentanyl we know has been smuggled across our borders undetected. cartels are overwhelming border patrol agents to provide a steady supply for dealers and users alike. the primary question is, what is president biden going to do to secure the border and cut off the free flow of illicit drugs into our country? also wrote an open letter to law-enforcement seeking information about how the fentanyl rices is impacting local communities. we received distressing responses from communities across the country. they tell us the devastating effect fentanyl has had young lives lost and families destroyed. i ask unanimous consent to submit these response letters into the record. >> no objection. without objection. >> on top of the crises at the southern order, democrat locked -- lockdowns in school closures because mental health issues for students leading to historic overages rates. according to preliminary data from the cdc, more than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in the u.s. in 2021. that's a nearly 15% increase over 2020 which is already 831% increase over 2019. our nations mental health crisis continues to worsen due to the economic our chip and supply chain crises caused by president biden's disastrous policies. it's shown that stress over money can make people 20 times more likely to attempt suicide. inflation remains at a four -- a 40 year high-end gas prices are the highest in american history and many families are stressed, wondering how they will make ends meet. tragically, fentanyl overdoses are becoming the leading cause of death for americans 18-35. more than covid, car accidents, gun violence or suicide. teenagers and young adults are turning to social media apps to find xanax and other pills, many of which are counterfeit and laced with fentanyl. fentanyl has often been founded counterfeit marijuana. we must act now to secure our southern borders and stem the flow of illicit fentanyl. it's heartbreaking to see how desperately people are trying to escape the impact of president biden's policies. this administration has flooded the market with illicit drugs so they can do just that. thank you, madam chair and i yield back. . >> the gentleman yields back i would note in response to your statement that we have already held more than 25 hearings this congress with biden administration officials and others. today is the 25th that i have a list of these hearings and without objection i will enter it into the record and now i will introduce our witness. we hear from dr. rahul gupta, the director of national drug control strategy. please raise your right hand. i don't see him up there. is he on? dr. gupta: i am on. >> please raise your right hand, do you swear that the testimony were about to be giving is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? dr. gupta: i do. >> the witness answered in the affirmative. thank you and without objection, your written statement will be made of the record. you are now recognized for your testimony. dr. gupta: members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify about resident bidens national drug control strategy. it was released at a time of unprecedented challenges. for far too many years, the opioid crisis has ripped of the social fabric of our nation and destroyed lives and livelihoods. the center for disease control and prevention estimates that overdoses have claimed over one million lives to date. in 2022 alone, -- in 2021 alone, we lost a life every five minutes. these are family members, coworkers and neighbors. overdose deaths in america had more than doubled in 2019 and the covid-19 pandemic amplify the difficult oldies in accessing treatment. as a practicing physician for the last 25 years, i have treated many patients with addictions who have gone on to lead successful lives. i have also seen too many patients succumbed to their disease. i have attended far too many funerals. working in the emergency room, i have experience weeks and months where i was working and overdose every shift. behind these overdoses, there are millions of individuals experiencing nonfatal overdoses that are taxing fire fighters and the health system. these are tens of millions of americans. there are other estimates as well. the economic cost of the epidemic is $1 trillion per year. up to 26% of the loss in u.s. labor force participation can be attributed to the disease of addiction. addiction in the overdose epidemic is a nonpartisan issue which is evidenced by the fact that it touches everyone, regardless of where you live or how you vote. this is what ending the opioid epidemic is part of resident bidens agenda and why it has strong support across the country and across political parties for finding comprehensive and meaningful solutions. as the national drug enforcement policy develop this, we realize this epidemic is being driven largely by untreated diction and drug trafficking. the seven goals focused on reducing substance abuse, overdose deaths and the supply of illicit system -- a substance increasing prevention, treatment and recovery efforts. and finally improving the way the criminal justice system addresses substance abuse disorder so people can get the help they need before it's too late. there are also four key issues. it's critical we are making sure everyone in act. we are also working to ensure everyone gets the treatment. we are disrupting drug trafficking operations in the united states had a fundamental responsibility to protect and this is precisely what the biden administration is doing. we are improving data points particularly with nonfatal overdoses as they are good indicator that someone may experience a fatal one in the future. this ushers in a new era of drug policy is comprehensive, holistic and targeted to saving lives first. at this moment in history, our nation is at an inflection point. our actions must rise to the occasion by being full of innovation but also compassionate and consequential.+ the biden harris administration and drug control strategies unprecedented, evidence blueprint designed to save lives immediately, building infrastructure for treating drug addiction and disrupting drug trafficking. all the while ensuring the federal government is accountable and serves as a good steward of taxpayer dollars. saving lives is our northstar. i believe every life is precious. if this strategy is implemented as intended, we could be saving 164,000 lives over the next three years and help tens of millions of people get into treatment. the president and i are committed to seeing this through because american lives depend on it. thank you for your continued efforts to make our country safer and as president biden said, let's come together to beat this. i look forward to your questions. guest: >> the gentleman's yields back and i recognize myself or five and three question. thank you very much. for coming for the committee today and your leadership and thank you for your tireless commitment to ending the overdose prices which has devastated so many families in our country. i know this is been a top priority of the biden/harris administration since day one. in addition to issuing this year's national drug control strategy what progress has the administration made so far in expanding access to services and care to prevent overdoses and treat addiction? dr. gupta: thank you. we have had significant progress made. there are now telehealth provisions that allow providers to treat addiction across the country especially in rural areas and behind the walls. telehealth is a crucial aspect of expanding treatment stop we know that less than one out of 10 people today are getting the treatment they need. we have also allowed the dea to have a mobile methadone as well as take it -- take-home methadone. helps us expand treatment when people are dying without treatment. we are also making efforts to make sure everyone can get naloxone which three out of four, almost 80,000 people are dying because of the lack of it. at the same time, we are allowing more and more physicians and providers to be able to write prescriptions and practice guideline changes so they are able to get more treatment. our goal of treating untreated addiction, creating the infrastructure and the american rescue plan has invested for alien dollars which is unprecedented and the president has now called for an increase of $2.3 billion. $.75 of the dollar increase goes towards making sure we are expanding treatment and expanding prevention and expanding recovery services. guest: >> the coronavirus pandemic strain every aspect of the american health care system with a disproportionate burden calling on people with addiction and the providers who treat them. one with the federal government responded to this crisis was by promoting the use of telehealth to increase american access to addiction treatment. does the administration support the continued use of health flexibilities for treatment beyond the coronavirus.can you expand how was made available to people and they are made this t? dr. gupta: thank you, chairwoman. it is extremely important for president biden, for this administration to ensure that telehealth services are available and are made available beyond the public health emergency. the reason for that is, especially people in rural areas, like my home state of west virginia, are often unable to drive, not able to take the effort to get where it is needed because of the variety. these telehealth efforts allow more efforts to be provided to more people. it is a time where we need to meet people where they are and telehealth, including phone consultations, allows us to do that. and especially in communities of color who already have a difficult, delayed time accessing services, this is another service that will help us expand treatment. sen. maloney: i led nearly 100 of my colleagues on the democratic side in reintroducing the care act, landmark legislation that would provide $125 billion in new federal funding directly to communities that care providers, 10 years to overcome the overdosed crisis. we need to provide sustained, comprehensive investment and treatment and care to communities at the frontline of this crisis as our care act with due, why or why not -- care act would do, why or why not? dr. gupta: it is one of the critical aspects of this particular crisis that we provide this service to folks, not just treatment but beyond treatment to provide support, comprehensive support. it is important that we think about the ability to get people help when they need it, where they need it, and efforts like this help us get there quicker and ultimately save lives. sen. maloney: thank you. i commend the administration for its work to overcome this crisis and reduce the harm it inflicts on our society, and i am a proud partner with you in this work, and you bring invaluable experience to the country from your work in west virginia. i now call on representative norman. re -- rep. norman: thank you, chairwoman maloney. dr., thank you for taking the time to come. you said the biden administration had a top priority for protecting americans, protecting the border. did you say that? am i right? he has done a great job of protecting the border? dr. gupta: thank you, congressman, for that question. we believe strongly it is an important part of every nation to secure and protect its border. there are number things going on in this area that i think are important to note. as i visit i speak to the women and men on the border -- sen. norman: i don't mean to interrupt. i have a limited amount of time. is he taking the steps to protect, to close the border? is that what i understand you to mean? dr. gupta: congressman, thank you again. the president has taken steps to make sure our border remains secured. sen. norman: this is two different universes. you are seeing the numbers -- i assume you agree with the numbers of the illegals coming across, we will average 585,000 per month. we are up to 1.6 apprehensions. donald trump with the wall had this solved. we had 50 during the three prior years. those on the terror watch list were basically zil. this past year it is 50 on the terror watch list. how can you sit there and say this administration has a goal of protecting americans? i am construction business. we had a leak on one of our projects. we stopped to fix the leak. really, this is a mischaracterization at best for you to say this administration -- either the numbers are completely false, we are getting an unprecedented number of people coming across. we have 3 million to 5 million illegals in this country. we don't want words and we don't want hearings. we want action. all he has to do is build a wall and have a designated point of entry. how many times has the vice president into to the border that you know of? she was supposed to be those -- the czar heading this up. dr. gupta: i will leave that to the vice president to answer. what i will tell you -- sen. norman: zero. she is giggling, she is laughing. how many times have your staff been to the border? dr. gupta: thank you for that question. the first week in office i went to the southwest border and i went to mexico. recently last month i went to the border in san diego. i was able to spend a considerable amount of time. i will say, as the ranking member mentioned, since last year at the beginning we have apprehended 600,000 pounds of illicit drugs, including 11,000 pounds of internal. i will tell you -- of fentanyl. i will tell you why that is important. sen. norman: they are coming across. that is why the cartels are winning. they are making $1 billion a month. they are unfettered coming into this country. the blood is on the hands of this administration, what he is doing. police officers are sick and tired of the dangers they face on the streets in south carolina because of his inaction. this is one of the tragedies that will be hard to walk back that this administration will not take ownership to start counting things he has done -- start touting things he has done. our sovere