mr. cummings: thank you very much, mr. chairman. want to first of all take -- mention one thing that's so important to me, mr. chairman, to the members of this panel. i cannot come into this hospital without saying thank you to hopkins for saving my life. spent 60 days here this summer. a lot in this building. so i want to thank -- i see a lot of white coats out there and others. pass the word. i thank you for what you have done for me and my family. i want to begin by thanking chairman gowdy for calling today's very important hearing. for bringing the oversight committee to baltimore. i thank my colleagues for coming to baltimore and certainly my colleagues who represent baltimore acongress with me, dutch ruppersberger and john sarbanes, i thank you for being here. i have been in congress now for 20 years, and i have been to and seen a lot of field hearings. i have never seen as many members attend any field hearing since i have been in congress. i believe today's remarkable turnout reflects the fact in a the opioid crisis -- that

mr. cummings: by the pennies? dr. wen: in other countries. mr. cummings: wow. thank you very much. >> first question for all of you, on the break i ran into a woman down here that was very interesting who, you know, had a relative who had been through treatment. mr. grothman: dozens of times. which kind of obviously means the treatment doesn't always work. i'd like you folks to comment on percentage-wise how often in your experience and programs you deal with treatment works and what distinguishes the programs that are successful to those programs that are not successful? and also, what percentage of admissions do you expect to be successful with regard to treatment? >> well, i could begin and say that there's no question that opioid use disorders are really, really serious and individuals that have opioid addiction remain with a life-long vulnerability to the products. dr. alexander: and this is one of the reasons that it's so important that we reduce the overprescribing of prescription opioids in the first place. mr. grothman: i only have so much time. can yo

i can tell you as the chairman referenced in his remarks and mr. cummings in his. i am acutely aware as a governor for the state of new jersey that much divides political dialogue that makes it difficult for us to get things done. this cannot be one of them. i read the obituaries that are happening regularly in our state. in none do they designate whether the person who died was a republican or a democrat. they are a son or daughter, husband or wife. a mother or father. so i hope that what we try to do in the commission and this committee is trying to do today will help to give this problem the ability to rise above the partisanship we have in our country today. it is true this is the greatest and broadest public health epidemic of our lifetime. everything else pales in comparison to the breath of this problem. it is everywhere in america. 175 people are dying per day. for someone who comes from where i come from, the most powerful analogy is that this means that we have a september 11th every 2.5 weeks. every 2.5 weeks. i want to ask all of you and this committee.

from out moment on mr. cummings i have been hooked on this problem and saving lives. i have worked as republican governor. everyone of my 2920 days in the democratic legislature get the package that we have on this is passed overwhelmingly bipartisan majorities and i gave my state of the state in 2016 on this and package of reforms to ensure pharmaceutical companies -- a pass within 30 days and it was fine. i'm happy at any time sir by the incursion of the chairman, a few to come and speak and meet with anyone and my relationship with the president which goes back 15 years to encourage people to say this is the new water's edge in our nation's conversation. we have to end the politics here. we have to compromise with each other and there are things that my side i will have to vote on that they have some concerns about and there is some flexibility and trust the folks on the side of the aisle may have to give the governor's which you are not normally accustomed to doing that i can speak to that directly and you have my word that i will not only speak up publicly but i

mr. cummings: you just mentioned a word i think we all need to center on. stigma. you know, mr. president, when people find out that there is someone on drugs in their midst, a lot of times they look at it as a moral failing. in other words, this person just can't make decisions right or they are weak or they are looking for the easy way out. a lot of times people, by the way, are therefore afraid to even come forth. the employer will say, wait a minute, i have 10 people who need jobs and all with no drug problems and i have this one person who has a drug problem, may be a good employee but why do i want to risk that? that is a tough one. getting past that, but in talking to, the people, former drug addicts i have talked to, they tell me, basically a person has to hit rock bottom. they have to get that treatment and get it quickly. i think that is what we have to work more and more towards, trying to get that treatment and get it quickly. but there is another thing we have to make sure we do. make sure the treatment that is given is efficient. you have a lot of people -- [applau