A Prayer for Our Country

Friends,

"Preserve me O Lord for in thee do I put my trust." I start each day off with this verse from Psalm 16:1, and last week it helped provide comfort as we received news that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

Renee and I offer our prayers to President Trump and the First Lady, as well as their entire family. As with all Americans who have been affected by this virus, we lift them up in prayer for a quick recovery. We also continue to pray for all of our leaders and those working night and day to develop a vaccine and therapeutics.

As we already know, COVID-19 does not discriminate on who it affects. Workers, families and small businesses are hurting in North Carolina and need relief. Unfortunately, Washington Democrats refused to work with us on their latest COVID-19 legislation last week, but I continue my call for Congress to come together to address the real needs of the American people. It is long past time for us to put politics behind us and work on real bipartisan solutions. While that remains my commitment, I am hopeful that together we will emerge from this challenging time stronger than before.

One problem I have paid particularly close attention to as the pandemic has gone on is the opioid epidemic. According to the American Medical Association, more than 40 states have reported increases in opioid-related mortality during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, overdoses rose almost 18% after stay-at-home orders were implemented across the country.

As part of my commitment to combat the opioid epidemic, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, I invited White House National Drug Control Policy Director Jim Carroll to Cabarrus County last week. Known as President Trump's "Drug Czar," Director Carroll first joined me at Cabarrus Health Alliance to showcase the efforts of the Substance Use Network project, an initiative focused on helping pregnant women recover from opioid and substance abuse. Following the tour with Dr. Russell Suda, Director Carroll and I held a roundtable discussion at the Concord Police Department with Chief Gary Gacek, Rep. Wayne Sasser and members of local law enforcement, medical professionals, school administrators and community organizations.

I was honored to host Director Carroll in Cabarrus County to showcase our leading efforts and hear from the community about how Congress and the Administration can build on our progress to combat the opioid epidemic. After President Trump declared the epidemic a national emergency in 2017, Congress got to work and passed the largest response to a drug crisis ever - the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. We accomplished a lot with that bill, but I know that work isn't done. Like COVID-19, working together, we will continue to fight the opioid epidemic and provide support to those struggling with substance use disorder. If you or someone you know needs assistance, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 24-hour hotline is 1-800-662-HELP.

While COVID-19 continues to create challenges, I was happy to share some good news last week.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it is expanding the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to include veterans injured before 9/11. This expansion was included as part of the VA MISSION Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in 2018. While this expansion is a great step forward, as Fort Bragg's Congressman I believe we must do more to improve the Caregiver program and care for our veterans. That's why I introduced the bipartisan Care for the Veteran Caregiver Act. I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue advancing this legislation and providing for those who take care of our veterans. For more information, as well as for helpful resources like the Veteran Crisis Hotline (1-800-273-8255), visit Hudson.house.gov/veterans.

These are challenging times, but my commitment to our military, their families and our veterans remains the same, just as it does for combating COVID-19 and the opioid epidemic. Together, we will overcome the challenges before us and continue to make this country the greatest country on earth.

Until next week,

Richard Hudson

Member of Congress