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sexielegsbeb666 -> Trump flubs another promise: Declaring the opioid crisis a ‘national emergency’ (10/26/2017 1:21:49 PM)
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Trump flubs another promise: Declaring the opioid crisis a �national emergency�
Two and a half months ago, President Trump said he was going to declare the opioid crisis a “national emergency.” Then, for a long time, he didn't.
Last week, he again said that he was about to declare it a “national emergency,” and then he reiterated that was his plan this week.
He's still not going to do it — not really.
Trump will declare the opioid crisis a “public health emergency” Thursday, rather than a “national emergency.” That may seem like quibbling with the president's words, but the latter would carry significantly more weight. The Post's Jenna Johnson reports:
. . . The president will stop short of declaring a more sweeping national state of emergency that would have given states access to funding from the federal Disaster Relief Fund, just as they would be following a tornado or hurricane. Officials who briefed reporters said that declaring that sort of emergency is not a good fit for a longtime crisis and did not offer authorities that the government doesn't already have.
But as the New York Times notes, a “national emergency” would have “triggered the rapid allocation of federal funding to address the issue.” A public health emergency does not do that by itself. Several experts on the opioid crisis are bashing the move as a half-measure, NPR reports. In contrast, other public health officials, including some who served in the Obama administration, are arguing that the "public health emergency" is indeed a better fit.
Guns kill 12,000-40,000 a year.
Opioid kill 13,000-33,000 a year
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