WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is preparing to declare a national emergency on the opioid crisis , following a recommendation made by a White House commission last month .
The opioid crisis is an emergency and Im saying officially right now it is an emergency. Its a national emergency, he told reporters Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, following a lunch with Vice President Mike Pence .
Were going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis, he continued, adding that he was drawing documents now to make the official declaration.
Trumps comments mark a reversal from earlier this week, when he was briefed on the matter in a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and other White House officials.
According to Price, Trump did not think the situation required an official emergency declaration, an action which would allow him to allocate additional government resources to fighting the epidemic.
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We believe that at this point that the resources that we need or the focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crisis at this point can be addressed without the declaration of an emergency, Price said Tuesday, following the meeting.
Last month, a White House commission led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), released a report recommending that Trump take urgent action to address the crisis .
With approximately 142 Americans dying every day, America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks, the report said. Your declaration would empower your cabinet to take bold steps and would force Congress to focus on funding and empowering the executive branch even further to deal with this loss of life.
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