Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024.

As my colleagues have pointed out, this legislation reauthorizes the national network of poison control centers. These centers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide free and confidential assistance with emergencies and other information to help prevent poisoning.

In fact, the Georgia Poison Center is a critical resource in Georgia, responding to over 80,000 calls last year alone. Poison control centers are also essential to combating the opioid and fentanyl crisis, because not only are these centers often the first resource people seek after an opioid overdose occurs, but they also collect real-time data to alert impacted communities about opioid abuse and misuse.

With the rise of elicit fentanyl poisonings across the country, we must prioritize these centers and support them to protect our families and communities.

Ensuring the reauthorization of these poison control centers will be another step in the right direction to combat the rise of illicit opioids that continues to plague our communities.

I would like to commend my colleagues for their continued leadership on this bipartisan legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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