BIG NEWS Trump RFK Jr Launch Great American Recovery Initiative to Tackle Addiction Crisis AC1G

executive order to calm the scourge of addiction and substance abuse big deal in this country probably in every country we're calling it the great recovery and my co-chair secretary is Robert F Kennedy and senior adviser to the White House Great American Recovery Initiative Catherine Burgum thank you both very much who's doing a better job thanks as well to Attorney General Pam Bondi secretary Doug Burgum secretary Scott Turner secretary Doug Collins special envoy Steve Woodcuff who's got some pretty good news chief of staff Susie Wiles FDA Commissioner dr. Marty McCarry NIH director dr. J by the chair area administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicare and Medicaid services dr. Mehmet Oz who's doing a fantastic job and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Sarah Carter I also want to introduce a great friend of mine who happened to be here and he's very much committed to this he knows how important it is for our country's built a tremendous American company it's called weather tech I guess you've seen the ads I've seen the ads I think they're great ads but more importantly it's a great product David McNeil David congratulations on what you've done it's incredible mr. president and the president of weather tech Ryan Granger Ryan congratulations what a great job they built an American company and it's a thriving company too so and with a great product great to be here in America those in the private sector it always by the floor mats but now that I'm the now that a president I no longer have to buy floor mats but you made a many of those with me today have personally known the heartache of a loved one taken by drug or alcohol addiction I do just like millions of American families every year we lose an estimated 300,000 people to drug and alcohol abuse and the real number is probably much much higher than that thankfully drug overdose deaths plummeted by 21% in the last year we're working very hard on it we've closed the southern border seized over 47 million fentanyl pills and 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder that's a record and I have formally designated dr. and I tell you what we have a group of doctors some of them behind me who have just been incredible and they've really wanted this designated the drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and for some reason they didn't want to do that until we came along but they are indeed foreign terrorist organizations with our action in the Gulf of America that sounds so nice when I hear the Gulf of America drugs entering our country by sea are down 97% so when you see the boats being hit those boats kill on average 25,000 people a boat so that's 25,000 I would assume mostly American lives but lives are being saved now we're taking a bold action to help Americans struggling with all forms of addiction so they can get the help and the support that they need to free themselves from the horrible burden of dependency the Great American Recovery Initiative will bring together federal state local and private sector resources to support addiction recovery treatment and prevention and it will help mobilize the full resources and authority of the federal government to help stop this tremendous plague and I'd now like to invite Secretary Kennedy to start and then Catherine Bergham and then I'll sign the order which I've just signed and want to make sure the signature was good took my time and we can let me just see pretty good not not pretty good let's give it a 10 okay for Catherine but I'd like Bobby to say a few words in Catherine thank you very much everybody please mr. president thank you for your leadership for signing an executive order that tells the truth about one of the greatest challenges that our country faces addiction is not a moral failure it is a disease it's chronic it's treatable and for too long our nation has responded with fragmentation with stigmatization and silence instead of science compassion and coordination today President Trump changes that with a Great American Recovery Initiative we finally bring the full strength of the federal government together across health care law enforcement housing labor faith communities in the private sector to save lives restore families and rebuild communities that addiction has hollowed out nearly 50 million Americans suffer from substance use disorder many never received treatment even more don't believe that help is possible that is not because recovery doesn't work it's because our systems have failed to reach the people where they are early enough long enough and with dignity this initiative fixes that we will align federal programs instead of letting them operate in silos we will set clear measurable goals and report honestly to the American people we will use evidence-based care modern science and continuous support just as we do for heart disease diabetes and other chronic illnesses we will focus on prevention before addiction takes hold we will intervene early we will expand access to treatment that leads to real long-term recovery and we will support re-entry because recovery does not end when treatment ends it succeeds when people return to their families their jobs their communities with purpose and with hope as co-chair of this initiative alongside of Katherine Burgum whose leadership and commitment strengthens this work I pledge urgency accountability and honesty Katherine and I share the experience of having been addicted and long-term recovery almost everybody in this room and almost everybody in our country has been touched by addiction Steve Whitcoft who was here had an extraordinary son Andrew who was a superstar boy a straight-a student an athlete and and a and a wonderful leader and lost that son to addiction President Trump has talked about his own families a struggle with addiction all of us are touched if it touches these people it can hurt every American and President Trump has often talked about with compassion about the families who lose children to this disease a hundred thousand children a year until recently now it's about 76,000 those families are devastated forever and the cost of it to our country not only in dollars but in just the malaise and the despair that it imposes is incalculable we are going to listen to states localities frontline providers and tribal nations we will partner with communities and faith-based organizations we will work with employers clinicians and recovery leaders who know what works on the ground President Trump has already acted decisively securing the border against deadly drugs signing the whole Fentanyl Act strengthening treatment programs expanding access to naloxone medication-assisted treatments and investing billions in prevention and recovery this executive order builds on that record and accelerates it recovery is not a side issue it's an economic issue a workforce issue a family issue a national security issue when Americans recover communities grow stronger and families heal children thrive and when we confront addiction with courage instead of complacency we reclaim the promise of our country this initiative is about life it's about responsibility and it's about building a great American recovery together with this executive order and with major announcements that I will announce next week we are taking decisive action to make America healthy again thank you thank you Bobby and great job and you're doing a fantastic job and I saw his wife yesterday and she confirmed that he's doing a fantastic job so she's on your side you know that she's great and I thank you for being here we appreciate it thank you so much your leadership today relative to this announcement about the great American recovery is a gift to all Americans who are suffering from the brain disease of addiction I also want to thank first lady Melania Trump for her leadership during the your first camp your first administration and now that the work she's doing championing youth and children especially related to foster care where early trauma and instability are often consequences of the disease of addiction addictions touch this administration in real and profound ways President Trump you've openly spoke about your brother Fred who struggled with addiction shaped your life and your understanding of this disease and Susie Wiles carries the lived experience of her father the late great Pat Summerall whose recovery journey became a source of hope for millions Vice President Vance has shared his story of his mother's battle and recovery and as Secretary Kennedy just said he brings his own lived experience proof that recovery is not theoretical it is possible these stories matter because they are not isolated they reflect the reality of the over 190 million Americans that's half our nation who are impacted in some way by the disease of addiction and I am one of them I started drinking in high school and I was a blackout drinker from the start for 20 years I struggled relapsing constantly constantly starting over constantly trying to stay sober and failing I reached a point where I truly did not believe there was one single reason for me to keep living and I was suicidal at the end of my drinking one day I was out walking alone I didn't have faith I wasn't religious but something in me said I should ask for help into and out loud to no one because it was just me I said I don't know if anyone is there but I need help and that was the day I became sober 15 years later I found myself somehow standing in front of people as First Lady of North Dakota thanks to him and but I was asking people to share their stories openly about addiction so we could eliminate the shame and stigma so more people would reach out for help and more lives could be saved and today I'm standing here in this incredibly beautiful Oval Office and if not for the grace of God I would not be alive today with over 23 years in recovery that's why I'm here my message is simple never give up hope for recovery Mr. President I also want to thank you for allowing me to stand here with you today I was in this building in 2017 when the administration announced the national response to the opioid crisis and nearly a decade later the crisis remains and in many ways it has grown worse not because we lacked compassion not because we lack effort but because we never fully aligned our system with the truth addiction is not a moral failure it is not a character flaw and it's not simply a behavioral issue addiction is a lifelong chronic relapsing medical disease as real as diabetes cancer and heart disease and when we fail to treat it as such we don't treat the disease and we pay mightily for the consequences emergency rooms jails foster care overseas