Congressman Bill Foster is a scientist and businessman representing the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, a position he’s held since 2013. He also represented the 14th Congressional District of Illinois from 2008 to 2011. He is the only PhD physicist in Congress.
Bill serves on the House Financial Services Committee where he advocates for consumer protections and an economy that works for everyone. In response to the Great Recession, he helped create several important reforms in the financial services and housing markets, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Bill serves as chairman of the Financial Services Committee’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.
The heroin and opioid epidemic has claimed too many loved ones, shattered too many lives, and broken too many families. It is a public health crisis that requires immediate attention from lawmakers and the medical community. We see the consequences of this crisis in the 11th District and across Illinois. In Illinois, there were 1,835 overdose deaths in 2015, a 16 percent increase in just two years. The good news is that we have started to view addiction less as a moral failure and more as a treatable medical condition. To help those who struggle with addiction and prevent drug abuse in the first place, we need to understand the science of addiction. The drug naloxone can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. Other drugs are coming to the market which directly block cravings for opiates and greatly reduce the probability of relapse. In order to truly address the opioid crisis, we need to work to prevent addiction before it takes hold, and expand treatment options for individuals who struggle with opioid dependency.