Barbara Lee

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, Sen. Ed Markey, Colleagues Urge Biden-Harris Administration to Enact Comprehensive Fentanyl Harm Reduction Strategy

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) Tuesday led 18 of their colleagues in urging the Biden-Harris administration to develop and publicly announce a national fentanyl harm reduction strategy specifically focused on enhancing public health infrastructure and addressing the collateral consequences that stem from drug arrests and convictions.

Published

7 months ago

October 10, 2023

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Special to The Post

The lawmakers emphasized that this strategy should support increased availability of local overdose prevention centers (OPCs) and expanded access to vital medical interventions, including naloxone, drug testing strips, sterile syringes and pipes, methadone, and buprenorphine.

According to the most recent data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 109,593 people in the United States died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in January 2023. Of this figure, a staggering 67% of deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

Fentanyl is involved in more deaths of Americans under the age of 50 than any other cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide and other accidents.

The lawmakers urged the administration to:

Deploy federal resources to enable agencies to better identify and repeal collateral consequences that result from drug possession arrests and convictions, such as the drug felony ban on federal food security programs;
Improve equitable access to effective harm reduction services — which involves an examination of barriers that community-based syringe services programs may face in applying for federal funds, such as reporting requirements that incorporate personally identifiable information — and adopt policies that minimize those barriers; and
Close research gaps and undertake a comprehensive evidence review on the role of distribution of safer smoking supplies in harm reduction measures, including engagement and retention, risks for overdose and infectious diseases, referral and linkage to other services, and health equity.

The lawmakers wrote, “Furthermore, strong evidence indicates that (Outpatient Procedure Programs) reduce the transmission of HIV and hepatitis, prevent overdose deaths, reduce public injections and the volume of shared or discarded syringes, and increase the number of drug users who enter treatment programs. The Biden-Harris administration should set forth federal policy to support the availability and expansion of OPCs as effective harm reduction tools.

“Further criminalizing fentanyl and doubling down on punitive drug policies only complicates our efforts to address the overdose crisis; people are deterred from seeking needed medical help, and illicit drug manufacturers and sellers are incentivized to create new and increasingly deadly drugs that aren’t covered by existing criminal laws,” they continued. “With the Biden-Harris administration’s recent announcement of a plan to address the growing threat of fentanyl, we urge you to take every opportunity to prevent fentanyl-related overdoses from claiming scores of American lives daily.”

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Rep. Barbara Lee, CBC Members, Raise Concerns Over Layoffs of Black Tech Workersi2s

In 2015, the CBC launched Tech 2020 to ensure that Black Americans would be better represented in the industry by 2020. However, Lee says those tech companies that pledged to be more inclusive are falling short of their promise.

Published

4 months ago

December 26, 2023

Oakland Post

Rep. Barbara Lee

By Post Staff

Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and several other Congressional Black Caucus members have written a letter to Julie Su, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, addressing the disproportionate layoffs of Black tech employees.

“We write to express our concerns with recent reports highlighting the impacts of widespread layoffs within the tech industry and its disproportionate impacts on the African American community and women,” the letter stated.

“Tech companies who previously agreed to address bias and discrimination and create greater opportunities in the workforce are now quietly defunding diversity pledges,” the letter continued.

Lee told the Grio, “We’ve been fighting for justice and for economic parity and security as part of the mission of the CBC,” she said, “and so when we established Tech 2020, it was about equity and inclusion.”

“Now with all the Supreme Court decisions and with all of the backsliding, especially by Republicans, it’s very important that we be very assertive in our fight for equity and justice within the private sector and public sector,” she said.

According to the letter, since the beginning of 2023, more than 240,000 tech workers have been laid off, more than 50% increase from 2022.

Lee found that minorities and women make up most of the tech layoffs that have occurred this year.

“If you don’t have African Americans developing content,” Lee said, “then we’re going to have Black people, Brown people [and] women disproportionately impacted.”

“This country is supposed to be a representative democracy where you include people, and you don’t discriminate against them,” she added. “When you see the disproportionate numbers of people being laid off, then that is a red flag that it could be discrimination occurring against these workers and employees.”

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Congresswoman Lee Releases Statement on Vandalism of Lake Merritt Menorah

Published

4 months ago

December 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Chabad of Oakland’s menorah at Lake Merritt on Dec. 10, before it was vandalized (right) and graffiti left where the menorah stood before it was pulled down. (Photos/Courtesy Chabad of Oakland)

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the destruction of the large Menorah on display at Lake Merritt in Oakland:

“I’m deeply saddened and disheartened that the Lake Merritt Menorah was destroyed earlier this week. My heart and prayers go out to the Jewish community in Oakland, and I strongly condemn this vile act of antisemitism.”

“Oaklanders salvaged the menorah and gathered together (Wednesday evening) to celebrate its re-lighting, spreading love and support in the way only Oakland does. I’m proud of my constituents. We will not let hate win.”