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WHEELING -- The White House Council of Economic Advisers said the nation's opioid epidemic removed $504 billion from the economy in 2015, so congressional candidate Ralph Baxter said he believes spending "$10 billion a year" to combat the crisis is in order.
As the former CEO of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Baxter said bringing more jobs to economically challenged states such as West Virginia is key to overcoming the opioid epidemic, a "scourge" that he said leads to an average of 175 deaths throughout the nation each day.
"We've had this dramatic loss of jobs," Baxter, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, said during a Monday news conference at West Virginia's First State Capitol. "You can see that pattern throughout the U.S. where the problem is most severe.
"More jobs will be an important step to a less drug-addicted West Virginia."
Baxter is seeking his party's nomination for the seat U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., now holds.
In the early 2000s, Orrick opened its Global Operations Center at the former Wheeling Stamping building on Main Street.
Today, the facility houses a myriad of lawyers, paralegals, office professionals and other employees.
Baxter said Monday that creating more jobs in depressed areas is key to combating the opioid problem over the long-term. However, in the short-term, he said the federal government must make a larger financial commitment to combating the problem.
"We simply don't have enough money to put toward the programs our people are willing to implement," Baxter said. "We need to provide the federal money.
"This is not going to be something we can address with a modest amount of money."
Baxter said the $10 billion annual price tag is only an estimate, but he said the cost of failing to act would be even higher in its expense to society.
"We cannot afford not to do something like this," he said.
When asked directly if the pharmaceutical industry caused the opioid epidemic, Baxter said, "We are all responsible."
"Pain was an issue and the pharmaceutical industry wanted to address it and they did," he said. "It turned out it was addictive -- very addictive.
"The people who are selling these drugs to our citizens have deep, deep resources, and very effective procedures to sell what they are selling," he said.
If elected, Baxter said he would like see Congress recruit 5,000 college graduates to work as AmeriCorps VISTA members in helping with prevention, law enforcement and treatment. For a three-year commitment to service, participants would receive a monthly stipend and see their student loans forgiven.
Baxter also said the federal government should officially declare the crisis a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act, while ensuring better coordination between local, state and federal authorities.
"We don't have to re-invent the wheel here, nor create a new bureaucracy," he said. "We have treatment programs and strategies that work. We must have the political will to allocate the necessary resources to enable them to succeed."
Baxter's opponent in the May 8 Democratic primary, Kendra Fershee, acknowledges the opioid epidemic.
"We must hold big drug companies accountable," she said. "This multi-billion-dollar industry is lining their pockets while our neighbors, friends, and loved ones are suffering the life-ending consequences."