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The United States accounts for about 1/4 of the estimated number of drug-related deaths worldwide, including overdose deaths. Overdose deaths in the U.S. more than tripled during the period of 1999-2015, from 16,849 to 52,404.

The U.S. averages 120 drug overdose deaths per day.

Today is International Overdose Awareness Day. The opioid epidemic is taking the lives of too many Americans in communities all across the country. We all know someone who has been affected -- this is a crisis that spans urban and rural communities, socioeconomic divides, and state borders.

The federal government needs to better empower state and local governments to address this crisis. That's why the House of Representatives delivered a $781 million increase in resources to the local and state level for fighting the opioid epidemic -- including grants, treatment and prevention, and support for law enforcement.

In the fight against the opioid epidemic, we're all in this together.