>> in the weekly address, rapper up yodare discusses addiction and the president discusses why he wants to increase access to recovery services. deliversan sullivan the republican response. he talks about the economy during the obama administration. president obama: hi, everybody. i've a special guest this week. macklemore. for those who do not share the same love for the pop that i do, he's a grammy-winning artist, foralso an advocate

disease we whisper about, the disease of addiction. macklemore: hey, everybody. i'm here with president obama because i take this personally. i had a problem. if i did not get the help i needed when i needed it, i would not be here today. i want to help others face the same challenges i did. dosesent obama: drug or -- overdoses take more lives than car accidents. a lot of times there from legal drugs prescribed by a doctor. addiction does not always start in a dark alley. it often starts in a medicine cabinet. a new study released this month from the 44% of americans know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers. macklemore: i did not just know someone. i lost someone. my friend kevin overdosed on painkillers when he was just 21 years old. addiction is like any other disease. it does not discriminate. it does not care what color you

are, whether you are a guy or girl, rich or poor, whether you live in an inner-city, suburb, or rural america. this does not happen this to other people's kids or some other neighborhood. it can happen to any of us. is whynt obama: that talking about this crisis is not enough. we need to get more treatment to people who need it. my administration is working with communities to reduce overdose deaths, including with medication. we are working with law enforcement to get people into treatment instead of jail. obamacare, health care plans in the marketplace have to cover treatment. macklemore: along with a 12-step program, treatment has saved my life and recovery works. we need our leaders in washington to fund it and people need to know how to find it. president obama: we all need to do more to make that happen. i have asked congress to expand .ccess to recovery services

this week, the house passed several bills about opioids, which is great, but unless they in moree investments treatment, it won't get americans the help that they need. atop of funding, doctors need more training about the power of the pain medications they prescribed and the risks pain medications carry. another way our country can help those suffering is to make this conversation public. macklemore: when you going through it, it's hard to imagine there could be anything worse than addiction. but the shame and stigma associated with the disease keeps to me people from seeking the help they need. addiction is not a personal choice or a personal failing, and sometimes it takes more than a strong will to get better. it takes a strong community and accessible resources. president obama: the good news is there is hope. when we talk about a punitive use as the public health problem it is, more people will seek the help they need.

more will find the strength to recover, just like macklemore and millions of americans have. we will see fewer preventable deaths and fewer broken families. macklemore: we have to tell people it is ok to ask for help. we have to make sure that they get it. president obama: even if we have not fought this battle in our own lives, there is a good chance we know someone who has or who is. president obama and i had a powerful conversation at the white house about a punitive use and what we can do about it. you can catch it this summer on mtv and to find treatment in your area, call 1-800-662-help. president obama: thanks, everybody. thanks, macklemore. have a great weekend. i am danullivan: sullivan. i am proud to represent the great state of alaska in the u.s. senate. they i want to talk about

economy and the lost decade of economic growth under the obama administration. a few weeks ago, it was announced that america's gross onlytic product grew at one half of 1% during the first quarter of 2016. rose domestic product is an important indicator of the health of our economy. it measures progress. the essence of the american dream. .5 gdp growth is a reminder of what we already know. our economy is stagnant. the american dream has become a mirage for millions of american families. growth for gdp america is nearly 4%. the obama administration annual rate has been about 1.5%. gdpact, a never hit 3% growth and one quarter. we can do so much better for america. but president obama tells us differently.

bylowers expectations calling his very weak economic he has"the new normal." even taken to bragging about his administration's economic record. in a recent speech, he actually said that we are "at her off today than we were just seven years ago." -- "better off today than we were just seven years anyone who says differently is not telling the truth. i hate to tell the president this. even bill clinton said this about the obama economy -- "millions and millions and millions of people look at the pretty picture of america president obama has painted and they can't find themselves in it ." it's not hard to see why they cannot find themselves in president obama's pretty picture. during eight years of the obama administration, the number of americans participating in the lowestorce is at its

rate since 1978. people have given up looking for a job. fallen intons have poverty. family paychecks have declined. the number of families on food stamps has skyrocketed by 40% -- all during the obama years. and the percentage of americans owning a home is down 5.2%. more and more americans believe andre on the wrong track that their kids will not be as well off as they are today. is raised onerica the promise of progress. that is losing out to president obama's surrender in his new normal economy. something is terribly wrong in our country when a leading democrat recently bragged that "we are going to put a lot of coal miners and a lot of coal companies out of business." but it doesn't have to be this

way. strong economic growth that made the united states the greatest country on earth. we have a moral imperative to recognize that we have experienced a loss to decade of economic growth and opportunity and we have to change this. we have a moral imperative to recognize the rates of poverty -- what the rates of poverty does to our citizens. it creates holes in the social fabric that holds us together and how and when our citizens fall through the holes, a piece -- aivas goes piece of all of us goes with them. we have a moral imperative to grow our economy again and create economic opportunity for middle-class families. the united states of america. our economy and workers have been the envy of the world for decades. the economic future for our children can be limitless if we have a federal government that

opportunity, not the obstacle it is today. to do all of this, we need a change in washington, a change that does not settle for the "new normal" economy. we can, we will, and we must use >> tomorrow, president obama gives the commencement speech to the graduating class at rutgers university. live coverage begins at 12:50 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> this week on "the communicators," a visit to a community -- a consumer electronics show on capitol hill. cta's biggest show is in las vegas in the winter. every spring, the association sponsors a show where vendors and technology companies come to capitol hill to