[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 26, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1771-S1772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HEROIN AND OPIOID ADDICTION

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last week I had the privilege of chairing a 
field hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Rutland, VT. The 
committee received powerful testimony about community solutions to 
breaking the cycle of addiction to heroin and other opioids. The 
hearing marked the fourth time in the past 6 years that the Judiciary 
Committee traveled to Vermont to explore issues related to drug abuse. 
As in many States, opioid addiction has ripped through parts of 
Vermont. Overdoses have reached record levels, while communities have 
struggled to keep pace with the demand for treatment. Sadly, this story 
is not unique. We are confronting a localized problem with regional 
echoes and national implications. Some of what we face is similar to 
the addiction outbreaks in large cities, and other aspects are 
particular to rural areas.
  What struck me in Rutland last week is how Vermonters have worked 
together--and are continuing to work together--to get ahead of this 
problem, with innovative prevention, treatment, and law enforcement 
strategies.
  The city of Rutland has an important story to tell. Its addiction 
crisis has received national attention. But I brought the Judiciary 
Committee to Rutland not to explore the horrors the city once faced; 
rather, I wanted us to learn how the people of Rutland are reclaiming 
their community, block by block. One effort that has shown great 
promise is Project VISION--Viable Initiatives and Solutions through 
Involvement of Neighborhoods--developed by city and community leaders 
to address the many issues related to opioid abuse: addiction and 
treatment, prevention, quality of life, and crime and safety issues.
  The chief of the Rutland Police Department, James Baker, testified at 
the hearing. Chief Baker explained that the police department for the 
first time is housing social workers, a domestic violence advocate, a 
mental health specialist, an early intervention coordinator, an 
assistant attorney general, a school resource officer, a crime analyst, 
and a building inspector. All are working in concert toward one goal: 
``Not on our streets; not in our town.'' When Chief Baker asked how 
many in the audience were connected with Project VISION, over half of 
the standing-room-only audience raised their hands. Project VISION has 
proven adept at pursuing emerging, community-driven strategies. Just 
this week, community leaders and police in Rutland are considering 
implementing drug market intervention. This is a promising tactic 
designed to clear neighborhoods of nonviolent street-level dealers by 
bringing them in front of community leaders and giving them a stark 
choice: Stop selling today or go to jail tomorrow. Rutland has clearly 
risen to the challenge of combatting heroin and opioid abuse.
  Other witnesses at the hearing described communities in action, 
working together to find inventive and tailored solutions. The U.S. 
attorney for Vermont, Tristram Coffin, who has had remarkable success 
leading enforcement efforts in the State, described how he has taken 
the message of prevention to Vermont schools, partnering with the 
father of a young man who tragically died of a heroin overdose. Dr. 
Harry Chen, the Vermont Department of Health commissioner and a career 
emergency room physician, described what it means to recognize 
addiction as a public health issue, expanding access to prevention and 
treatment services to all corners of the state. Mary Alice McKenzie, 
director of the Boys & Girls Club in Burlington, made clear how 
important it is to provide young people early and safe alternatives to 
drug use. The director of the Vermont State Police, Colonel Tom 
L'Esperance, described how State police will soon carry naloxone, a 
drug that immediately reverses the effects of a heroin overdose. 
Addicts in Vermont now know that police are not just there to arrest 
but to save lives.
  It is important that the Judiciary Committee hear about a range of 
experiences, as opioid addiction has plagued communities large and 
small, rural and urban. This is why I encouraged all Vermonters to 
submit testimony on strategies to curb addiction, which will be 
incorporated into the permanent record of the U.S. Senate. The response 
was remarkable. We received testimony from law enforcement officers, 
first responders, substance abuse counselors, doctors, public health 
officials, mental health practitioners, professors, school counselors 
and teachers, concerned parents, Governor Peter Shumlin--who is sharply 
focusing his administration on these problems--and many, many others.
  Taken together, the testimony submitted to the committee offers a 
blueprint for communities ready to get ahead of addiction. It is clear 
that success requires community investment. Only after a community 
identifies addiction as a problem can it commit to defeating it. This 
is where Vermont is ahead of the curve. We tend to come from close-knit 
communities in Vermont. When we hear about victims of overdoses, and 
concerns about a growing problem, nearly all Vermonters can name 
someone who is affected. I suspect that is why we have had a number of 
excellent initiatives already enacted--it did not take long for heroin 
and opioid abuse to affect all Vermonters. And it did not take long for 
Vermont to take steps to resolve the problem. Nowhere is this more 
evident than in Rutland.
  It is equally clear from the submitted testimony that success 
requires close collaboration among prevention, treatment, and law 
enforcement efforts. From my years as a Vermont prosecutor, I recall 
how important such collaboration is, but never have I seen a law 
enforcement community as committed to prevention and treatment efforts 
as I do now. We know we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. If 
the underlying cause of criminal behavior is an addiction, treatment is 
often a more humane and cost-effective alternative to arrests and 
prison.
  As we continue to review testimony submitted to the committee, I look 
forward to working with other members of the Judiciary and 
Appropriations Committees to ensure that these community-driven 
responses receive the support necessary to succeed. I will continue to 
work to fund youth mentoring and prevention organizations on the front 
lines, like the Boys & Girls Clubs, and I will continue to work to 
fully fund Byrne-JAG and COPS grants to enable law enforcement agencies 
to devote the necessary time and resources to develop durable solutions 
with community partners. We also need to continue to support drug court 
and diversion models to substitute treatment for prison when 
appropriate. Many programs funded through the Second Chance Act provide 
offenders a real opportunity to succeed once released from prison by 
ensuring they have the resources to become productive members of their 
community.
  I also look forward to discussing effective law enforcement 
strategies and partnerships with Michele Leonhart,

[[Page S1772]]

Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, when she comes before the 
Judiciary Committee next month.
  We all understand that the ability of the Federal Government to 
provide any assistance is increasingly challenged in light of our 
burgeoning prison population, which is largely driven by inflexible and 
unfair drug mandatory minimums. Federal prison and detention costs have 
risen to account for nearly one-third of the budget for the Department 
of Justice. This unsustainable growth in our prison costs siphons 
resources from other crucial law enforcement priorities every year. It 
is vital that Congress pass our bipartisan Smarter Sentencing Act, 
which would make modest reductions to mandatory minimums for nonviolent 
drug offenses and help preserve funding for assistance to state and 
local law enforcement agencies and to victim services.
  Addiction to heroin and other opioids is a community problem, 
demanding community solutions. I can report that Vermonters have 
stepped up to this challenge. Obstacles remain, but Vermont communities 
have rallied to develop lasting solutions and get ahead of addiction. 
After seeing this commitment firsthand, I left Rutland hopeful. And 
very proud.

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