[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 32 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1063-S1064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, there is an epidemic sweeping across 
our Nation, ripping through communities, tearing families apart, 
striking at the vulnerable--even babies who have yet to take their 
first breath. The prescription opioid and heroin epidemic does not 
discriminate by demographic or socioeconomic status, by age or by 
gender. It touches parents and children, neighbors and coworkers in all 
50 States. It is ending lives at recordbreaking rates, and it is 
getting worse. Deaths from opioids have surged by 200 percent over the 
last decade and a half alone. In my home State of Kentucky, drug 
overdoses continue to outpace the number of fatalities from traffic 
accidents.
  This is an issue we have been combating for some time, and we have 
made some important strides along the way, but there is a lot more to 
do. This week we have an opportunity to take an important step forward. 
One of the most painful aspects of this epidemic, as I mentioned, is 
the increasing number of infants who are born dependent on opioids such 
as prescription pain killers and heroin. These children start their 
lives suffering from drug dependence, which is nearly as hard to 
imagine as it is heartbreaking.
  Last year, I sponsored a bipartisan measure designed to help address 
this specific issue. I appreciate the senior Senator from Pennsylvania, 
Mr. Casey, for working across the aisle with me to advance the 
Protecting Our Infants Act through Congress, and I am proud to say it 
was signed into law just a few months ago. It is an example of one of 
the many steps we have already begun to take as we address this 
epidemic.
  We took another step forward last week when the Senate voted to 
confirm a new FDA Commissioner. I have been very clear that the FDA 
must take a stronger approach in regard to this epidemic and its 
prevention efforts, which is why I appreciated Dr. Califf's expressed 
vision for positive change at the agency. I voted for his nomination 
last week, but as I told him, he should know that we will continue to 
ensure oversight over his agency's response going forward.
  This week, we have another opportunity to take a step forward--an 
important step forward. Before us today is bipartisan legislation that 
would help combat the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic at every 
level. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, is the 
product of a lot of hard work and bipartisan work by a number of 
Senators.
  I would like to recognize the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
the Senator from Iowa, and the ranking member, the Senator from 
Vermont, for acting swiftly to pass this bill through committee on a 
voice vote. I appreciate the assistance and cooperation of other 
leaders on this important issue, such as the chairman of the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the ranking member from 
the State of Washington.
  I also want to thank the sponsors of this bill, the junior Senators 
from Ohio, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and the senior Senator from 
Minnesota. These leaders understand the toll this epidemic is taking on 
our communities. They have studied the issue closely in their home 
States, and

[[Page S1064]]

they have worked with Senators from across the aisle to advance this 
legislation through the legislative process. It is thanks to their hard 
work that we are debating this bipartisan bill today.
  The junior Senator from Ohio has called CARA the only bipartisan 
legislation that includes a comprehensive and evidence-based approach 
to help communities combat this epidemic. It would strengthen 
prescription drug monitoring programs, it would improve treatment 
initiatives, it would expand prevention and education, and it would 
give law enforcement more of the tools it needs to fight back against 
this epidemic.
  It is no wonder this bipartisan legislation is supported by more than 
130 national anti-drug groups. In a recent letter, they noted the only 
way to ``stop and reverse current trends'' was with a comprehensive 
approach, such as that included in the Comprehensive Addiction and 
Recovery Act of 2015, that leverages evidence-based law enforcement and 
health care services, including treatment.
  So this bill takes the kind of comprehensive approach that is needed 
and at the same time, as these groups also noted in their letter, ``the 
cost of the bill is kept low'' with ``no impact on mandatory 
spending.''
  I ask colleagues to join with us in working to pass this bipartisan 
authorization bill. We will also have opportunities through the 
appropriations process this spring to continue important funding, just 
as we did last year. Indeed, just a few months ago we appropriated $400 
million to opioid-specific programs--nearly one-third more than what 
the Senate appropriated the preceding year--and we understand that all 
$400 million of those funds still remains available to be spent today. 
That is right. All $400 million remains available to be spent.
  I sincerely hope our friends across the aisle will join us in 
supporting this legislation to address our national crisis. This is an 
important bill for each of us in this Chamber, and I look forward to 
taking action today to get us closer to seeing it become law. I have 
talked about the urgency and the multifaceted complexity associated 
with this epidemic, and I want to underline the hard work being done in 
the Senate to address it.
  The chairs of the Judiciary Committee and the Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions Committee, whom I recognized earlier, have been 
looking at ways to both improve law enforcement tools and increase 
education and awareness respectively. The chair of the Committee on 
Finance has, as his committee explored in a hearing last week, been 
focused on how this issue affects our child welfare system. And of 
course, we again recognize the cooperation of Members of both parties--
chairs and ranking members and a bipartisan list of sponsors on both 
sides of the aisle.
  Working together across the aisle--with State and local governments, 
agencies and law enforcement--we can help end this crisis once and for 
all. I look forward to taking the next step toward that objective later 
today.

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