[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1323-S1324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION AND RECOVERY BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the junior Senator from New Hampshire 
delivered a powerful address to our Nation this weekend. She spoke 
about the need to tackle a heroin and prescription opioid epidemic that 
is impacting not just her State, not just my State, but communities all 
across our country.
  Senator Ayotte correctly called this a ``life or death issue'' and 
talked about what she has been doing to address it. She also talked 
about important legislation the Senate is considering that would help 
address the problem.
  I was proud to see the Senate vote yesterday to advance the 
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. It is bipartisan legislation 
that colleagues in both parties--like the junior Senator from New 
Hampshire, her colleague from Minnesota, and, of course, the lead 
sponsors from Ohio and Rhode Island--have worked hard to advance.
  I want to especially thank the lead Republican sponsor of this bill, 
the junior Senator from Ohio, Mr. Portman, for all the work he has done 
on this critical legislation. The same is true for the senior Senator 
from Iowa, Mr. Grassley, who worked to move this bill quickly through 
the committee that he chairs.
  Let's not forget the Senators in both parties who worked with the 
bill managers to process the kind of amendments both sides agree would 
make a good bill even better. Because of the dedicated leadership of 
Senators from both sides of the aisle, we will soon have the 
opportunity to actually pass this important legislation.
  I urge colleagues to join me in voting to do so. The Comprehensive 
Addiction and Recovery Act is important legislation that will help 
tackle this crisis at every level. It is a good bill, it enjoys strong 
bipartisan support, and it builds upon a foundation we laid just a few 
months ago when we appropriated $400 million to opioid-specific 
programs--money that still remains available to be spent.
  This bipartisan legislation also comes at a time when our Nation 
needs it most. My home State of Kentucky has been among the hardest hit 
by this epidemic, with more people dying from drug overdoses than car 
crashes.
  As the junior Senator from New Hampshire reminded us in her address 
this weekend, these are not just numbers. ``Behind every statistic and 
behind every headline is a life that has been lost,'' Senator Ayotte 
said. ``This is not a Republican or Democratic issue--it affects all of 
us.''
  I want to thank her and the lead Republican sponsor from Ohio for 
their important work. I thank their colleagues across the aisle from 
Rhode Island and Minnesota and the Judiciary Committee chairman from 
Iowa as well. Let's keep working together to pass the bipartisan CARA 
bill and take

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another step towards ending this devastating epidemic.

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