[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1351-S1352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION AND RECOVERY BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Senate will soon have a chance to 
come together in support of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery 
Act, a bill designed to help address the prescription opioid and heroin 
epidemic that is spreading across our country.
  We have seen the impact this crisis is having in all 50 States, how 
it is affecting people of all different ages and backgrounds. We know 
that heroin and prescription opioid addiction devastates communities, 
destroys families, and claims thousands of lives each year, but we also 
know there are steps we can take here in the Senate that can help heal 
our Nation. For instance, just a few months ago we appropriated $400 
million to opioid-specific programs--which is nearly one-third more 
than what the Senate appropriated the preceding year--and all $400 
million of those funds remain available to be spent today.
  We can take another step forward now--a big step--with the passage of 
this authorization bill. Just listen to what some officials are saying 
about CARA's potential impact: Northern Kentucky's top anti-drug 
official said this bill can help ``allow individuals, families, and 
communities to heal from this scourge.'' The president and CEO of a 
nonprofit organization with programs in Kentucky noted that CARA can 
``create lasting impact in Kentucky'' and ultimately help lead to more 
Kentuckians ``receiv[ing] the treatment they desperately need. A group 
that provides overdose prevention training in the Commonwealth said 
that CARA can give them a ``stronger foundation to move from training 
to action.'' President Obama's own drug czar noted that provisions like 
those in CARA are ``critically important to make headway'' in this 
epidemic.
  The bill before us, with all of its important provisions, is the 
result of hard work and leadership from many colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle. Of course, there is the lead Republican sponsor of this 
bill, the junior Senator from Ohio, Mr. Portman, who has worked closely 
with colleagues in both parties, such as the junior Senator from New 
Hampshire, Ms. Ayotte, as

[[Page S1352]]

well as the junior Senator from Rhode Island and the senior Senator 
from Minnesota. There is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
Senator Grassley, who worked to move this bill quickly out of committee 
by voice vote.
  I also thank the many Senators who worked with the bill managers to 
process the kinds of amendments both sides agreed would make this bill 
even better. That includes the senior Senators from Iowa and 
California, whose amendment would aid in targeting illegal drug 
importation. It includes the senior Senator from West Virginia, whose 
amendment will build upon education and awareness efforts in an effort 
to underline the dangers of opioid abuse. It includes the junior 
Senator from Pennsylvania, whose amendment would allow Medicare 
Advantage and Part D plans to implement a prescription drug abuse 
prevention tool, a tool similar to what is already available and used 
in Kentucky in the Medicaid Program and in private plans.
  The bipartisan collaboration we have seen thus far shows what we can 
achieve on behalf of the American people when we work together toward 
important shared priorities. The passage of CARA would bring us one 
step closer to ending prescription opioid and heroin addiction and 
overdose, so let's keep working together to pass it.

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