[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 64 (Thursday, April 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PROTECTING MOMS AND INFANTS ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, we all know the grief the opioid 
crisis produces: broken families, stolen opportunity, lost loved ones. 
This epidemic has been especially severe in my home State of Kentucky, 
claiming lives at a record pace.
  In light of this urgent problem, I am proud Congress is fighting 
back. We have passed substantial bipartisan legislation to give 
communities the resources they need. The most recent government funding 
bill provided billions of dollars of additional support. But the work 
to end the suffering continues.
  One of the most heartbreaking facts is the skyrocketing number of 
infants who are born dependent on opioids. Defenseless children start 
their lives suffering from addiction. That is why in 2015 I sponsored, 
along with Senator Casey, the bipartisan Protecting Our Infants Act. As 
the first law to specifically address prenatal opioid exposure, it 
directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the 
subject of opioid abuse in prenatal and infant patients. Our bill 
tasked the Secretary with developing strategies to fill the gap in 
opioid research and programming and provide recommendations for 
preventing further harm to expecting mothers and newborns.
  Now it is time to build on our success and better protect vulnerable 
children, so today I will introduce the Protecting Moms and Infants 
Act. This legislation directs the Secretary of HHS to report on the 
implementation of the strategies developed in the previous bill. It 
would have the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention develop 
educational materials to better inform doctors and expecting mothers 
about opioid alternatives. It authorizes increased funding for 
competitive Federal grants to help organizations address this 
particular part of the opioid crisis. This bill continues our years-
long efforts to protect the most vulnerable.
  I thank Senator Casey and my colleague from Kentucky, Congressman 
Brett Guthrie, who is sponsoring companion legislation in the House.
  Medical professionals, law enforcement officials, and many across 
Kentucky are working every day to bring an end to the misery of the 
opioid epidemic. This legislation will continue that fight, and I urge 
my colleagues to support it.

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