Congressional Record, Volume 164 Issue 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)

[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2468-S2472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TRIBUTE TO HOLLY CHRISTENSEN AND BREE HITCHCOCK

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, it is Thursday. As you know, I like to
come to the floor, and a lot of the time, my colleague from Louisiana
is actually in the Chair, so he gets to hear a lot about the great
State of Alaska. I like to come to the floor to talk about someone in
my State who has done an amazing job either for their community or the
State or even the country. We call this person our Alaskan of the Week.
I know, for the pages, it is their favorite time in the Senate because
they get to learn all about what is going on in Alaska. A lot of people
watching or watching on TV have found a lot of interest in this
because, like every Senator here, I certainly think I come from the
best State in the country. It is beautiful right now. I really want to
invite everybody who is in the Gallery or watching on TV to come up to
Alaska and visit. It will be the trip of a lifetime. I promise.

Yet what makes my State truly great is the people, not just the
majestic mountains and the beauty and the wildlife but the people--
strong, kind, caring people who band together--let's face it--in a
State with some extreme environment. Oftentimes, they band together in
creative ways.
I would like to introduce today our Alaskans of the Week--Holly
Christensen, from Palmer, AK, and Bree Hitchcock, who lives in
Anchorage, AK. Both of these incredible women have spent countless
hours helping thousands of children in Alaska and, really, across
America--children who need help and care and love. They have been
helping children who are suffering from cancer. This is a really
incredible story. It is one of these stories that, I think, most people
love to hear about because it starts with just an idea--a little
movement, a spark--that turns into something big unexpectedly. It is a
pebble in a pond that creates ripples that turn into waves.
This incredible story starts when Holly, an oncology nurse with three
young children of her own, received news that Lilly, who was a child of
one of her former classmates, was diagnosed with cancer. Lilly is young
girl, and she is going through treatment--chemo. Holly knew this would
be a difficult time for Lilly or for any kid who was working through
the difficulties associated with cancer. Of course, a lot of times with
chemo that means losing your hair. It is especially difficult for a
young girl.
Holly had an idea. Why not crochet a wig for Lilly with soft yarn
that made her look like a princess? So she did that. She found some
soft yarn. She crocheted a whimsical wig with long, branded strands of
yellow yarn, decorated with blue and red flowers, modeled after the
hair of the Disney character Rapunzel. She gave this to Lilly, and this
wig brightened this little girl's day during a very difficult, dark
time. She was able to twirl around in a dress with her Rapunzel braid.
She was able, in many ways, to be a kid again and get out of the
darkness and difficulty and pain of the cancer treatments.
Then something really remarkable happened. Lilly and her parents were
so happy with the wig that Holly got some friends together, and they
began to make a few more wigs and then a few more--a dozen or so--for
more children in Alaska who were suffering from cancer. They were wigs
that were all modeled after Disney characters.
That is where Bree comes in. She is from Anchorage. She heard about
Holly's project through Facebook, and she began to volunteer. Soon,
they were making and distributing hundreds of wigs out of Holly's one-
car garage in Palmer, AK. Eventually, they started a nonprofit
organization called the

[[Page S2469]]

Magic Yarn Project. Out of this one little idea for this one beautiful,
little girl, the Magic Yarn Project was born.
Soon, dozens of Alaskans began to volunteer their time, and they
began to hold workshops in schools and in hospitals and in community
centers. The magic started to spread throughout Alaska, and then it
started to spread throughout the country and even around the world.
Thousands of people began making princess hair and superhero hair out
of yarn for children who were living in the darkness and suffering
through the difficulty of cancer.
To date, this dynamic duo, Holly and Bree, have facilitated the
distribution of over 7,000 wigs in 38 countries across the globe for
children who are losing their hair due to cancer and chemotherapy
treatments. Think about that--one idea, one wig. Now we are at 7,000.
Holly and Bree have amassed an army of over 4,000 volunteers across the
country to crochet wigs. This takes time and care and talent.
The old, young, and those from every walk of life have reached out to
them to help brighten a child's life. A football player from the
Seattle Seahawks went to the first out-of-State workshop they held in
Seattle. Everybody has been getting involved here. There are even women
who are incarcerated in Alaska who are making whimsical wigs for these
kids. It is impacting everybody.
Out of this one-car garage in Palmer, AK, which is a small town with
a big heart, literally, the production and love and care of making
these wigs has overtaken not just Alaska, not just the country but the
world. Because of the project's growing popularity and their desire to
reach as many children and volunteers as possible, the two have opened
up chapters in seven States and even in Mexico. It has been daunting
and a lot of work, but they have discovered so much about themselves
and their community.
First, they were struck with how generous Alaskans are, and it was
only possible because Alaskans from all across the State rose to the
occasion to help these young kids. Bree said the Magic Yarn Project has
pushed her in ways she never knew were possible. It made her a better
mom and a better person. Holly said one of the most rewarding things
about the project is in watching her own children get involved and help
and have deep compassion for children who are suffering and who are
less fortunate, whether they are in Alaska or in the country or
somewhere else in the world.
Holly said:

There have been times when a little voice inside me says,
``These are just wigs. This isn't that big or that
important.''

Yet, when they get the pictures back of these young girls from all
over the country who are wearing their beautiful wigs, they realize it
is a big deal. It is a huge deal.
The parents of these kids have told Holly and Bree how grateful they
are to see their children, who often are living lives in pain and with
needles and surgeries and in hospitals, smile again because of what
they have done. ``It gives them a glimpse of what it was like and hope
for what it will be like when they get better,'' Holly said.
So, to Holly and Bree, we can't thank you enough for your
extraordinary work and your great compassion that has touched,
literally, thousands and thousands of lives across America and the
world.
Congratulations for being our Alaskans of the Week.

Confirmation of Mike Pompeo

Mr. President, I commend my colleagues who debated for the last week
and then voted on the new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who I
believe is either en route or will be en route soon to the NATO Foreign
Ministers summit.
As many of us said on the floor, Mike Pompeo is extremely well
qualified to be the Secretary of State--extremely well qualified. He
was a Congressman who focused on foreign affairs. He is the current
Director of the CIA and was an Army officer who graduated No. 1 in his
class from West Point. He was the Harvard Law Review editor when he
went to Harvard Law School.
I particularly commend my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
who did the right thing and voted for Mr. Pompeo.
I have come down to the floor a couple of times to talk about this
issue of having a long tradition in the United States of this body
typically coming together, particularly as it relates to the Secretary
of State. If someone is qualified and is the President's pick, the
tradition has been to vote for that person. If you look at the votes
over the last 50 years for the Secretaries of State, whether
Republicans or Democrats, there was usually a unanimous vote--100
Senators, 96 Senators, 97 Senators. What I am hopeful for is that we
can get back to that issue with regard to foreign policy and national
security choices for the President regardless of who the President is.
I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle but particularly
my Democratic colleagues, who, I know, faced a lot of pressure to vote
no. For those who knew it was important to make sure this was a
bipartisan vote, I thank them. I think Mike Pompeo is going to do a
good job.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I join my colleague from Alaska in
commending the U.S. Senate for confirming Mike Pompeo as Secretary of
State. I think he is the right person at the right time, and we need
somebody there. There is too much going on around the world to have
that job vacant, and there is an important meeting of Foreign Ministers
of the major countries in the world that is going on tomorrow that he
needs to attend. Whether it is North Korea and what is happening
there--where he has been very involved--or whether it is the continuing
concerns we have with regard to the nuclear agreement with Iran or
whether it is what is happening in Syria and certainly what is
happening on the eastern border of Ukraine, where I was recently, there
are lots of hot spots around the world right now, and there is the need
to have somebody in place who understands the importance of addressing
those issues and addressing some of the bigger and longer term
challenges we have with countries like Russia and China to be sure we
can have more constructive relationships. It is good to have somebody
in that job.
When John Kerry came up for confirmation in the Senate, not everybody
agreed with him on the policies. When Hillary Clinton came up for a
vote, not everybody agreed with her on the policies. They agreed they
were qualified, as Mike Pompeo clearly is, and they agreed that a
President should have the ability to have his or her person in that
job, particularly as the Secretary of State. Therefore, in both of
those cases, the vote was 94 Senators in favor.
Again, I am just glad the Senate chose to confirm him, but I do wish
we had had more of a bipartisan approach to it because I think it is
important for us to show around the world that we, indeed, do have
momentum behind this nominee and his ability to lead our country in the
area of soft power diplomacy all around the world. I think he will do a
good job, and I think he will earn the trust of those of us who voted
for him today. I also think he will be able to change the views of,
perhaps, some of my colleagues who voted no today.
Congratulations to Mike Pompeo, and I am happy for our country that
he is in place.

Opioid Epidemic

Mr. President, I come to the floor to talk about an issue that has
gripped my State and every State represented in this Chamber, and that
is the opioid epidemic. This is prescription drugs and heroin and
fentanyl-carfentanil. It is something we have talked about on this
floor more in the last couple of years than we have at any time,
really, in the history of this body. We have passed some good
legislation, but, boy, there is so much more to do. Sadly, this crisis
continues to unfold, and at least in my State and I believe in most
States in this country it is getting worse, not better. So we started
to take some important actions, but it is time to take more.

Just last week, a couple in Youngstown, OH, were cited for reckless
homicide and endangering children after their 16-month-old daughter
overdosed and died. She was exposed to carfentanil, one of these
synthetic forms of opioids that unfortunately has come into so many
communities in this

[[Page S2470]]

country and, in fact, is the biggest single concern we have right now
in Ohio and many other States.
In fact, in Ohio we had an increase of overdoses last year, and 60
percent of those overdoses were from fentanyl or carfentanil--this
synthetic form of opioids that was hardly present 5 years ago. So as we
made progress on prescription drugs, heroin came in. As we made
progress on heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil came in.
There is a need for us to push back and push back hard. Opioid deaths
are now the No. 1 cause of accidental death in my State of Ohio and the
No. 1 cause of accidental death in the United States of America. Think
about how many people are being affected by this. It is across the
board. It knows no ZIP Code. It is not just in urban areas, not just in
rural areas or suburban areas, it is everywhere. It is something on
which we can make a difference.
I have seen some programs that are actually working well to try to
turn the tide and push back. One I will mention is funded, in part,
from legislation we passed in this Chamber just 1\1/2\ years ago. It is
the Maryhaven Addiction Stabilization Center in Columbus, OH. It is an
attempt by Franklin County, which is largely Columbus, OH, to come
together and say: We have to do something to get more people who have
overdosed into treatment. One of the many challenges we face in the
crisis is the gap, and one huge gap is the fact that people who
overdose have their lives saved through this miracle drug called
Narcan, which reverses the effects of an overdose, but after coming out
of their overdose, getting conscious again, they simply go back into
the community and the environment that created this potential overdose
situation in the first place. Once again, a week later, perhaps, maybe
days later, in some cases hours later, the person may overdose again.
The answer is not just applying Narcan--as important as it is because
we do need to save lives. The important thing is to get that person
into a program where they can begin to deal with their addiction, where
they can get longer term support through a recovery program to stay
away from the old environment and the old gang that got them involved
in this issue in the first place.
Addiction is a disease. Treatment is required just as it would be for
other diseases. I am excited about what is happening at Maryhaven
Addiction Stabilization Center because at this center, they are
bringing people in who overdosed and then in the same facility there
are about 50 beds for treatment. Instead of having the vast majority of
people who overdose and come into an emergency room go home or go back
to the old environment, 80 percent of the people at Maryhaven are going
into treatment. That is a huge change. That is a sea change. That will
have an enormous impact in dealing with the 200,000 people or so in my
State of Ohio who are currently addicted. It will help them get into a
decent program, get through the detox, get into recovery, and have the
opportunity to get their lives back together.
That program is funded, in large part, from Federal funding that came
from this legislation we passed about 1\1/2\ years ago. Maybe $1.2
million has been matched by private funding and State and local
funding. We have this new project that I think can be emulated around
the State because it seems to be working really well.
The CURES Act, which we passed, has provided to Ohio just recently
$26 million in new funding, and we need it badly. We need to put it to
use in ways that work. This is an example of something that is actually
well-thought-out that is going to help close the gap and make a
difference.
In 2016, we were told we had the deadliest year on record in terms of
overdoses. Unfortunately, it looks like, in 2017, the numbers are going
to be worse. It certainly will be in Ohio.
In the Franklin County corridor, the Columbus, OH, area, the coroner
recently came out with their numbers in 2017. They had an overdose
death rate that was higher than 2016. We lost 520 of our citizens to
overdoses in Franklin County in 2017. That was a 47-percent increase
from 2016. So it is not just a little increase; it is a huge increase.
A staggering two-thirds of those--66 percent of those deaths--were from
this synthetic heroin we talked about, the synthetic opioids fentanyl
and carfentanil.
That is really the issue now in so many communities around the
country. Just last month, Franklin County experienced 18 overdoses in 1
week--1 county, 18 overdoses in 1 week. This was just last month. That
is an average of over two deaths per day. Think about that when you are
thinking about 1 county out of 88 and the impact this is having.
We need to do more at the Federal level to combat this epidemic, and
I would like to talk about a couple of pieces of new legislation that
would build on the success we had in this body in terms of legislation
that would help direct this money in ways that will make a difference,
toward evidence-based programs--not just throwing money at the problem
but making sure the money is well spent.
One of the pieces of legislation is critical to this issue of
fentanyl and carfentanil coming into our community. Unbelievably, this
poison that we talked about today, two-thirds of the deaths in this
county in Ohio last year were because of fentanyl. The 16-month-old
baby we talked about was killed through carfentanil and another
synthetic. Unbelievably, this stuff is coming in through our U.S. mail
system, primarily. It is coming not over the border, primarily, or not
in some other way like heroin might or even prescription drugs, but it
is literally coming through the mail primarily from China. So evil
chemists in China are mixing up this poisonous brew that becomes
fentanyl, and then it gets shipped through the mail system into our
communities--sometimes to a P.O. Box, sometimes to someone's home,
sometimes to a business. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability
within the U.S. Postal Service to push back. To me, this is an obvious
example where this body ought to come together and say: You know what,
let's provide law enforcement with the tools they need to be able to
stop some of this poison from coming in.
If you were to send this same fentanyl by FedEx, UPS, or DHL, a
private carrier, they would have to provide data to law enforcement in
advance: what is in the package, where it is coming from, where it is
going. With that data, law enforcement can target those packages and
pull them off the line and pull some of this poison out of our
communities.

I have been to these distribution centers where the carriers do
exactly that. They have Customs and Border Protection officials there.
They have rooms that have the proper venting to be able to open these
packages. This fentanyl and carfentanil is so dangerous, our first
responders are putting their lives at risk every day just by dealing
with it. What they are able to do is stop this poison from coming in,
which helps, at a minimum, to raise the cost. Right now, one of the
reasons it is expanding is because it is relatively inexpensive, but it
is also deadly. It is something that is causing many more overdoses and
deaths than ever before.
So our legislation is very simple. It is called the STOP Act. It is
cosponsored by Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota. The notion is
to say to our U.S. Postal Service to provide that same information
because law enforcement tells us that unless they have that
information, it is like finding a needle in a haystack. With 900
billion packages a year, it is hard to imagine how they are going to be
able to stop those packages without having at least the tools of
knowing what is in those packages, where it is coming from, where it is
going, so they can use their analytics, the big data, to be able to
identify those packages and stop them.
Last month, a man from Cleveland, OH, was charged after undercover
agents found he was selling fentanyl he had just bought online from
China. According to the prosecutor, ``The defendant ordered thousands
of deadly doses of fentanyl from China, brought it to a residential
neighborhood in Euclid and then mailed the dangerous drugs all over
Ohio and across the country'' using our own mail system.
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in the U.S. Senate,
which is a group I chair, did a yearlong investigation into this issue.
We completed this several months ago. Unfortunately, what it showed is
exactly what you would suspect. The traffickers, when asked: How should
we ship these drugs if we are buying them from you

[[Page S2471]]

online--because we had an undercover person working for us. He was a
member of the Homeland Security Department, someone who deals with
these issues every day. He actually contacted websites around the
country. Unfortunately, the websites all said the same thing: We will
sell you this deadly drug, but you have to ship it through the U.S.
mail system. We will guarantee delivery if you do that.
We were able to find five different websites that were openly selling
fentanyl. They all told us where to send it. By using some of the
information that we had based on the payment systems they were using,
we were able to identify the people who had been shipped drugs through
these sites. We found, incidentally, that just in a short period of
time, seven people had died of overdoses after getting drugs from these
particular websites. We also were able to refer to law enforcement some
other people who apparently were dealing these drugs by taking large
quantities.
Even with this person in Euclid, OH, we talked about, thousands of
deadly doses of fentanyl were found. That could be in a package about
this size. Three flakes of this stuff can kill you. So, at a minimum,
we have to be sure our U.S. Postal Service is giving law enforcement
the tools to be able to help stop this deadly poison.
The Postal Service has begun over the last year or so to make some
progress in this area. Still, they tell us that only 36 percent of the
packages transported into this country have any kind of advanced
electronic data. As we dug deeper, having researched and gone to some
of these sites where the U.S. Postal Service is providing information,
we found out it was not 36 percent because 20 percent of the packages
that had the required information still went into the community anyway
because of lack of communication with law enforcement.
Finally, we are finding out that it may be 36 percent of the
packages, but much of the information is not helpful. We need to have
new rules in place to say to countries: If you want to do business with
the United States and send packages here, you have to play ball with us
and provide this digital information upfront so our law enforcement can
deal with what is clearly a crisis in this country. It is a glaring
loophole in the screening process. It undermines the safety and
security of our country, not just for drugs but for other issues as
well, and it is time we fix it.
After 9/11 and the terrible tragedy of that day, this Congress
decided to require private carriers to require all of that
information--the advanced electronic data--because of the risk of
terrorism, frankly. At that time, we said the Post Office needed to do
a study on this to give them time to get ready. That was over 15 years
ago, and they still haven't done it. They need to provide law
enforcement the tools they need by requiring advanced electronic data
on all packages entering the United States. Thirty-one of my Senate
colleagues--19 Republicans, 12 Democrats, and 1 Independent--have
signed on as cosponsors to this legislation. It already has support of
one-third of the Senate. It has been endorsed by President Trump's
opioid commission because it is a commonsense solution to a growing
problem around the country. There is House companion legislation to do
this. Stopping this influx of fentanyl is going to happen only if we
stop how it is coming, which is through our Postal Service from
countries overseas, primarily China.
We also need a more comprehensive approach, of course, to the drug
issue. It is not just enough to stop the supply if there is a strong
demand. Dealing with the demand includes prevention efforts that are
included in legislation we passed in this body about 1\1/2\ years ago
and still needs to be implemented. We have new legislation to help
increase that comprehensive approach. The last bill was called the
Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act, signed into law at the end of
2016. We now have a new bill, CARA 2.0. It provides more resources for
evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery programs. It will
help people get into longer term treatment so they can truly overcome
their addiction. It has helped to overcome the stigma by treating the
addiction as a disease, and now it is time to ensure that we are
looking at what works and building on it.
I introduced this legislation with my colleagues, Senator Sheldon
Whitehouse and six others: Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Amy
Klobuchar, Dan Sullivan, Maggie Hassan, Bill Cassidy, who is the
Presiding Officer today, and Maria Cantwell--four Republicans and four
Democrats. We kept this bipartisan. Other Members have joined in as
well. Again, it picks up where the Cures legislation and the CARA
legislation left off, to provide a better framework, because now we can
spend the extra resources this Congress has wisely determined to put up
against this fight.
In the spending bill that was just passed, there was an additional $6
billion over 2 years put against this issue. Let's be sure the money is
well spent. Let's be sure we have a roadmap to build on the successes
we have had and ensure that that money is going to things that actually
can make a difference.
We talked about one earlier, the addiction stabilization center. We
also know that one way we could spend our money better is to have a
better prescription drug monitoring program nationally. So every State
now has some sort of prescription drug monitoring program, but often
they don't talk to each other. This is something that is required in my
State of Ohio. West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and
Pennsylvania are all States where there is also an opioid crisis. We
need to be sure that they are talking together, so that when someone
goes to get a prescription, the information is logged. If the person
goes out of the State to order a prescription across the border--maybe
just right across the border--that information is provided just as it
would be if it were within that State. That is in our legislation as
well.
We also target addiction at its source. About 80 percent of the
people who die of overdoses today probably started on prescription
drugs. That is the latest data we have. Some of that was prescription
drugs that were provided to that individual as the result of an
accident or an injury, and they became physically addicted because they
were prescribed an opioid for pain relief.
The stories are heartbreaking. The parents have come to me and say--
and this has happened twice: My son or my daughter went to get a wisdom
tooth extracted, and the dentist gave my son or my daughter opioids. In
one case, it was 60 pills of Percocet or OxyContin. Sure enough, that
young person had a physical addiction develop because of that. Then
when the pills were harder to get or more expensive, they turned to
something less expensive and more accessible, which was heroin or
fentanyl or carfentanil, and then overdosed and died. These are 17-
year-old children who were prescribed this medication.
There are other cases as well. I have met adults who are well into
their thirties or forties and are leading successful lives, well
established in their community, well connected in their loving
families. They had an accident or injury. Maybe it was a car accident.
They were given pain medication--opioids--and they became physically
addicted.
This addiction is a tough one to climb out of. So many people then
turn to another substance that is more available, more accessible, or
maybe less expensive and then overdose and then the death.
People say how could this have happened? When you go back, it
happened because of a prescription drug--something was overprescribed.
Others might buy prescription drugs on the street. This Saturday is
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in America, and I hope that
everybody who is listening here will think about whether they could go
into their own medicine cabinet or maybe their parents' or
grandparents' and take out some of these opioids and then have those
disposed of properly at a police station or someplace else. I know
Kroger is doing this in Ohio and other States.
Find out where your drug take-back location is. Take these drugs in
and get rid of them because I have just heard too many cases,
unbelievably, of people stealing these drugs and using them and then,
again, developing that addiction or selling them and someone else

[[Page S2472]]

develops the addiction. Again, the thought is that probably 8 out of 10
people dying of overdoses started with prescription drugs. So our
legislation does deal with that.
Our legislation deals with overprescribing because it must be dealt
with. It requires doctors and pharmacists to use drug monitoring
programs to ensure that we are not overprescribing, and it sets a 3-day
limit on prescriptions for acute pain.
We except chronic pain. We have exceptions for cancer. But for acute
pain--the surgeries we have talked about--we are using the good science
from the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, and others that say two
things: One, after the third day of using these opioids, on that fourth
day, fifth day, and sixth day is when the opportunity for an addiction
grows dramatically, and the chances of your falling into that addiction
increases significantly.
Second, in terms of pain and dealing with pain, we have also learned
that for acute pain for most kinds of procedures, there are other kinds
of pain medications available.
I have talked to the dentists a lot on this. There is a dentist from
Ohio who is a good man, Joe Crowley, who is now President of the
American Dental Association. He is working with the dentists to try to
ensure that we have new policies in place that discourage the use of
opioids altogether for things like a wisdom tooth being removed. But to
the extent it is used, after the first, second, and third day, it is
much, much less necessary and much less useful, and other pain
medication can take its place. So, as a result, we do have in our
legislation something that is a dramatic difference from the
unfortunate overprescribing that continues to go on in our country in
too many instances, and that is a 3-day limit. After 3 days, if you
continue to have the kind of pain that can only be dealt with opioids,
if you are one of the few individuals for whom that is true, you go
back to the doctor and get another prescription, but you have to go
through a process to do that. The alternative is that we are going to
continue to see more and more people become addicted through
prescription drugs as a gateway and then again getting into this
terrible cycle of overdoses and eventually overdose and dying in too
many cases.
So CARA 2.0 has these policy changes, as well as the additional
funding for prevention programs, treatment programs, and recovery
programs. It also helps our first responders by saying: If you can't
afford the cost of Narcan, we will help you out but also give you
training in Narcan and also to deal with this gap between the immediate
overdose reversal using Narcan and then going into detox--between detox
and treatment, between treatment and longer term recovery--to try to
ensure that you have continuity. This is something that just makes so
much sense and can save so many lives.
These legislative efforts we are talking about here are important. So
for those who are watching--and maybe some staff members are watching
from some of the offices--please check it out. Check out the STOP Act,
if you are not already a cosponsor. Check out CARA 2.0, if you are not
already a cosponsor.
Let's be sure that we are doing everything we possibly can here to
make a difference and begin to reverse this tide, begin to save lives
again rather than having this discouraging increase in addiction.
It is not all about overdoses and deaths, as tragic as that is. It is
about the millions of Americans whose lives are getting off track, who
may not overdose and may not end up needing Narcan but who are pulling
away from their family, who are not working, who are not engaged in
their community, who are giving up on their friends and their loved
ones.

A lot of people in this Chamber are concerned about the fact that so
many Americans are out of work today and not showing up even on the
unemployment rolls because they have left work altogether. They are not
even looking for work. Economists say our labor force participation
rate for men is historically low. It is probably the lowest it has ever
been in the history of this country. When you combine men and women,
you have to go back to the 1970s to see as many people who are out of
work altogether. I agree that is a big problem, and I would urge my
colleagues to look at the impact of opioids on that problem.
There are two recent studies, one by the Department of Labor and one
by the Brookings Institution, which indicate in the strongest possible
terms that opioids are driving much of this dysfunction in our
workforce today. So to employers out there who are saying, ``The
economy is growing, the tax cuts are working, regulatory relief is
working, but I can't find workers,'' 44 percent of those who are out of
the workforce, according to a Department of Labor study from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, took a prescription pain medication the day
before.
The Brookings study shows that 47 percent of able-bodied men between
22 and 55 are taking pain medication on a daily basis. These are
frightening numbers. By the way, I can't imagine that is overreported.
I imagine it is underreported because of the stigma attached to this
issue of opioid addiction and because of the potential legal liability
people could be in for admitting it. Even so, almost half of those
surveyed say they are not working. They are not even looking for work,
but they are taking pain medication on a daily basis. So this affects
all of us.
Go to your firehouse in your community and ask them if they are doing
more overdose runs or more fire runs? I will bet you that they will say
the former. They are doing more drug overdose runs than they are fire
runs. We are all paying for that. Talk to your sheriff or your local
police chief and ask them what the No. 1 driver of crime is in your
community. I bet they will say it is opioids. Often it is people who
are committing crimes like theft or shoplifting or fraud to be able to
pay for the habit--$300 to $400 a day or more. Particularly if you are
not working, there is a temptation to commit those crimes and there is
a craving for this drug that puts people in positions they never would
have imagined they would find themselves in.
Think of the families who are broken up. Think of the kids who have
lost their parents to this epidemic. In Ohio, we have more kids in
foster care or under the care of the State than ever in our history.
Go to your neonatal units at your hospital and ask them about this.
They will say it is the No. 1 issue affecting them because so many kids
are being born to a mother who was addicted, and these kids have to be
taken through withdrawal themselves--little babies. You can hold them
practically in the palm of your hand.
I have gone to these neonatal units in Ohio and have seen these
babies, and it is heartbreaking because, just like adults, they have to
go through this tough withdrawal process. No baby should have to do
that.
So this issue is one when Congress has taken steps in the last year
and a half, and I congratulate this body and the House for moving
forward with some positive steps. There is so much more to be done, and
these two bills are a start. These two bills will help. They will help
to save lives. They will help to get people back on track and help to
ensure that people can live out their God-given purpose rather than get
distracted through this epidemic, rather than getting off track with
regard to family, work, dignity, and self-respect.
These two bills will help, giving law enforcement in our communities
the tools they need and helping our communities to be able to have a
comprehensive approach here to turn back this assault of addiction in
our country.
I hope we can move quickly in the Senate to pass this legislation so
the President can sign it into law and we can begin to make a bigger
difference.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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