[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 8, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2554-S2555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            OPIOID EPIDEMIC

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, everyone in this Chamber knows how bad the 
opioid epidemic is. In my State, we have the second highest number of 
opioid deaths per capita in the country next to West Virginia. In my 
State, we also have more people die of opioid overdoses than any other 
State in the country. On average, 11 people died yesterday, 11 will die 
today, 11 will die tomorrow, and 11 will die on Thursday of opioid 
overdoses.
  Last month at the Cleveland City Club, I called for a comprehensive, 
coordinated, and sustained public health campaign to fight addiction 
through education, prevention, treatment, and recovery.
  We know from history that we cannot arrest or execute our way out of 
this crisis, whether in Montana or in Ohio. I met with law enforcement 
officers in every corner of my State. They shoulder a huge burden. They 
all tell me the same thing: They need resources to fight this. That is 
why I joined Senator Portman and a bipartisan group of our colleagues 
on the POWER Act--to get State and local law enforcement the high-tech 
tools they need to effectively screen for dangerous opioids, such as 
fentanyl.
  We also know from history that those enforcement tools are just one 
piece of this fight. We need a comprehensive approach, and that means 
recognizing how important treatment and rehabilitation are. We don't 
write off thousands of Ohioans struggling with addiction. We simply 
don't write off entire communities. That is where drug courts come in. 
These courts are partnerships between law enforcement and treatment 
providers. They are spearheaded by judges who see the same people back 
in their courtrooms over and over again for drug offenses. These judges 
realized that traditional court proceedings simply were not working. 
They weren't curing people's addictions. Fines and jail time don't cure 
a medical condition. So judges set up these special courts where 
participants agree to enter treatment programs and are strictly 
supervised by law enforcement. If they successfully complete the 
program, instead of going to prison, they have a graduation ceremony.
  We have seen this model work successfully for veterans. There are 
hundreds of these courts across the country, which are built around 
counseling and treatment. Veterans who get into

[[Page S2555]]

trouble with the law often face unique issues, such as PTSD.
  My office recently visited the first Federal Veterans Court in the 
Southern District of Ohio, in Dayton. We saw the difference it made in 
the lives of men and women who served this country. The court was 
created by my friend, Judge Michael Newman, with the support of Chief 
Judge Edmund Sargus. It works with the VA to help address the issues 
veterans are struggling with. My staff met with Page Layman, a veterans 
justice outreach coordinator who helps the participants in the program. 
He talked about how one of the participants in the court had limited 
transportation options and lived in a rural area, so Mr. Layman drove 
to meet him at the local library. Judge Newman reports that 49 veterans 
have graduated from the program with their charges dropped and are now 
leading healthier lives.
  We have the same opportunity with drug courts. The Ohio Office of 
Criminal Justice Services studies these courts. They found that drug 
courts enhance treatment, increase collaboration in the community, and 
save taxpayers money.
  My staff and I met with judges across Ohio who are helping people 
break the cycle of drug use and crime. Earlier this year, we talked 
with Hocking County Municipal Court Judge Fred Moses while he was in 
town as a State of the Union guest of Representative  Steve Stivers of 
Ohio. He started an innovative drug court program just outside 
Chillicothe, OH, in 2012. As a judge, he saw the opioid epidemic coming 
years before most folks in Washington saw it. He started the first 
medication-assisted drug court program certified in my State. Five 
years later, his programs are reuniting families, cutting down on 
repeat offenses, and helping participants get jobs.
  He and his staff are improving the lives of people in Southeast Ohio 
and serving as a model for other drug courts around the State and 
country. Since the program began, more than 30 other judges have 
visited Hocking County to learn about its success. Now we are seeing 
similar success all over Ohio.
  Tuscarawas County has two drug courts--COBRA, in the Common Pleas 
Court, and the New Philadelphia Municipal Recovery Court. Judge 
Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos runs the COBRA court, which held its 125th 
graduation. One graduate said:

       When I couldn't get clean, you helped me get clean. You 
     guys believed in me when I couldn't believe in myself.

  Another:

       My daughter has her mamma back. A healthy mom, hard-
     working, motivated, goal-oriented mom, who smiles again and 
     is grateful in all she does. By this program shaping my 
     future, it has also shaped hers.

  The Recovery Court in New Philadelphia is run by Judge Nanette 
DeGarmo VonAllman. She hears so many stories like that one. She told 
the Times Reporter--the newspaper in Tuscarawas County--``We try to 
give them and their families hope: that treatment works and people do 
recover.'' Programs all over Ohio and all over the country are offering 
families that hope.
  In Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Drug Court, under Judge David 
Matia, has graduated more than 300 people. Both that court and the 
Cleveland Municipal Drug Court operate under the Stephanie Tubbs Jones 
Greater Drug Court umbrella, named for my former colleague.
  In Marion, OH, Common Pleas Court Judge Jim Slagle, a longtime friend 
of mine, held a graduation ceremony for eight graduates at the end of 
last month. Jennifer, one of the women who spoke, talked about her 
granddaughter. She said:

       The most challenging part was admitting I needed this.

  When she found out her granddaughter was going to be placed in foster 
care:

       I knew I had to do something. I needed to get myself 
     together. I had to do it for her.

  She has now been clean for 2 years. She has custody over her 18-
month-old granddaughter.
  These are the kinds of success stories we hear all over the State and 
all over the country. If we are successful in this fight, hundreds of 
thousands of fewer Americans will use opioids, but we will also have 
hundreds of thousands more who have used opioids but whose lives are 
not lost or ruined. They are going to be living with and managing their 
addiction. That is why we need to expand and build on these approaches.
  I am also working with my Republican colleague, Senator Capito of 
West Virginia, on bipartisan legislation--the CARE Act--to combine 
existing resources from the Departments of Labor and Health and Human 
Services to fund combined addiction treatment and workforce training 
efforts.
  I hear the same thing from mayors from New Philadelphia, Middletown, 
Chillicothe, and Piqua: Employers can't fill openings because workers 
can't pass drug tests. Ohioans struggling with addiction--even those 
who have completed successful programs like these drug courts--can't 
find jobs. Our bill will help those Americans continue their recovery 
with good jobs that provide stability.
  The government is spending money on drug treatment, mostly through 
Medicaid, and the government, through the Department of Labor, is 
spending money on job retraining. Why not put them together so that 
people, while they get clean and get whole, are ready to go to work 
because they have had that job training?
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting the CARE Act and 
finding ways to support successful drug court programs around the 
country.

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