[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5121-H5123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REAUTHORIZING AND EXTENDING GRANTS FOR RECOVERY FROM OPIOID USE 
                          PROGRAMS ACT OF 2018

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6029) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to reauthorize the comprehensive opioid abuse grant 
program, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6029

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Reauthorizing and Extending 
     Grants for Recovery from Opioid Use Programs Act of 2018'' or 
     the ``REGROUP Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE OPIOID ABUSE 
                   GRANT PROGRAM.

       Section 1001(a)(27) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)(27)) is amended by 
     striking ``through 2021'' and inserting ``and 2018, and 
     $330,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson 
Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6029, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in July 2016, Congress enacted the Comprehensive 
Addiction and Recovery Act, otherwise known as CARA. The statistics 
then were shocking, and, unfortunately, they have not yet subsided. In 
2016, more than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, including 
illicit drugs and prescription opioids. This figure has nearly doubled 
in the past decade.
  Part of CARA created a comprehensive opioid abuse reduction program 
at the Department of Justice which directs Federal resources for drug 
abuse programs targeted at the opioid problem within our criminal 
justice system.
  By establishing this competitive grant program, CARA gives States and 
localities maximum flexibility to attack opioid abuse issues unique to 
their communities. States are now able to use the grant funds for a 
variety of important criminal justice programs, including alternatives 
to incarceration, treatment programs for incarcerated individuals, 
juvenile opioid abuse, investigation and enforcement of drug 
trafficking and distribution laws, and significant training for first 
responders in carrying and administering opioid overdose reversal 
drugs, like naloxone. States can enlist nonprofit organizations, 
including faith-based organizations, in the fight against opioid abuse.
  In 2016, CARA authorized this new program at $103 million annually 
over 5 years. However, 3 months ago, Congress tripled that 
authorization to $330 million, including funds for drug courts, mental 
health courts, residential drug abuse treatment for State prisoners, 
and veterans' treatment courts. Therefore, the bill before us results 
in no net increase in spending authorizations and no additional burden 
on the American taxpayer, which is a responsible, good government 
approach to this epidemic.
  This bill reauthorizes the CARA program through 2023, so we can make 
sure there is no lapse in our efforts against drug addiction.
  While Members of this body should be proud of our accomplishments, 
there is still much more work to do. I urge my colleagues to support 
this bill and thereby reassure all Americans that we are committed to 
fighting the opioid epidemic.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is, again, a topic that is impacting so many 
Americans. I recall the CARA Act that the Judiciary Committee passed 
out some 2 years ago, a miraculous piece of legislation because we did 
not criminalize, we sought to help those who have been badly addicted 
to drugs.
  I rise in support of H.R. 6029, the REGROUP Act. This bill increases 
the funding authorized for the Department of Justice's Comprehensive 
Opioid Abuse Grant Program from $103 million per year to $330 million 
per year through the fiscal year 2023.
  The opioid crisis is a national emergency, and we should certainly 
expend the resources to prevent opioid abuse and treat those who have 
become addicted. We have found that the overcriminalization of these 
persons who are addicted has not served us well. They have generated a 
whole population of persons who have been labeled under the topic, but 
realistically it is impacting their lives: mass incarceration.
  In the United States, drug overdoses are the leading cause of 
accidental death, with opioids being involved in nearly two-thirds of 
overdose deaths. Overall, the number of drug overdose deaths has nearly 
quadrupled over the past 20 years. Although effective for the treatment 
of pain, prescription opioids are highly addictive, and nearly half of 
all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid.

[[Page H5122]]

  Many Members understand that this became part of the wave of new 
treatment that medical school students and doctors were told and 
instructed, that a patient should not have to suffer pain. It had good 
intentions. But through that process of medical treatment became a 
population of extended addicted persons who began to use a prescription 
drug as a drug of use and recreation, and then those who were given it 
in the medical sense who were able to get it over and over again on the 
basis of pain became addicted.
  Overall, the number of drug overdose deaths has nearly quadrupled, as 
I said, and this has been thought of as an effective treatment for 
pain. Prescription opioids are highly addictive, and nearly half of all 
U.S. opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid, as I have 
said.
  Deaths related to heroin have similarly increased as individuals 
often transition from more expensive prescription opioids to cheaper 
heroin which has had a rise in its use.
  In 2016, Congress adopted this program, as I indicated, the 
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, as we refer to it. 
The Judiciary Committee had a portion of that legislation. CARA was a 
well-intentioned initiative to enhance the efforts against opioids 
across the range of relevant executive branch agencies, involving the 
jurisdiction of several of our committees in the House.
  I was pleased that the Judiciary Committee's contribution to this 
effort resulted in the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program which 
reflects an approach not strictly based on arresting and prosecuting.
  At the time, I noted with approval that we were not raising sentences 
or expanding mandatory minimums, but instead funding a range of 
approaches, including anti-addiction mechanisms such as treatment 
alternatives to incarceration, which fell under the Department of 
Justice.
  Such alternatives incentivized by this program include training for 
criminal justice agency personnel on substance abuse disorders, the 
implementation of mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans' 
treatment courts, assisting parents whose incarceration could result in 
children entering the child welfare system, and community-based 
substance abuse diversion programs.
  It is well-known by Members that if you have one of these courts in 
your jurisdiction, they have been powerful. Mental health courts, drug 
courts, and veterans' courts have steered a lot of people away from 
incarceration. They work well. The judges believe they are 
constructive, and we are doing more for people.
  In 2015, we learned through a Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, 
and Investigations Subcommittee hearing about the success of a newly 
developed Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, approach that 
was spearheaded in cities such as Seattle and Santa Fe.
  Through the program we are extending today, hopefully we will make it 
easier for other cities to afford to implement diversion programs such 
as LEAD.
  Other purposes for which these grants may be used include providing 
training and resources for first responders in administering opioid 
overdose reversal drugs, expanding medication-assisted treatment 
programs operated by criminal justice agencies, implementing 
prescription drug monitoring programs, preventing opioid abuse by 
juveniles, and implementing prescription drug take-back programs, in 
addition to investigating the illicit distribution of opioids.
  This funding will be an added contribution to these very vital 
programs, and I hope that we will be in the business every day of 
saving lives and turning around those addicted persons who not only are 
hurting themselves, but they are hurting their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6029, the REGROUP Act. This 
bill increases the funding authorized for the Department of Justice's 
Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program from $103 million per year to 
$330 million per year through fiscal year 2023.
  The opioid crisis is a national emergency, and we should certainly 
expend the resources necessary to prevent opioid abuse and treat those 
who have become addicted.
  In the United States, drug overdoses are the leading cause of 
accidental death, with opioids being involved in nearly two thirds of 
overdose deaths.
  Overall, the number of drug overdose deaths has nearly quadrupled 
over the past twenty years. Although effective for the treatment of 
pain, prescription opioids are highly addictive and nearly half of all 
U.S. opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid.
  Deaths related to heroin have similarly increased, as individuals 
often transition from more expensive prescription opioids to cheaper 
heroin.
  In 2016, Congress adopted this program as part of the Comprehensive 
Addiction and Recovery Act, or ``CARA'' as we often refer to it. CARA 
was a well-intentioned initiative to enhance the efforts against 
opioids across the range of relevant executive branch agencies, 
involving the jurisdiction of several of our Committees in the House.
  I was pleased that the Judiciary Committee's contribution to this 
effort, resulted in the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program, which 
reflects an approach not strictly based on arresting and prosecuting.
  At the time, I noted with approval that we were not raising sentences 
or expanding mandatory minimums, but instead funding a range of 
approaches including anti-addiction mechanisms such as treatment 
alternatives to incarceration.
  Such alternatives incentivized by this Program include training for 
criminal justice agency personnel on substance abuse disorders, the 
implementation of mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans' 
treatment courts, assisting parents whose incarceration could result in 
children entering the child welfare system, and community-based 
substance abuse diversion programs.
  In 2015, we learned through a Crime Subcommittee hearing about the 
success of the newly-developed Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or 
LEAD, approach that was spearheaded in cities such as Seattle and Santa 
Fe.
  Through the program we are extending today, hopefully we will make it 
easier for other cities to afford to implement diversion program such 
as LEAD.
  Other purposes for which these grants may be used include providing 
training and resources for first responders to administer opioid 
overdose reversal drugs, expanding medication-assisted treatment 
programs operated by criminal justice agencies, implementing 
prescription drug monitoring programs, preventing opioid abuse by 
juveniles, and implementing prescription drug take-back programs, in 
addition to investigating the illicit distribution of opioids.
  More than 80 percent of the defendants sentenced for crack cocaine 
offenses were African Americans, despite the fact that more than 66 
percent of crack users were either White or Hispanic.
  In 2010, we reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder 
cocaine from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1, but we did not even make those 
changes apply retroactively, and the remaining disparity--and the 
remaining mandatory nature of the penalty--remains.
  There is more to do, and there is no excuse to allow such injustices 
to persist even as Congress attempts to take credit for efforts to 
address the opioid crisis.
  As former Attorney General Eric Holder said when he instituted his 
initiative to address some of the inequities with respect to 
prosecuting drug crimes, we need to be ``Smart on Crime.''
  We do not need do not need more ``get tough'' rhetoric from President 
Trump or Attorney General Sessions about imposing the death penalty for 
drug crimes. And we should not be telling prosecutors to ratchet up 
criminal charges and penalties for drug offenders. None of that solves 
the problem.
  Instead of doubling down on failed policies that do nothing more than 
proliferate misery, we need real leadership, involving a commitment to 
increase resources for alternatives that we know are actually 
effective.
  And so, while we should support this bill, we should do more to 
promote a broader and more just approach for all drugs, and re-
instituting policies that reflect the need to be ``Smart on Crime.''
  Mr. Speaker, I hope the funding we appropriate in the years to come 
will match the increased authorization for funding the Comprehensive 
Opioid Abuse Grant Program administered by the Department of Justice.
  But we must do more than write checks, we must challenge ourselves to 
change our mindset and methodology in the way we address drug abuse 
across the range of substances that we have criminalized.
  After years of failed policies, we should have learned that we cannot 
arrest or incarcerate our way out of any drug crisis, and mass 
incarceration--fueled primary by drug-related arrests--has harmed our 
communities in many ways.
  Therefore, as I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill 
today, I also ask that we commit ourselves to extending this 
conversation past today so that we can work together to reform our drug 
laws, our sentencing

[[Page H5123]]

laws, and broaden our approaches to preventing and addressing drug 
abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus), whom I failed to note in 
my opening remarks is the chief sponsor of this legislation and someone 
very dedicated to addressing problems with opioid abuse.
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, H.R. 
6029, the Reauthorizing and Extending Grants for Recovery from Opioid 
Use Programs Act of 2018, or the REGROUP Act.
  In simple terms, this bill will help our Nation continue the fight 
against the opioid crisis. The REGROUP Act does two things. First, it 
reauthorizes and extends the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program 
administered through the Department of Justice for an additional 2 
years through 2023. Second, it also raises authorized funding levels 
for these programs from $103 million to $330 million for each fiscal 
year.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. Speaker, back in my district in western Pennsylvania, the opioid 
crisis is still a huge problem that continues to destroy lives, hurt 
families, and plague entire communities.
  While we have made some progress, there is much more work to be done. 
Therefore, we must not only continue to support the Comprehensive 
Opioid Abuse Program, but enhance it with additional funding.
  Originally authorized in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act 
of 2016, or CARA, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program authorized 
valuable grant resources to States and localities suffering from the 
epidemic. These competitive grant programs offer a wide variety of 
support at all phases of this fight, from first responders to those 
suffering from substance abuse.
  More specifically, the DOJ has developed various grant programs for 
first responders fighting on the front lines, programs that support 
drug courts and veteran treatment courts. It also provides grants for 
increasing collaboration between criminal justice agencies and 
substance abuse agencies. Furthermore, it even has programs that help 
develop the prescription drug monitoring programs.
  For example, back in Beaver County and Allegheny County, we have 
veteran treatment courts that provide alternative justice systems where 
those who suffer from addiction and who run afoul of the law can 
actually receive the care, treatment, and intervention they need.
  The alternate systems that these courts offer are precisely the type 
of programs that the REGROUP Act will support. Courts like these help 
break the cycle of addiction for individuals and, hopefully, save lives 
in the process. Our whole society benefits when someone breaks the 
chain of addiction.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are to end the opioid crisis, we must attack this 
problem at all levels. We must be committed to this fight for the long 
term, and we must increase support for these programs. The REGROUP Act 
will help us continue this fight against the opioid crisis.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Let me thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his leadership and 
for his concern for what has been a deadly journey for many Americans.
  As I close, I would like to share just a moment of the devastating 
impact that this epidemic of drugs has had in many communities.
  More than 80 percent of the defendants sentenced for crack cocaine 
offenses were African Americans, despite the fact that more than 66 
percent of crack cocaine users were either White or Hispanic.
  In 2010, we reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder 
cocaine from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1. We did not even make those changes 
apply retroactively. The remaining disparity and the remaining 
mandatory nature of the penalty remains. Therefore, there is much to 
do.
  This bill will help us a lot, but there is no excuse to continue to 
allow people, as is evidenced by the recent pardon by the 
administration of an individual who had been incarcerated on a drug 
offense, no excuse for us to allow these injustices to persist, even as 
we proceed to work on this opioid epidemic.
  So I think it is extremely important that, as former Attorney General 
Eric Holder said when he instituted his initiative to address some of 
the inequities with respect to prosecuting drug crimes, we need to be 
smart on crime. Treatment is very important. This legislation raising 
the amount of grant money to help with the courts and treatment 
elements will be a major aspect to saving lives.
  But we do not need to continue to get tough in another arena where we 
are speaking about raising penalties, imposing the death penalty for 
drug crimes, as the Attorney General has offered. We should not be 
telling prosecutors to ratchet up criminal charges and penalties for 
drug offenders. None of that solves the problem.
  What we are doing today will solve the problem. Instead of doubling 
down on failing policies that do not do anything more than proliferate 
misery for the incarcerated person who really needs treatment, as well 
as the family, we need real leadership involving a commitment to 
increase resources for the alternatives we know are actually effective.
  I really do believe the veterans courts, for example, are a Godsend 
to many of our veterans who come back and truly need help. They are so 
grateful for help. They may have gotten addicted while in the service 
or because of circumstances after leaving the service, including issues 
dealing with their own psychological needs. In any event, we know that 
they have served their Nation.
  Continuing to support those kinds of alternatives are extremely 
important, and we should support this bill so that we can continue 
those alternatives, but we need to make sure that we speak against 
those approaches that ignore the Smart on Crime. I would ask that we 
reinstitute the Smart on Crime, which diminishes the number of people 
who get caught up in the system who are just truly addicted from the 
terrible plight that they have with drug addiction.
  As we work to do more, we must ensure that we look at the crisis as 
it relates to mass incarceration. We must also treat all of the 
addictions--crack cocaine--as the same, because it spreads throughout 
our Nation.
  So as we continue this conversation, again, I add my appreciation to 
the Congressman from Pennsylvania, the chairman, and Ranking Member 
Nadler. As we rise to support this legislation, let us continue to seek 
to reform our drug laws, let us reform our sentencing laws, and let us 
broaden our approaches to preventing and addressing drug abuse.
  I think the experts will tell us that that has been one of the most 
effective pathways to get people away from drugs and to get their lives 
and the lives of their families restored.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I, too, want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus). 
I want to thank the gentlewoman, the ranking member of the Crime, 
Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee for her 
dedication to addressing this very serious problem.
  I want to urge all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this 
fine legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6029.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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