[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 163 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Opioid Epidemic

  Mr. President, second, I also want to point out that I hope the 
Senate will be moving soon to advance the SUPPORT for Patients and 
Communities Act, which is comprehensive legislation to address the 
opioid epidemic. It is legislation that is the product of real 
bipartisan collaboration, not only within multiple committees within 
the Senate but multiple committees within both Chambers of Congress. It 
really shows we can work together across the aisle to help combat a 
crisis that has such a devastating impact on so many of our communities 
across the country. In my State of New Hampshire, where we have been 
particularly devastated, we have the second highest rate of overdose 
deaths from opioids of any State in the country.
  What I have heard from Granite Staters time and again is that local 
providers and communities need more resources and flexibility to expand 
access to opioid treatment and prevention. This legislation responds to 
that call for action.
  I am proud to have worked with Senator Hassan and Senators from 
across the aisle to ensure that this bill includes a reauthorization of 
the State opioid response grants, with the inclusion of the set-aside 
funding pool for States like New Hampshire that have been hardest hit 
by the epidemic.
  I am also pleased that the bill includes provisions of legislation I 
cosponsored with Senator Collins to provide technical assistance and 
resources to peer recovery support networks. These networks play a 
vital role in a patient's successful recovery.
  The bill extends flexibility for physicians and other practitioners 
who are seeking to expand access to medication-assisted treatment, or 
MAT. Ensuring that more patients can receive MAT services is critical 
to stemming the tide of the opioid epidemic.
  The bill provides a variety of improvements to prescription drug 
monitoring programs, which has been a priority for New Hampshire. It 
includes a number of provisions that will improve the ability of 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement to reduce the illicit 
distribution of opioids and interdict particularly deadly synthetics 
like fentanyl, which is really the source of so many overdose deaths 
across the country.
  The legislation reauthorizes critical law enforcement programs that 
work to combat drug trafficking, including the High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Areas Program, HIDTA. I had an opportunity in January to 
visit the New England HIDTA Program headquarters in Massachusetts, and 
I saw firsthand the work they are doing to combat the flow of illicit 
drugs.
  Finally, this opioid legislation provides much needed focus on 
addressing the impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families. 
If we don't get ahead of this epidemic, we are going to see another 
generation of children who are going to be lost because of what has 
happened in their families because of substance abuse disorders.
  This bill will help pregnant women with substance use disorders 
access the maternity care they need. It has programs that will give 
families better options for treating opioid withdrawal in newborns, 
programs like Moms in Recovery that Dartmouth-Hitchcock does so well in 
New Hampshire. What we are seeing in some hospitals in New Hampshire is 
that as much as 10-percent of babies are born with neonatal abstinence 
syndrome, or NAS, caused by their mothers using opioids while they were 
pregnant. The bill will also help spur new family-focused interventions 
for parents struggling with opioid use disorders so that fewer kids 
will be raised in foster care.
  In sum, the policies included in this bipartisan legislation will go 
a long way toward helping us fight the opioid epidemic. We will need to 
continue to focus Federal resources on this crisis in the years to 
come. This is an important step forward in making sure at the Federal 
level that we are working with States and communities to address this 
multifaceted public health challenge. If we all work together, we can 
help end the devastation that is being caused by opioids. I look 
forward to joining all of our colleagues in supporting this bill soon.
  At this point, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Flake). The Senator from Idaho.