[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5033-S5035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Opioid Epidemic

  Mr. President, last week, the National Center for Health Statistics 
released preliminary data showing that drug overdose deaths in America 
declined by about 5 percent last year. Before anybody begins to 
applaud, let me point out that drug overdoses killed more than 70,000 
Americans the year before. So a 5-percent reduction is welcome, but 
obviously it is still very alarming. This 5 percent decline is the 
first national drop in three decades, though, and for communities 
across the country that continue to battle the opioid epidemic, it is a 
small indication that our efforts here in Congress are having an 
impact. We certainly have a long fight ahead of us, but this is an 
encouraging sign.
  If you look closer, the data shows that the decline is due almost 
entirely to a decrease in prescription opioid-related deaths. Those 
caused by other opioids--particularly fentanyl and heroin--remain on 
the rise.
  The cruel reality is that the more we step up our efforts to limit 
prescription opioid diversion, the higher the demand is for other 
illegal drugs, many of which come across our southern border. We can't 
limit our efforts to what can be done here at home. In order for our 
work to be successful and for us to save more lives, we have to stop 
this poison from entering our country in the first place.
  I have the honor of cochairing the Senate Caucus on International 
Narcotics Control with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, where we 
are working on ways to do exactly that--to slow down the poison coming 
across our borders.
  If you look at many of the challenges we face here at home--whether 
it is the opioid epidemic, the humanitarian crisis at the border, the 
criminal gangs on our streets--much of that can be directly traced to 
the violence that exists in Central America and Mexico.
  This morning, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Hudson Institute 
about my proposal to attack this crisis from every angle, an all-
government approach, something we call the New Americas Recommitment to 
Counternarcotics Operations and Strategy. As the Presiding Officer 
knows, we love a good acronym here in Washington, DC, so we can simply 
refer to this initiative as the NARCOS Initiative.
  First, it takes aim at the dangerous substances that are crossing our 
southern border. Customs and Border Protection officers are incredibly 
well-trained and equipped to find illegal drugs, and seize an average 
of 5,800 pounds of narcotics each day. By the way, on June 16, Customs 
and Border Protection seized 20 tons of cocaine--which is the largest 
seizure in the 230-year history of Customs and Border Protection--with 
an estimated street value of $1.3 billion. So good for them. They are 
extremely professional and well-trained law enforcement officers.
  As we know, many of these drugs managed to make their way into the 
interior of our country and into local communities, causing untold 
misery and grief. Stopping their production and movement is not a fight 
we can win alone. It will take a bipartisan, long-term commitment from 
the Federal Government, as well as our foreign partners. An important 
step is to strengthen law enforcement cooperation by improving 
intelligence-sharing and providing training for some of our foreign 
partners. It is an important force multiplier and a necessary component 
of our counternarcotics efforts.
  In addition to attacking the drugs themselves, the NARCOS Initiative 
goes after the cartels and transnational criminal organizations that 
profit from this business. These groups are what I call commodity-
agnostic. They really don't care who they hurt or what they ply. The 
only thing they care about is making money. It is not just narcotics 
they are dealing; it is human trafficking, migrant smuggling, money 
laundering, counterfeit goods, public corruption. The list of crimes is 
long, indeed, and they do all of it.
  These transnational criminal organizations turn an enormous profit 
from their corrupt dealings, and then they have to launder the money 
they use to finance their operation. We know that one of the most 
effective ways to suffocate criminal networks is to cut off the money, 
so that is precisely where we should aim.
  The Senate Judiciary Committee recently passed legislation to combat 
money laundering and other illicit financing, which includes a 
provision that I offered that has to do with the role of remittances. 
According to the United Nations, over $300 billion in illicit 
transnational crimes proceeds likely flows through the U.S. financial 
system. The provision included on remittances requires Treasury to 
submit an analysis of the use of remittances by drug kingpins and crime 
syndicates and develop a strategy to prevent them from using that 
remittance system in order to launder proceeds from criminal 
enterprises.
  It is also time for us to reevaluate our current strategy and to 
determine how to update the Bank Secrecy Act, which was enacted more 
than 50 years ago and is the primary money laundering law regulating 
financial institutions.
  In addition to fueling violence and instability, the conditions in 
Central America serve as a push factor. As human beings, we all 
understand people fleeing violence and poverty. So encouraging those 
countries to provide safety and stability for their own people so they 
can stay in their homes and live their lives ought to be one of the 
things that we do. Otherwise, these push factors encourage migrants to 
take the same routes used by cartels and criminal organizations to 
reach the United States. As we know, some of them simply don't make it. 
They die in the process. Young girls and women are routinely sexually 
assaulted. It is a miserable alternative to staying at home and living 
in safety and security.
  We know all of this has contributed to the humanitarian crisis at our 
southern border. We all know but have not yet had the political will to 
reform our broken laws and prevent these smugglers and criminal 
organizations from gaming the system.
  I know the Presiding Officer was at the border earlier this week. I 
have tried to figure out how we crack this nut. How do we take this 
polarized environment and provide the tools necessary to begin to 
staunch the flow of humanity coming across our border? They are 
attracted by the easy access to the United States through our broken 
laws but also the push factors, like the violence and poverty in their 
countries.
  I am working with a Democratic colleague of mine from Laredo, TX, 
Henry Cuellar. Together, we introduced the HUMANE Act, which made great 
strides to help fix our broken asylum system in a way that would give 
legitimate asylees an opportunity to present their case on a timely 
basis in front of an immigration judge. It would also make sure the 
conditions of their custody while they are here in the United States 
are something we can be proud of. Specifically, what this bill does is 
closes a loophole in the law known as the Flores settlement, which is 
often used by smugglers to gain entry into the United States. It would 
streamline the processing of migrants and improve standards of care for 
individuals in custody.
  If we want to restore law and order and make it sustainable, we need 
to look at ways to invest in economic development to help these 
countries build

[[Page S5034]]

stronger economies. But I share some of the concerns expressed by the 
President and others. We need some metrics. We need a strategy. We need 
reliable foreign partners that can work with us.
  The one effort I can think of where we actually were successful 
working with foreign partners and strong leaders to really effect a 
dramatic change is the nation of Colombia, so-called Plan Colombia. 
Obviously, Mexico and the region are much more complex, and Plan 
Colombia doesn't easily fit on top of that region. I think the concept 
is a sound one, one in which we come together on a bipartisan basis, 
develop a strategy, help train our foreign partners, and seek out 
strong leaders who can help us work through these challenges, because 
there is a multiplicity of challenges, as I have indicated.

  One of the things that would help is to ratify the new and improved 
NAFTA, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or the 
USMCA. Obviously, a strong economy in Mexico means people don't have to 
come to the United States in order to provide for their families. The 
International Trade Commission's analysis of the agreement shows some 
positive indicators for North American workers, farmers, ranchers, and 
businesses. About 5 million American jobs depend on the binational 
trade with Mexico alone, which is some indication of how important this 
is.
  We can strengthen public-private partnerships in other ways to help 
add to the effort to provide for investment, a clean environment, and a 
positive relationship with our colleagues in Mexico. One example is the 
North American Development Bank. For every one NAD Bank dollar that has 
been invested in a project, it has successfully leveraged $20 in total 
infrastructure investment in using both private- and public-sector 
dollars. To that end, I have introduced legislation with Senator 
Feinstein, of California, that would authorize the Treasury Department 
to increase NAD Bank's capital and provide additional authority that is 
specifically related to port infrastructure.
  We know the ports of entry are not only avenues of commercial trade 
and traffic but are where a lot of the high-end or expensive illegal 
drugs are smuggled through. We need to modernize those ports of entry. 
We need to expand the infrastructure and make sure they are adequately 
staffed, not only to facilitate the flow of legitimate trade and travel 
but also to stop these drugs from coming through the ports of entry.
  I just want to say a few words about this NARCOS Initiative. I 
believe that we do need an all-government approach that would address 
the broad range of problems across Central America and Mexico, 
including with the transnational criminal organizations themselves, 
with the products and services they provide, as well as with the 
corruption they fuel and the means by which they stay in business, but 
we are going to need responsible partners in this effort.
  As our own experience with nation-building in the Middle East has 
demonstrated, we can't want something for them that they don't want for 
themselves. That is why it is so important to have a clear 
understanding about what the strategy is, what the goals are, and to 
have strong, reliable leaders in those countries who will work with us 
in a bipartisan way to accomplish our collective goal.
  We have both the responsibility and the opportunity to make 
meaningful changes to stabilize the region, and I believe the time to 
act was yesterday. I hope our colleagues will join me in supporting 
this legislation to promote a secure and prosperous Western Hemisphere.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


        29th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise to celebrate one of the seminal 
moments in American civil rights history. This week marks the 29th 
anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On 
July 26, 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed a sweeping, 
bipartisan bill that acknowledged and affirmed the rights of people 
with disabilities.
  The passage of the so-called ADA promised that people with 
disabilities would be included in the guarantee of fundamental rights--
just by way of examples, the right to petition the court when 
discriminated against; the right to apply for and be considered for a 
job; the right to have and having the access to vote; the right to 
economic security; the right to live where you want to live.
  Twenty-nine years later, our country is better because we agreed to 
make the opportunities of our country accessible to all. The ADA 
changed the lives of 61 million Americans with disabilities and has 
made our Nation more accessible. The ADA proclaimed that Americans with 
disabilities must have the right and the means to fully participate in 
their communities. The ADA offers a path toward a truly accessible 
nation and elevates the voices of millions of individuals.
  One of those voices belongs to Jean Searle from the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania. Jean works at Disability Rights Pennsylvania, where she 
protects the rights of people with disabilities so they may live the 
lives they choose--free from abuse, neglect, discrimination, and 
segregation.
  As a child and young adult, Jean was forced to live in an 
institution. In that institution, she faced many indignities, the worst 
of which may have been having had her infant child taken from her 
without her consent. Simply because Jean lived with a disability, it 
was often assumed that she was not capable of making her own decisions, 
but she worked hard to find a way out of that institution. When she 
finally succeeded, she chose to live independently in her community and 
has found a fulfilling career in Harrisburg.
  The rights affirmed by the ADA and the services and supports Medicaid 
and other programs have provided have made it possible for Jean to be a 
full citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and, yes, even of the 
United States of America. Jean has dedicated her life to protecting the 
rights of people with disabilities.
  During this ADA anniversary week, it is also fitting that today is 
Jean's birthday.
  So, Jean, in looking at your picture on my left, I say happy 
birthday. I know many here would wish the same if you were here in 
person on the floor with us. I am honored to share your birthday.
  Let me pause here.
  Almost 30 years after her infant son, whom I referred to earlier, was 
taken from her, Jean had the opportunity recently to meet him for the 
first time. Jean often says that to make the world a better place, we 
need to spend our time listening to people with disabilities and 
learning from the disability community.

  Well said, Jean.
  When I listen, I hear about the greatness of the ADA and, at the same 
time, about much more that still needs to be done. One of those things 
is to protect what we have. That includes protecting access to 
healthcare, preventing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and 
ensuring that Medicaid remains intact. We also need to combat threats 
to people with disabilities.
  Over the past 2 years, we have seen a systemic and concerted effort 
to sabotage supports that are necessary for equality, opportunity, and 
the full participation of people with disabilities. What this 
administration has failed to do with legislation it is trying to 
accomplish through regulation and court cases. Cutting Medicaid is 
contrary to the ADA's goals, and it makes it difficult--or even 
potentially impossible--for people with disabilities to work, to go to 
school, or to be engaged in their communities.
  While we protect the hard-fought rights the disability community has 
earned, we can also build upon the ADA's promises. As we celebrate the 
ADA's 29th anniversary, we can do at least three things--honor the 
great advancements that have been made because of the ADA; remain 
vigilant to attacks on those civil rights; and work to ensure that the 
ADA's goals are realized for all people with disabilities.
  I believe Jean's own words make the point clearer than I can.

       We must never go back. We must never forget the struggle 
     that people with disabilities have gone through and are still 
     going through today.


[[Page S5035]]


  We must never go back, as Jean said. So, as we celebrate the ADA's 
29th anniversary, I promise--and I know it is the promise of many 
Members of Congress--to never forget that struggle. I also promise to 
stand side by side with the disability community to fully accomplish 
the ADA's goals.
  Mr. BROWN. Will the Senator from Pennsylvania yield?
  Mr. CASEY. I yield to Senator Brown.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Casey's advocacy for 
disabled Americans and for children especially.
  I just want to make a brief comment, for I know he has some other 
comments to make, on his support for Medicaid and on the efforts that 
we have made together on the Finance Committee in fighting against 
President Trump's attacks on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
  I know, in my State, the expansion of Medicaid and what came out of 
that meant that 900,000 more people had insurance, including a whole 
lot of people who were disabled. I know that Pennsylvania is the same 
way. So I thank Senator Casey.
  Mr. CASEY. I thank the senior Senator from Ohio, who makes the point 
broadly about the importance of Medicaid in the context of healthcare 
but especially with regard to Americans with disabilities. I thank him 
for his comments, and I thank him for his advocacy.