[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1921-1922]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         BOTTICELLI NOMINATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Senator Alexander and Senator Enzi 
are here on the floor. I want to briefly address the nominee we will be 
voting on this afternoon and then turn to the matter the three of us 
wish to address.
  Today the Senate is going to vote on the nomination of Michael 
Botticelli to be the next Director of National Drug Control Policy. I 
look forward to working with our Nation's next drug czar just as I have 
with previous drug czars.
  Drug abuse is a serious problem in my home State. Kentucky is the 
fifth highest prescribing State when it comes to pain killers, and we 
have the Nation's third highest drug overdose mortality rate, with many 
deaths driven by prescription pain killers.
  Heroin abuse is also a problem in the Bluegrass State. Heroin deaths 
accounted for 32 percent of the drug overdoses back in 2013, and they 
continue to climb. The epicenter of the heroin problem is located in 
the northern region across the river from Cincinnati, although I am 
hearing more and more from constituents that drug abuse is rising in 
other parts of the Commonwealth as well.
  All told, the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy reports that 
about 1,000 Kentuckians lose their lives overdosing on drugs every 
year, which is more than we lose in fatal car crashes.
  There is another reason I am pleased to welcome prior drug czar Gil 
Kerlikowski to tour Kentucky. We had him there a couple of years ago to 
take a closeup look at the problems we face. He visited Louisville, 
Lexington, London, and Pikeville--four communities, both urban and 
rural, across the State. He met with Kentuckians who worked to tackle 
this issue from every single angle--public health officials, medical 
professionals, law enforcement officials, drug courts, members of the 
business community, and Kentuckians involved with prevention. The drug 
czar's visit helped focus more Federal attention and Federal resources 
on this issue, and in a time of strained budgets, the extra attention 
and those extra resources are particularly important.
  I am also pleased to report that Mr. Botticelli plans to visit 
Eastern Kentucky soon. He also plans, at my invitation, to visit 
Northern Kentucky this spring. Visits such as these help ensure 
continued Federal focus on Kentucky's drug problem, and I look forward 
to working with the next drug czar to move closer to the day when drug 
abuse is no longer ravaging our families and our communities.
  (The remarks of Mr. McConnell, Mr. Alexander, and Mr. Enzi pertaining 
to the introduction of S.J. Res. 8 are printed in today's Record under 
``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I rise to speak in support of Michael 
Botticelli in our effort today to confirm him as Director of the Office 
of National Drug Control Policy.
  The State of Massachusetts, like too many other regions of this 
Nation, is being ravaged by the scourge of prescription drug and heroin 
addiction that is breaking apart families and burying communities under 
a mountain of despair. Massachusetts experienced 114 deaths in 
December, and that doesn't count our biggest cities, such as Boston and 
Worcester and Springfield.
  Drug overdose deaths fueled by prescription pain killers now claim 
more lives than car accidents nationwide. Approximately 100 Americans 
die from an overdose every day.
  As a Senator from Massachusetts, I have a deep appreciation and 
respect for Michael Botticelli's accomplishments addressing addiction 
during his nearly two decades serving in the Massachusetts Department 
of Public Health. He is a public health and drug policy pioneer, and he 
lived in my hometown of Malden, MA, while he did this job.
  Immediately prior to joining the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy as Deputy Director, Mr. Botticelli was the director of the 
Bureau of Substance Abuse Services at the Massachusetts Department of 
Public Health. While he was there, he pioneered innovative, effective 
approaches to substance abuse challenges. He was responsible for 
launching a program that expanded treatment and recovery opportunities 
in local community health centers, including a focus on providing a 
continuum of care for those suffering with substance use disorders. Mr. 
Botticelli also expanded innovative and nationally recognized 
prevention strategies. He established and implemented evidence-based 
jail diversion programs, reentry services for those leaving State and 
county correctional facilities, and overdose prevention programs.
  Although there is always more work to be done, it is because of Mr. 
Botticelli's efforts and the legacy he left behind that Massachusetts 
is in many ways a national leader in addressing the prescription and 
heroin abuse epidemic.

[[Page 1922]]

  Mr. Botticelli has been very public about his personal history of 
struggling with an alcohol use disorder as a young professional and 
seeking help that has led him into long-term recovery. He recently 
celebrated 26 years of sobriety, and I applaud him for that.
  Mr. Botticelli's personal life experiences have provided him a unique 
perspective on the epidemic facing our Nation. When he joined me at a 
recent roundtable I convened in Boston about this crisis, he spoke 
about it in human terms. He reminded us that there is a family, a loved 
one, a friend, or a child behind each and every one of these 
statistics. His openness about his own struggles and his path to 
recovery helped shed much needed light on the issue of addiction, which 
has lurked too long in the shadows of shame and stigma. I think his 
story helps others to seek treatment and begin a life of recovery. He 
truly is leading by his own personal example.
  The drug problems facing our country have changed dramatically since 
the Office of National Drug Control Policy was created in 1988. Mr. 
Botticelli has an excellent understanding of the mission of this 
office, the changing needs of the addiction community, and the urgency 
for solutions to halting the rise of substance use disorders in this 
country. I believe he is going to make a superlative Director, bringing 
his strong heart, keen mind, and Malden, MA, roots to the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy. I am honored to speak in support of his 
nomination on the floor today and look forward to working with him in 
the years to come. I recommend in the strongest possible terms Michael 
Botticelli for the Office of Director of the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.

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