[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF ROBERT CALIFF

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in the meantime, we took a step forward 
yesterday by confirming the new FDA Commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf. In 
a recent meeting with Dr. Califf, I expressed my concerns regarding the 
epidemic at hand and the need for more action by the FDA.
  I was encouraged by Dr. Califf's recognition that the opioid epidemic 
is a serious problem and the FDA must do a better job of addressing it. 
Dr. Califf received broad bipartisan support yesterday in the Senate, 
and we look forward to working with him. I will continue to hold him 
accountable to lead the FDA in a new direction to help prevent 
dependence and abuse of prescription opioids.

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