[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 2923-2924]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION AND RECOVERY BILL

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, 8 years ago, I convened the first in a 
series of hearings in Vermont where the Senate Judiciary Committee 
examined the growing problem of drug addiction in rural communities. As 
we gathered in Rutland in March 2008, the mayor noted in his opening 
statement that there was a part of him that wished that the committee 
did not have to be there in his city that day. He wished that his 
community was not facing the scourge of drug abuse and addiction that 
was creeping across rural America.
  But in true Vermont fashion, Mayor Louras and the other community 
leaders, law enforcement officials, and health professionals who 
gathered with us that day in March 2008 did not shy away from the 
problem. Instead, we had an honest discussion about how to fight this 
problem together and about how the Federal Government could help. Over 
the past 8 years, we have continued this important conversation at 
other hearings I convened in St. Albans, in Barre, and again in 
Rutland. We have heard testimony from community leaders and officials 
throughout Vermont about the growing problem of opioid addiction. In 
St. Albans, for example, Dr. Fred Holmes told us tragic stories about 
teenagers getting hooked on OxyContin and other opioids and then 
committing crimes to support their habits. These stories have been 
heartbreaking.
  Despite these difficult circumstances, I am struck by the 
determination of Vermonters to come together to address this crisis--
and to do so not just through law enforcement and locking people up, 
but through comprehensive prevention, treatment, and recovery programs.
  In Rutland, for example, Project VISION brings together city 
officials, law enforcement, and social services to work together, all 
in the same office, to confront the problems of drug abuse and related 
crime. What they have found is that something as simple as sharing 
office space improves communication and coordination and begins to turn 
the tide.
  Mary Alice McKenzie, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club, 
testified at the most recent hearing in Rutland about children who are 
neglected because their parents are opioid addicts and how there is 
sometimes no money for food because parents have spent it on drugs. 
Kids are also becoming addicts at younger and younger ages. The Boys & 
Girls Club has responded by extending evening hours and staying open on 
Saturdays. They now serve dinner 6 nights a week and drive kids home 
after dark. They provide safety for these children. They are also 
working with schools and public health officials to provide education 
and prevent them from getting swept up in that world.
  At that same hearing, Vermont's health department commissioner, Harry 
Chen, described to us Vermont's innovative and successful ``hub and 
spoke'' treatment model. This system has two levels of care, with the 
patients' needs determining the appropriate level. Although challenges 
remain and waiting lists are still too long, I believe this system can 
be a model for the Nation's response to the opioid crisis.
  Earlier this year, we heard powerful testimony from Governor Shumlin 
about the progress that Vermont has made because of this comprehensive 
approach--but also about the work that still remains to be done. 
Vermont's focused and persistent efforts are now drawing attention and 
replication in communities across the Nation.
  In many ways, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, 
builds upon the work in Vermont.
  To specifically address the opioid problem in Vermont and other rural 
areas, I made sure that CARA will help get the overdose-reversal drug 
naloxone into more of our rural communities. Getting naloxone into more 
hands will save lives. I also ensured that CARA includes a new Federal 
grant program to fund expanded treatment options for heroin and opioid 
abuse and Federal funding to expand State-led anti-heroin task forces.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of CARA, and I am glad to see the Senate 
pass this bill. This bill is historic because it marks the first time 
that we are treating addiction like the public health crisis that it 
is. We are not imposing harsh and arbitrary mandatory minimum sentences 
on those who abuse drugs. We are not condemning the poor and sick among 
us to be warehoused in our Nation's jails. Today I am hopeful that we 
have finally learned our lesson from the failed war on drugs.
  But our work is not done. The Senate missed an opportunity to provide 
real funding for this effort when Republicans blocked Senator Shaheen's 
amendment that would have provided for emergency supplemental 
appropriations, so we need to keep fighting to ensure that we provide 
the necessary resources to support implementation of this bill. In 
Vermont and across this country, there are few issues more pressing 
than opioid and heroin addiction, and I will not stop working with 
people throughout our State to help fight this epidemic.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, earlier today the Senate overwhelming 
passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which is a good 
first step toward combatting the opioid addition epidemic facing our 
Nation. The bill authorizes expanded treatment options

[[Page 2924]]

and empowers local health and law enforcement agencies to intensify 
efforts to combat opioid addiction. This bill is a good start, but 
there is a lot of work left to do to address this increasingly dire 
situation. This body needs to put real resources behind the initiatives 
we approved today and place a greater priority on investing in research 
for non-opioid alternatives to pain management.
  The CDC estimated that, in 2014, overdose related to prescription 
pain killers killed nearly 19,000 Americans. In Montana alone, 
according to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human 
Services, prescription drug overdoses led to at least 369 deaths and 
more than 7,200 hospital inpatient admissions and emergency department 
encounters statewide over a recent 3-year period. The effects of opioid 
addiction are undisputedly devastating.
  It is also important to keep in mind that chronic pain is a very real 
problem that affects millions of Americans. When discussing the 
negative consequences of opioids, we must also remember that effective 
treatments for chronic pain are absolutely necessary for those 
struggling with long-term pain management.
  That is why I believe it is time to devote more energy and funding to 
the development of non-opioid painkillers. Early stage research in my 
home State of Montana is demonstrating incredible promise in developing 
non-opioid drugs that could help treat both chronic and acute pain. I 
am confident that medical professionals will eventually be empowered to 
offer their patients effective pain management alternatives that may 
significantly reduce our society's reliance on opioids.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the coming months to 
find ways to invest in the research and development of non-opioid 
painkillers. In the meantime, I encourage Federal agencies, such as the 
National Institutes of Health, to ramp up focus on finding alternative 
treatments for chronic pain to reduce our Nation's dependency on 
opioids. Thank you.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

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