Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for introducing this amendment, shedding light on one of the most vulnerable populations affected by this national opioid epidemic: our children.

As communities, non-profits, and policymakers search for solutions to address this harrowing drug epidemic, it is essential that we not lose sight of the children whose lives have been fundamentally and forever altered by this nationwide crisis.

Kids across the country are having their lives turned upside down. They are watching parents taken into custody. They are forced to leave homes, wondering whether they will ever be able to see their father or mother again. These are things children shouldn't have to worry about and shouldn't have to go through.

The national opioid epidemic has hit my home State of Indiana particularly hard. A small Hoosier community of 4,300 was catapulted into the spotlight last spring. We had over 190 Hoosiers diagnosed with HIV primarily due to intravenous drug use. It is a tragedy the CDC has cited as one of the worst documented HIV outbreaks among users in the past 2 decades.

This localized epidemic, similar to others across the country, is linked to the use of a powerful painkiller, a very highly addictive opiate.

In addressing this nationwide problem, we are going to have to overcome the negative stigmas of drug addiction. We need to treat these individuals--and I say this literally--treat them as patients who need our encouragement and our support to get well.

That is what this amendment accomplishes. Under this amendment, thousands of children who would otherwise see their parent destined for a prison cell will instead see the parent they love and depend on get the treatment they need.

The need for this amendment is urgent. The Indiana Department of Child Services estimates 2,600 children had to be removed from homes due to parental drug abuse in just a 6-month period that ended last March. That is a 71 percent jump from 2 years earlier.

We, as legislators, have a real responsibility to look out for these children.

When States develop a substance abuse treatment program that can be an alternative to incarceration, this amendment allows them to focus on treating parents whose incarceration could result in their children languishing in an overwhelmed child welfare system. More than a dozen child welfare organizations support this bipartisan endeavor.

I want to thank Mr. Davis, as I close here, and his staff for collaborating with me and Jaymi Light in my office in order to ensure that we can help this vulnerable population.

I ask my colleagues to support the amendment and help us ensure our most vulnerable children are no longer caught up in this epidemic.

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