Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016--Conference Report--

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPITO. 524.

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Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I would like to begin my statement first of all by congratulating Carla Hayden, who was just confirmed as the 14th Librarian of Congress. I know she will do a good job. I am very proud of her and I look forward to working with her and the Library.

Mr. President, earlier today I was proud to support cloture for the CARA bill. It puts us on track to reverse this epidemic and promises to provide help to so many who are impacted by addiction. We will be hearing also from my friend and colleague Senator Baldwin because we both believe strongly that our veterans are one of those many groups this bill seeks to assist.

A little over a year ago, under the leadership of Senator Baldwin-- and I thank her for that--the two of us introduced the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act, which provides safer and more effective pain management for our Nation's veterans. This legislation, named after U.S. Marine veteran Jason Simcakoski of Wisconsin, who died at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center as a result of a mixed drug toxicity, is included in the CARA bill. In fact, title IX of the bill is titled the Jason Simcakoski Memorial and Promise Act.

Tragically, stories like Jason's exist all around the country, including my own State of West Virginia. Andrew White, another marine, returned home to West Virginia only to be placed on a cocktail of drugs, including anti-psychotics, over twice the recommended dosage. Andrew died in his sleep at the age of 23.

Far too many of our veterans have returned home from overseas to fight another battle here at home. This legislation will update and strengthen the guidelines for opioid prescriptions and require-- require--the VA to expand the scope of research, education, delivery, and integration of alternative pain management.

Chronic pain should not be something our veterans are forced to live with, and the VA must be on the cutting edge of developing effective pain management. Our hope is, this will provide the VA with the tools it needs to help prevent these types of tragedies from occurring.

Again, I thank Senator Baldwin for her very great work in this area.

So many across the Nation, and particularly in rural States like West Virginia, which has the unfortunate distinction of having the largest amount of drug-related overdose deaths--more than twice the national average--are impacted by addiction. CARA is a comprehensive step forward in the national response to this drug epidemic.

We have heard throughout the day how it expands prevention, education, promotes resources for treatment and recovery. It includes reforms to help our law enforcement create alternatives to incarceration, such as successful drug court programs.

We have also heard of the many organizations that are in support of this--over 200. It may be approaching 300 now. These organizations deal with addiction and the results of addiction on a daily basis. I believe one of the reasons so many organizations support this bill--and I know that part of the reason I am so proud to support the bill--is it addresses how addiction affects not only the addict or their family but the well-being of an entire community.

Following a drug prevention seminar I held last year, one of my constituents said:

There is a need for the community to be involved in resolving the drug addiction issue. It is my hope and prayer that we can find community based solutions that will improve the lives of all the citizens in our community, county and state.

CARA contains many ideas and opens the door for communities to take actions to help neighborhoods and schools. It authorizes much needed programs for prevention and education.

Another one of my constituents wrote:

Our young people are dying off by the dozens and a generation of children think of this as normal.

Some of the saddest letters I have received have been about those who have already lost their battle to the scourge against addiction. A grandmother from Martinsburg wrote the following:

Our granddaughter--that tall, exuberant redhead who laughed her way into our hearts, is now a statistic.

As a grandmother myself, I love the way she phrased that--laughed her way into our hearts.

Several days ago our son called to tell us that she had died the night before from a heroin overdose. . . . It was that quick. Our granddaughter started her drug journey with prescription drug opiates. When those pills weren't enough, heroin stepped in, and the downward spiral began.

It isn't just the problem kids . . . who get hooked. Our granddaughter came from a stable, affectionate home. Even though her parents tried their best to save her with countless sleepless nights, multiple trips to re-habs, tough love and loving persuasion, that drug won the battle.

Now, we are not even allowed to grieve. We must also contend with the many forms of our anger; impatience with our granddaughter for not being stronger, rage at those who sold her the drugs, frustration with the authorities for not doing more to stop the trafficking or establishing more treatment centers, and self-recrimination for maybe not doing enough.

We are also trying to cope with the guilt of feeling relief that her hell is finally over. There is nothing more we can do for her now, no more treatments that we can try.

She's gone. Just . . . gone.

Will the passage of CARA stop all overdoses or ensure that no other grandmother or family feels this anguish? No. But it does begin to address the frustrations and pain this grandmother and so many others feel. CARA attempts to break the cycle of repeated overdoses by encouraging the use of followup services for those who have received the drug naloxone to reverse the opioid overdose.

Too many stories of addiction start like this one, with prescription pain killers. By allowing the partial fill of certain opioid prescriptions, reviewing best practices for acute pain management, and expanding prescription take-back days and locations, CARA will reduce the number of unused painkillers and hopefully prevent future cases of drug abuse and addiction.

We cannot continue to lose 129 granddaughters, sisters, fathers, neighbors, and friends every single day to drug overdoses. As I have said before and will say again, we will lose a generation if we don't address this crisis now. This cannot be the new normal for our young people or for our communities.

I commend all who have worked on this bill to get us to this point. It is time to pass CARA and send it to the President's desk. Our communities in West Virginia and across the country cannot afford to wait any longer.

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