Rob Portman: “I am here on the Senate floor to talk, once again, about the addiction crisis in our country. Over the past 4 years, I…”

“I am here on the Senate floor to talk, once again, about the addiction crisis in our country. Over the past 4 years, I am told I have given over 64 speeches on this topic, and that is because it is a crisis, and a national one, and we have done a lot here in this Senate and also in the House of Representatives to deal with the issue. We passed some important legislation. We are making some progress, but, gosh, prescription opioids, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine continue to harm so many people in our communities and so many of the families we represent. We put new policies in place to help deal with it--better prevention, better treatment, and better recovery efforts. Among other things, we passed legislation like the SUPPORT Act, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, the 21st Century Cures Act, and the STOP Act. Through these new laws, we have also provided over $4 billion in additional Federal resources just over the last 3 years to be able to combat this epidemic--particularly, the opioid epidemic. In Ohio alone, our State received nearly $140 million through the CARA and Cures legislation. It has gone toward innovative, evidence- based programs to try to figure out how we intervene at the appropriate time to keep people who are addicted from overdosing and, instead, to get them into treatment and into longer term recovery in a successful way.…”