Rob Portman

I have been at hospitals in Cincinnati and Cleveland and in Lima...

We have seen in our Medicaid program in Ohio, through this lock-in program, a 41-percent reduction in dosages for certain narcotics.

Of course, it is. In fact, this very legislation will help people get into treatment, because, once they are identified as a frequent abuser, they actually are given the information and a referral to treatment.

I want to thank Senators Portman, Brown, Casey, and Kaine, whose offices and colleagues and staff met on many occasions.

Well, you can see it. It is right here, and it makes a lot of sense.

This is a strong tool to reduce doctor- and pharmacy-shopping.

It was mentioned that the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act, CARA, was reported out of the Judiciary Committee by a unanimous vote last week.

The administration has been seeking the authority from Congress to allow Medicare to use the tool that Medicaid already uses.

We have a solid bill that will help opioid-addicted seniors find treatment.

You are going to get that request from Ohio, I will tell you.

I do believe you are going to see a formal request coming from them very soon for you to engage with them as you are required to do under the Omnibus.

I hear this from my State of Ohio where, as you know, we have a considerable interest in this potential change in terms of the Stream Protection Rules and what impacts it is going to have on jobs.

In fact, on August 25th we celebrate the 100th year anniversary of our National Parks.

We want to be sure EPA is providing the technical expertise and providing the kind of oversight that they are required to.

I look forward to working with you on that as well, because it does require a statutory change.

I hope you will support it. I hope you will get behind it.

Prescription drug and heroin addiction is at epidemic levels in my State and around the country, and we are losing, as you indicate, lives every single day.

We do have some differences on the big picture: $3.3 trillion in new taxes.

I agree with what Senator Bennet just said about the importance of our Kids Health Act, which is called the ACE Act, which will help, as he said, improve care, but also reduce costs.

I think the administration weighing in more precisely on this legislation would help us to get it through the process.

I think that is important too, at the Federal level, to provide that.

That legislation, called CARA, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, just passed the Judiciary Committee while you were testifying, and it passed, as I understand it, by a voice vote.

Ninety-one percent of our allocation has now been drawn down.

We have to have a broader reform of our tax code in order to be competitive.

I think if we wait a couple years, which is what a lot of people are saying, we are going to lose so many more businesses.