Jim Sensenbrenner: “I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. As the gentleman knows, addiction treatment and recovery in a…”

“I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. As the gentleman knows, addiction treatment and recovery in a noncriminal justice context are not within the Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction and, therefore, were not included in H.R. 5046, as reported by the committee, since this bill establishes a grant program in the Department of Justice. I do not oppose the amendment since I recognize that treatment and recovery are important functions in addressing this epidemic. However, I would like to work with the gentleman in going forward to ensure that treatment and recovery are appropriately tailored to DOJ functions or are otherwise addressed through appropriate grant programs, such as those administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. We must ensure that the grant programs to address the opioid epidemic are appropriately tailored to and administered by the Federal agencies with expertise in the areas for which they will be awarding funding. Otherwise, we are not fulfilling our duty to use taxpayer dollars efficiently. With that caveat, I support the amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.”