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Hatch Calls on Senate to Support Historic Opioid Legislation
In Speech on Senate Floor, Utah Senator Says, “All of us, Republicans and Democrats, now have a tremendous opportunity to give vital assistance to many Americans in need, and to do so with, hopefully, an almost unanimous voice. These days, we don’t often get to do that around here. We should not let partisan politics get in the way of this pressing issue.”
In Speech on Senate Floor, Utah Senator Says, “All of us, Republicans and Democrats, now have a tremendous opportunity to give vital assistance to many Americans in need, and to do so with, hopefully, an almost unanimous voice. These days, we don’t often get to do that around here. We should not let partisan politics get in the way of this pressing issue.”
WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called on Senate Democrats to act on historic legislation to address the nation’s opioid abuse and addiction problem and vote to send the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) conference report to the President’s desk.
“I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation, which passed in the House last week with only five votes in opposition,” Hatch said. “The House of Representatives heeded their call. The Senate must do the same.”
Hatch, a conferee to the Senate and House conference to consider CARA, highlighted provisions included in the final report that were spearheaded by fellow Finance Committee members.
“I am proud of the role I have played in not only supporting the CARA effort but in helping to shape the Conference Report,” Hatch said, “ As the Chairman of the Finance Committee, it was important to me that the report include key improvements for Medicare in the fight against opioid abuse. And, I’m glad to say that we were successful in that regard.”
The complete speech as prepared for delivery is below:
Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the conference report for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. The importance of this bill cannot be overstated.
People are dying.
Families are suffering.
Communities are being torn apart.
We can help, but we must do so now.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation, which passed in the House last week with only five votes in opposition.
The bill is intended to address the growing national crisis with regard to opioid abuse and addiction. The staggering statistics surrounding this issue are well known but worth repeating.
Every day, approximately 7,000 people show up in an emergency room for problems associated with opioid abuse.
Every thirty minutes, on average, someone in our country dies from conditions that are opioid-related.
My home state of Utah has been particularly hard hit. In 2014, 289 Utahns died due to opioid abuse. That’s more than half of all drug-overdose related deaths in the state.
The CARA Conference Report represents a thoughtful set of policies that tackle the problems experienced by the real people—with families, children, and friends—who are represented by these statistics.
A letter signed by over 200 advocacy organizations supporting the Conference Report states that the Report addresses the “six pillars” of a comprehensive response to drug addiction crises. Those pillars are: prevention, treatment, recovery support, criminal justice reform, overdose reversal, and law enforcement.
I am proud of the role I have played in not only supporting the CARA effort but in helping to shape the Conference Report.
As the Chairman of the Finance Committee, it was important to me that the report include key improvements for Medicare in the fight against opioid abuse. And, I’m glad to say that we were successful in that regard.
The legislation allows Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to identify only one physician to prescribe, and one pharmacy to fill, all of an at-risk patient’s opioid prescriptions.
Senator Toomey, who has worked closely with Senator Brown, has been an important leader on this policy. And he should be commended for his work that, in the end, will improve patient care, reduce abuse, and give at-risk beneficiaries more opportunities to get the help they need.
Additionally, the conference report contains significant provisions related to medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, which has long been a priority for me. I have a long history of working to improve access to drugs like buprenorphine as a prescription treatment for opioid-use disorders, including heroin and prescription drug addiction.
I was the author, together with Senators Levin and Biden, of the DATA 2000 law that first made it possible for patients to be prescribed buprenorphine. I would also like to note, Mr. President, that colleagues like Senators Markey and Paul have also been very able champions in our recent efforts to expand access to this effective drug treatment, including the introduction of legislation and our push to get the administration to use its regulatory authority to address this need.
Our efforts helped encourage the drafting of an HHS rule that was finalized on July 6th, the same day as the CARA conference meeting. This rule raises an individual doctor’s patient cap for buprenorphine from 100 patients to 275 patients. Thanks to these combined administrative and legislative efforts, patients will have greater access to the medication-assisted treatment they need in their recovery from substance abuse disorders.
I am pleased, as well, to see provisions included in this legislation that encourage the National Institutes of Health to intensify fundamental, translational, and clinical research on the understanding of pain. The hope is that this kind of research will lead to alternatives to opioids for effective pain treatment. These few lines within the legislation will have a significant influence on our understanding of how opioid abuse and chronic pain impact our families and communities.
Another set of highlights in the conference report are the provisions designed to protect infants born to mothers suffering from opioid addiction.
Reuters has reported that, roughly every 19 minutes, a child is born with an opioid dependency in the U.S.
That statistic is astounding, Mr. President.
My home state is not spared from this heartbreaking problem. A recent Utah Health Status Update indicated that, between 2009 and 2012, more than 100 babies each year tested positive for illicit drugs at birth.
Once enacted, CARA will strengthen the existing plan of safe care for infants born and identified as affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms, as well as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Hopefully, this will be an effective step to addressing what is just a tragic problem for too many American children.
Mr. President, as you can see, these are issues that have been in need of sensible solutions for some time. As such, I want to emphasize that the process that has brought us here to the precipice of passing CARA is nearly as impressive as the conference report itself.
Senator Portman, a long-time advocate on these issues, has worked tirelessly, alongside Senator Whitehouse, for roughly three years to shepherd this effort through the Senate.
Senator Ayotte has also been a champion for those afflicted by these problems and also deserves a lot of praise for all of her hard work.
These Senators heard from the individuals and families that are afflicted and dealing with these issues, and they did an outstanding job crafting policies to address those needs.
Under Chairman Grassley’s leadership, CARA was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The original bill then came to the Senate floor, where Senators were able to offer amendments. The Senate passed the amended version by a vote of 94-1.
A similar process played out in the House, with the House passing its opioid package by a vote of 400-5.
I was pleased to serve on the Conference Committee that produced what should be the final draft of this important legislation. There were many similarities between the House and Senate bills and we were able to resolve our few differences in a way that produced an improved CARA bill.
I want to commend Representative Fred Upton, the Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, who was instrumental to the House effort and who also very ably chaired the Conference Committee.
As I alluded to earlier, the House passed the conference report this past Friday by a vote of 407 to five.
In other words, Mr. President, over the past several months, there have been three major votes in the two congressional chambers. And the support has been overwhelming. Counting every vote collectively, the bill has received around 900 “yea” votes in Congress, and less than a dozen “nays.”
Do you know how many of those votes in opposition have been cast by a Democrat?
One.
A single House Democrat voted against passage of the original House opioid package. Every voting Democrat in the Senate voted in favor of our version of the bill.
And, last week, every House Democrat that was present voted in favor of the conference report.
I note these facts, not to unduly inject partisanship into this discussion, but because we have heard rumblings that a number of Senate Democrats may want hold the process up in order to extract more concessions. Some have actually suggested that—despite regular order and the overwhelmingly bipartisan support this legislation has enjoyed thus far—Senate passage of the CARA conference report is in doubt.
I find this hard to believe and I hope it’s not true.
A few weeks ago, the White House urged Democrats in Congress to “slowdown” the effort to finalize an opioid package. Thankfully this was appropriately met with outrage.
All of us, Republicans and Democrats, now have a tremendous opportunity to give vital assistance to many Americans in need, and to do so with, hopefully, an almost unanimous voice. These days, we don’t often get to do that around here. We should not let partisan politics get in the way of this pressing issue.
Like I said, more than 200 advocacy and stakeholder groups that have been involved throughout this process have urged passage of this conference report. Individuals suffering from these afflictions – as well as their families and friends – are crying out for help.
The House of Representatives heeded their call. The Senate must do the same.
I want to commend the Majority Leader for moving swiftly to bring this important legislation up for a vote. I think it is absolutely essential that we act before Congress breaks for the long recess.
Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the CARA conference report. Let’s send it to the President’s desk this week and deliver results for those Americans who are depending on us.
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