Date: 2016-07-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I just want to add my voice and thank Mr. UPTON. as the chair of the conference. and Mr. PALLONE. and all of the conferees. for what I thought was a significant historical moment. We have passed legislation. as a member of the Judiciary Committee. with no mandatory minimums. Our CARA bill speaks about grants. helping people overcome their addiction. but more importantly. helping communities. My community alone is suffering from something called Kush. That is not heroin. but all of these issues have to be confronted as a health epidemic. I thank the gentleman for accepting my amendment dealing with other drugs. about dealing with a public health epidemic. and I ask for support of the conference report. Mr. Speaker. I rise to discuss the conference report for S. 524. the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. The conference report is the product of a long process of consultation and hard work between Congress and experts and advocates representing a wide range of interestsincluding victims. addiction treatment specialists. and law enforcement. In many respects. this bill is a compromisebut it does reflect advances in our approach to substance addiction issues. As a Member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic I have worked with my colleagues to come together with a comprehensive legislative package to address this national epidemic. I was an original cosponsor of the lead legislative measure and primary contribution of the House Judiciary Committee. H.R. 5046. the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act. and I was a cosponsor of the predecessor bill. which is substantially similar to the Senatepassed version of S. 524. The text of H.R. 5046 is largely incorporated into the conference report. and would establish a grant program. to be administered by the Department of Justice. to assist states and local governments. particularly by helping criminal justice agencies to tackle the opioid problem from a variety of angles. It would encourage the development of alternatives to incarceration that provide treatment as a solution to the underlying motivation for criminal behavior or conduct associated with mental disorders. Combined with other treatment programs under the jurisdiction of other Committees. the approach Congress is taking with the crisis of heroin and other opioids is thoughtful and comprehensive. I hope it signals a departure from some of the failed approaches concerning other drug crises in the past. For instance. our response to the surge in crack cocaine in the 1980s was to enact draconian mandatory minimum penalties with vastly disparate treatment for crack and powder cocaine. At that time. Congress took action that we are still trying to rectify. At one point. more than 80 percent of the defendants sentenced for crack offenses were African American. despite the fact that more than 66 percent of crack users are white or Hispanic. As we work on other legislation to address the enforcement and sentencing disparities related to the crack issue. we must reexamine our approach to that and other drug issues. I am grateful for the assistance of my colleague. BOB GOODLATE. the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. for working with me to include in this bill my amendment to express the sense of the Congress that an effective and fiscally responsible approach to addressing substance abuse epidemicsno matter which drug is involvedrequires treating such epidemics as a public health emergencies emphasizing prevention. treatment. and recovery. Provided in Section 708 of the Report. the Sense of Congress Regarding Treatment of Substance Abuse Epidemics expresses that decades of experience and research have demonstrated that a fiscally responsible approach to addressing the opioid abuse epidemic and other substance abuse epidemics requires treating such epidemics as a public health emergency emphasizing prevention. treatment and recovery. Indeed. we must adopt a public health approach with regard to substance abuse issues going forward. And I am heartened that. in this bill. we are not raising sentences or impacting mandatory minimums that add to mass incarceration. but we are supporting proven antiaddiction mechanisms. However. the conference committee had the opportunity to do even moreas is necessary given the urgency of the current crisisand provide real money. right now. to implement the programs the bill authorizes. Unfortunately. this bill does not do that and our communities remain in dire need of resources to save lives that are in immediate jeopardy. That is the unfinished business of this effort and we must not rest until we have done all that we can in Congress to help protect our communities from opioid abuse. In contrast to the way we are dealing with the opioid crisis is the illadvised strict "lawenforcement" centered approach Congress took in addressing crack cocaine crisis in the 1980s that that we are still trying to rectify. At one point. more than 80 percent of the defendants sentenced for crack offenses were African American. despite the fact that more than 66 percent of crack users are white or Hispanic. While we are now engaged in a comprehensive "public health" approach centered on public health in addressing the crisis involving heroin and other opioids. we must not forget that there is unfinished work to be done to address the enforcement and sentencing disparities related to the crack cocaine. We are not raising sentences or impacting mandatory minimums but we are funding antiaddiction mechanisms such as treatment alternatives to incarceration. We are not adding to mass incarcerationwith all of the related and devastating collateral consequencesbut instead we are incentivizing state and local governments to prevent. treat. and heal. That is what we should be doing. and that is what we should have done for crack and cocaine addicts. But it is not too latewe should find a way. before this Congress adjourns sine die to apply this more comprehensive approach. including treatment alternatives. to those suffering from crack and cocaine addiction.