Prepared Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
February 11, 2016

Good morning. Today we have a number of bills and nominees on the agenda.  

S. 247 will be held over at the request of Senator Cruz.  

We’ll first take up S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015.  We’ve heard all the statistics about the opioid epidemic, and I won’t repeat them here.  But more important than any statistic is the human cost of what’s happening across so many of our communities.  Every life that is lost or changed forever by this epidemic is precious.  These are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers, mothers, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  Especially for many young people who fall victim to addiction early in their lives, there is so much human potential at stake.  We owe it to all of them to help address this crisis responsibly.

CARA is a testament to the leadership of Senators Whitehouse, Portman, Klobuchar and Ayotte, who have worked so long on it.  As its name reflects, the bill addresses the epidemic comprehensively, supporting prevention, education, law enforcement, treatment, and recovery.  It’s supported by a range of stakeholders, including the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, the National District Attorneys Association, the Major County Sheriffs’ Association, the National Association of Attorneys General, and many organizations in the treatment and recovery communities.

I appreciate the bill sponsors’ openness to incorporating my additional suggestions into the managers’ amendment, such as the inclusion of my grant accountability language to help ensure that federal funding is spent wisely, and additional provisions to help guard against duplication.  I’m also glad that the bill now includes the reauthorization of both the heroin and methamphetamine task forces that support state law enforcement, who are among those on the front lines of this crisis. 

Finally, I’m pleased that this legislation authorizes a grant program to train first responders to use naloxone, which is a lifesaving drug used when someone overdoses on opioids. The managers’ amendment requires that a portion of this naloxone grant money will go to rural areas, like much of my home state of Iowa. This is critical when someone overdoses and is not near a hospital.  I’m proud to co-sponsor the managers’ amendment.

We’ll also take up S. 483, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2015, which will help bring clarity and additional procedural safeguards to the process through which the Drug Enforcement Administration can deny, revoke or suspend a drug company’s registration.   

We have three nominees to be Judges for the Court of International Trade:
-    Elizabeth Drake, Jennifer Groves, & Gary Katzmann
They are on the agenda for the first time, and there’s a request that they be held over, so they’ll be held over.

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