Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I thank all of my colleagues and especially Senator Daines for pointing out what is happening in rural and smalltown America. As a matter of fact, most of my colleagues-- Senator Hoeven, Senator Capito, Senator Daines, Senator Boozman, Senator Blackburn--all represent large States, and we represent cities, of course, but also rural and smalltown America. I thank them for their concerted efforts. We have all been working together.

I thank Senator Hoeven more particularly for his work on funding, as he is the distinguished chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and I echo his support for getting these appropriations bills done.

I just want to talk and add to their comments about this national issue of immediate concern, substance abuse and opioid addiction. I think it is timely because just 1 year ago, the President of the United States signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act into law. This was the legislation that was the culmination of months of bipartisan work. I emphasize the word ``bipartisan.'' We talk about it a lot but seldom see it. This is one effort that we got done. This moved across several committees and both Chambers of Congress. So I think it is something we can take great pride in, showing folks back home that we can actually do something together.

I am proud to be part of this effort on behalf of both the Finance and HELP Committees in the Senate. The legislation included a bill I introduced to encourage the use of electronic prior authorization in Medicare Part D, which would help overcome one of the primary challenges to patients receiving their medications, including treatments for substance abuse disorders and non-opiate alternatives to treating pain.

The SUPPORT Act also included our language that would help shed light on the best practices and the barriers to using telehealth for treating substance abuse disorders in children who are covered under Medicaid. It will also focus on how we can utilize telehealth to help children in rural and underserved areas, including how treatment can be offered in school-based settings. All of us who have spoken on this issue have the same problem.

In last year's farm bill, the Senate Agriculture Committee, of which I am proud to be chairman, also included provisions to help those suffering from substance abuse disorders, primarily in our rural areas. We prioritized funding in the community facilities and distance learning telemedicine programs for projects focused on treating addiction, including opiates.

I am proud of these efforts, but there is so much work left to do to combat addiction. This is a real epidemic as has been stressed by my colleagues.

Real progress starts at the local level. In my home State of Kansas, we continue to need assistance in preventing meth use, as was so eloquently discussed by my colleague from Montana, Senator Daines.

We still have use and abuse taking a heavy toll on many communities throughout the State. Patients suffering from addiction in rural parts of the country face many challenges in accessing the clinical services they really need. We have heard from many Kansans who have to travel long distances, sometimes across State lines, in order to access substance abuse treatments.

I recently spoke with many Kansas district attorneys for a second year in a row. Last year they came in, and I thought they were going to talk about the criminal justice act that we had just passed. No, they wanted to talk about meth. I said: Well, wait a minute, I thought we made some real progress in eliminating the meth labs in Kansas.

That is the case, but for a second year in a row, they pointed out again the meth coming in from Mexico, which was demonstrated by Senator Daines. There was a tremendous concern over this kind of meth, which is so much more powerful. Their No. 1 concern was individuals in many parts of the State who were suffering from addiction and constantly cycling through the court system and clogging up the courts. These individuals often do not have access to substance abuse treatments that can help control their addiction and keep them out of the criminal justice system.

That is why I introduced this year the Meth Addiction Act. All of us have individual acts, and we also hope that we can meld them together. This is a bill to extend the reach of these treatments to more people who so desperately need them. Our bill would allow our community mental health and addiction treatment facilities to connect patients via telehealth to physicians who are authorized to prescribe the controlled substances that treat addiction. This would help to empower local and rural providers to use every tool necessary to combat this epidemic.

In addition, last year, I had the privilege of attending a drug take- back event in Kansas, hosted by Walgreens and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. This is the kind of local initiative that is especially important, as we have consistently heard about the importance of preventing diversion as one way of combating this epidemic.

At the same time, we must be careful and make sure that efforts to address the problem do not deny patients the controlled substances if they have a legitimate and clinical need for these treatments. That is why safe disposal of these medications is such an important tool in solving this very complex issue. This initiative offers people year- round options to help to prevent diversion of addictive medications to their friends and loved ones, without limiting access to treatment.

Finally, I would like to recognize that 2 weeks from now, the city of Topeka, KS, the capital of Kansas, is hosting the Kansas Opioid Conference. The people who are truly on the frontlines of the opioid crisis in Kansas will be in attendance to address these issues through all sorts of collaborative efforts at the State level and the local level. They are the ones who will help us find the solution that will help us make real and lasting progress against this epidemic. Unanimous Consent Agreement

Mr. President, I have this important message from a very important staff member.

today for a briefing.

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