Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss two amendments I am submitting to S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.

Across the country, including in my home State of North Dakota, families are experiencing the devastating effects of opioid and heroin addiction. In fact, in 2014, 61 percent of all overdose deaths in the United States were related to opioids. In North Dakota alone, overdose deaths have tripled in the past decade. It is no mystery why. In 2014, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation seized 1,549 dosage units of opioids. In 2015, they seized 5,593. That is a 3\1/2\-fold increase in just 1 year, so an increase of more than three times in just 1 year.

Similarly, law enforcement seizures of heroin from Canada have grown exponentially. But our data about cross-border drug smuggling is limited. To battle drug abuse effectively, we need to know not just how much but how those drugs are getting into our country. The amendments I am proposing today will strengthen the overall bill by providing law enforcement with additional resources to address security vulnerabilities at the northern border that could be exploited by drug traffickers.

My first amendment allows State law enforcement to use grant funds to partner with local and Federal law enforcement agencies. In the underlying bill, the Attorney General may make grants to State law enforcement agencies to investigate the distribution of heroin and prescription opioids. My amendment allows States to use those grants to partner with local agencies, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration--the DEA--and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In North Dakota, our law enforcement has faced increased challenges in combatting the flow of illegal drugs, including prescription opioids and heroin; however, our State has had a successful track record of partnering with local, State and Federal law enforcement to investigate and prevent criminal activities, specifically drug-related offenses. One successful example of these partnerships is the Bakken Organized Crime Strike Force. This task force was created in part by North Dakota's attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, along with the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, to address the increased drug activity in the Bakken oil-producing region in western North Dakota.

My amendment will give States greater opportunities to partner with local and Federal agencies to investigate the trafficking of heroin, opioids, and other illicit drugs, as we have done successfully by creating these task forces in North Dakota.

My next amendment also addresses drug smuggling. It requires a study of drug trafficking in States along the northern border. While there is much attention and energy focused on the trafficking of drugs through our southern border, there are vulnerabilities that exist on our northern border as well.

My amendment directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Attorney General, to conduct a study on the trafficking of narcotics, specifically opioids and heroin, in States along the northern border. The Secretary of DHS and the Attorney General must submit a report on those findings to Congress. Those findings will give Congress greater insight into the security needs at our northern border to prevent the trafficking of illegal drugs into the United States.

Opioid and heroin addiction is a scourge that ruins lives and crushes the spirit. S. 524 is a potent weapon in the fight against them. I urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill, as well as my amendments, which seek to make the legislation even stronger by increasing collaboration among law enforcement and addressing the security needs of our northern border.

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