Conference Report on S. Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this conference report to S. 524. This conference report is one of the proudest moments I have had as an elected Member of this body. I believe there are numerous challenges that our community healthcare providers face, and this bill helps them address those challenges.

As a lifelong pharmacist, I believe the key first steps to address this opioid epidemic is education, improvement of treatment, and a reliance on State PDMP programs. This bill does all of that.

Many of my colleagues have opposed this conference report and this bill because it does not authorize enough money or it doesn't provide every provision they want. There are things that I would have changed in this bill, but we have all had an opportunity to amend these provisions, and this has created a bipartisan, bicameral piece of legislation. Overall, this should not be the end of this conversation, but this bill is a good bill and addresses many of the problems Americans face with opioid addiction.

I would like to commend leadership from both Chambers on this bill, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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