June 11, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 97 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S3305-S3306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Opioid Epidemic

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, this Congress, I have the great privilege 
of cochairing the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control with 
the senior Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein. As more families 
across the country lose their loved ones to the scourge of opioids, the 
work of this caucus could not be more important.
  Today, people in our country are more likely to die from an opioid 
overdose than a car crash, but that hasn't always been the case. Our 
country's opioid abuse epidemic began in the 1990s when pharmaceutical 
companies promoted aggressive pain management, assuring the medical 
community that patients would not become addicted to these drugs. As a 
result, doctors began to prescribe more and more of them. We know what 
happened next. In the decades since, we have faced a steady increase in 
opioid abuse and have undertaken aggressive efforts to address this 
epidemic.
  There has been a concerted effort across the country to attack 
overprescribing of opioids in the hope of preventing more people from 
becoming addicted. But that alone cannot be our sole focus. Of the more 
than 70,000 overdose deaths in America in 2017, more than half were the 
result of heroin and synthetic opioids, not prescription drugs.
  The more we step up our efforts to limit prescription opioid 
diversion, the higher the demand for other illicit drugs, many of which 
are funneled into our communities by criminal organizations operating 
across international borders. These groups run sophisticated drug 
trafficking operations, moving vast amounts of cocaine, 
methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and other illegal drugs through 
Central America and Mexico and into the United States. With Customs and 
Border Protection personnel spread thin because of the current 
humanitarian and security crisis at the border, these criminal 
organizations have no problem exploiting the security gaps.

  I can say confidently that without coordinated government response, 
the problem is going to get worse and worse, which means more and more 
Americans will die as a result of drug overdoses.
  In the past, this caucus has examined everything from prescription 
drug abuse, to the expansion of fentanyl, to trafficking across our 
southern border. As these and other hearings have illustrated, there is 
no single contributor to this crisis and no silver bullet.
  The opioid epidemic is called a crisis for a reason: It is pervasive 
and all-encompassing. We can't look at the problem through a soda 
straw, focusing only on how the drugs get here or how to more 
effectively treat those who are already addicted. We need to take a 
more holistic approach that focuses on reducing supply by reducing 
demand and eliminating the myriad of factors that fueled this fire.
  The International Narcotics Control Caucus will hold a hearing this 
afternoon to examine how the U.S. Government can expand our 
international efforts against drug abuse and narcotics trafficking and 
take the first step toward developing a comprehensive strategy.
  Our first witness will be the Secretary of State, Secretary Pompeo, 
whose Department works across the U.S. Government and with our partners 
around the world to combat this transnational crime. We look forward to 
hearing from him, as well as other experts on the second panel about 
the growing epidemic and what Congress must do, working in a bipartisan 
effort, to address it.
  As I said earlier, our whole-of-government strategy must focus on 
supply and demand. Last Congress, we passed landmark legislation to 
combat the opioid crisis, which President Trump called ``the single 
largest bill to combat a drug crisis in the history of the country.'' 
Through the collaboration of 70 bipartisan proposals in the Senate, 
this law aims to not only stem the tide of drugs coming across the 
border but to offer some support and hope to those suffering from drug 
addiction. It was a major bipartisan accomplishment and one that I hope 
we can continue to build on in this Congress because a great deal of 
work remains to be done.
  Beyond supply and demand, we need to take aim at the criminal 
organizations that traffic drugs and engage in a whole host of criminal 
activity. As others have pointed out, these criminal organizations are 
commodity-agnostic--they will engage in human trafficking, migrant 
smuggling, money laundering, counterfeit goods, public corruption, and 
the list goes on and on. What they are really about is making money. 
They don't care anything for the migrants or the people affected by 
their crimes. The real kicker here is that while these criminal 
organizations are

[[Page S3306]]

perpetuating the opioid epidemic, fueling a cycle of violence, and 
abusing innocent civilians, they are growing richer and richer by the 
minute.
  Targeting these organizations means more than stopping the flow of 
drugs into our country; it means ending a cycle of crime and violence 
and working together with Mexico and Central American countries to help 
them escape the savage grip of these criminal organizations.
  Additionally, we need to strengthen security cooperation with our 
international partners so that they are able to more effectively fight 
side by side with us. Mexico and Central and South American nations 
often lack the ability to adequately counter the trafficking occurring 
within their borders, and corruption serves as a major roadblock in 
efforts to stop criminal activity.
  There are a number of programs in place already--many of which began 
through the Merida Initiative--which have yielded positive results, but 
we need to look at all of these and make sure we understand what works 
and what does not work so we can justify the expenditure of U.S. 
taxpayer dollars in this fight. By strengthening and expanding these 
operations, we can help our southern neighbors fight drugs, crime, and 
corruption within their own borders, which would more effectively 
reduce the flow of drugs and other illicit goods moving across our 
southern border.
  Finally, if we want any of these efforts to be sustainable, we can't 
just focus on law and order; we must look at ways to invest in economic 
development to help these countries build stronger economies. These are 
beautiful, vibrant countries that are also victims of endemic crime in 
the region. Helping them promote economic security will carry immense 
benefits for the entire region, and it is something we need to discuss 
more in the coming months.
  Senator Feinstein and I have worked together in the past on 
legislation to address the drug epidemic, such as the Substance Abuse 
Prevention Act, which is now the law of the land. This Congress, we 
will continue our important work together on the International 
Narcotics Control Caucus. I look forward to hearing from our 
distinguished witnesses this afternoon and engaging in a larger 
discussion--hopefully a nationwide discussion--about how we can reverse 
the devastation caused by the opioid crisis and drug overdoses in 
America.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be 
rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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