Rob Portman

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: H.R. 5948, H.R. 6138, H.R. 6282, and H.R. 6304.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. I ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 562, H.R. 4465.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 718, S. 2852.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 181, which was received from the House.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I appreciate the fact that the Senate has just adopted a resolution honoring John Glenn. In fact, if you look at this resolution, at the end of it, it indicates that the adjournment today will be an adjournment in further respect to the memory of the late John Glenn. I appreciate the fact that the Senate has done that as well. I spoke on the floor yesterday regarding my friend John Glenn, and my colleague Sherrod Brown and I have introduced this resolution. Senator Brown also spoke with regard to John Glenn's incredible life history. This is a true icon whom we have lost, sadly, this week at the age of 95. He was a true hero in so many respects. Long before he was an astronaut, he was a hero as a marine aviator. He actually flew 59 combat missions in World War II. He also flew combat missions in the Korean war and was highly decorated. After that, he was a test pilot. In fact, he broke the transcontinental speed record as a test pilot before becoming an astronaut. As an astronaut, we all know the story of Friendship 7, a capsule about the size of two or three of these desks. You can see it at the Air and Space Museum. He somehow was able to get inside of this capsule and orbit the Earth at a time when the United States was in a space race with the Soviet Union, and his splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Caribbean was considered to be a major change in terms of the U.S. positioning on space and our ability to show that yes, U.S. technology and innovation could work. He then came to the U.S. Congress to speak to a joint session of Congress. Imagine that. At age 40, you have an astronaut speaking to a joint session--something normally reserved for heads of state. He then was successful in business and decided that he actually would want to try his hand in politics. After his military service, he decided to try public service and of course became a Senator from the State of Ohio. I had the honor, and I am humbled, to be in the seat he once held. A couple of weeks ago, I called Senator Glenn to ask him to walk down this aisle with me on January 3 of next year in just a few weeks while I was being sworn in for the second time in his seat. I will say he was not just reelected, he was reelected with resounding numbers. At the end of the day, he ended up being the longest serving U.S. Senator ever in the history of our State. After this amazing career in the military, as an astronaut, and then serving in the Senate, he ended up being the longest representative ever from the Buckeye State. What an amazing guy. After he left, he went to the Ohio State University and asked if they would like to start a leadership institute to encourage public service called the Glenn Institute, and it later became the Glenn School. I actually taught there. Before running for the U.S. Senate, I taught four courses there; I co-taught with a wonderful professor there at the Glenn School. I also joined the board of advisors at John Glenn's request, and I am still on that board. In fact, we had a meeting in October, only about 6 weeks ago, where John Glenn presided. He chaired the meeting, as he always does. He was in good humor. He was energetic. He was energized about a new project--a leadership institute for young legislators to help encourage even more people to not just get into public service but to gain the skills to be better public servants. That is what really excited him. I had the privilege of getting to know him through the work we did also in the U.S. Senate and in the House of Representatives. I was in the House, he was in the Senate. One of the passions he had was to ensure that we had good government in this country, and that included not having the Federal Government send unfunded mandates down to the State and local governments. So I was the House author on the Republican side, he was the Senate author on the Democratic side, and that legislation was passed to curb unfunded mandates and went to the desk of President Clinton for signature. I got to be in the Rose Garden with Senator Glenn for that signing ceremony. What an honor to be with him. He was a guy who was willing to take on tasks like that, even when, perhaps, it wasn't as popular in his party as it was in ours. So I stand here today as someone who has benefited from the model of service that he has shown our country. I will say, too, that my wife Jane and I benefited from the model Annie Glenn and John Glenn have shown. I believe they were married for 76 years, and they knew each other when they were children. Never was Annie Glenn far from his side--an incredible woman in her own right, a brave and courageous woman who overcame some obstacles in her life that became very public. Her stuttering, and her ability to get over that disability, gave hope to so many people. Young people particularly all over the country continue to look to Annie Glenn as a great hero. But Annie Glen was not just at his side; they were partners in everything, and she was the indispensable partner. Our condolences today from the entire U.S. Senate to Annie Glenn, to the Glenn family, whom he loved so dearly, and to our State of Ohio, which has lost a true icon, a true American hero. Tom Wolfe wrote a book called ``The Right Stuff.'' John Glenn was one of those Friendship astronauts who were part of the right stuff. Today, as we adjourn, we pay tribute to John Glenn, who had the right stuff and who showed us how someone, as a public servant, can make a difference and encourage others to do the same.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 436, H.R. 710.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, we have our work cut out for us this morning. I start by asking unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 710, S. Con. Res. 57.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 2854. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 2854) entitled ``An Act to reauthorize the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007.'', do pass with an amendment.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise today on a sad occasion, and that is to talk about the loss of an American icon. He is a fellow Ohioan. He held this seat in the Senate. He is one of our true heroes, as an astronaut, fighter pilot, successful business person, Senator, and later someone who helped young people throughout the State of Ohio by establishing his own school at Ohio State University. I am talking about John Glenn. We lost him today at age 95. I was watching some of the coverage on television about his career, and it focused a lot on his being the first to orbit the Earth on Friendship 7, a capsule you can see at the Air and Space Museum. It is not much bigger than two of these desks put together, but somehow he wedged himself in and did something heroic and important at the time. In a spaceflight competition with the Soviets, he was one who succeeded. What I didn't hear too much about was his career before being a famous astronaut and that amazing flight that ended up with him addressing a joint session of Congress or what he did after that amazing feat. So I want to talk about that for a second and say that I appreciate that tomorrow my colleagues will help me in joining to pay tribute to him through a Senate resolution. But prior to his being a famous astronaut, he was a famous American hero in my mind because he was a fighter pilot who signed up after Pearl Harbor, the 75th anniversary of which we celebrated this week. He flew 59 missions as a fighter pilot in World War II. He later flew about 90 missions in Korea. He was highly decorated as a fighter pilot. He then was a test pilot, and actually he broke the transcontinental flight time record as a test pilot. Then he decided to join the astronaut corps. He was part of that group of friendship astronauts who became famous later as being called ``The Right Stuff.'' He was the right stuff. He then had a successful career in business. He decided he loved public service, and he wanted to be in the Senate. He won election to the Senate and was actually reelected with historic numbers in my home State of Ohio. I got to serve with him during part of his time here. I was in the House; he was in the Senate. We worked on projects together. He was on the same committee my colleague from Delaware was on, and both of them have chaired it, the Governmental Affairs Committee. He loved good government. One of his big issues was stopping unfunded Federal mandates. I was the House sponsor on the Republican side; he was the Democratic sponsor here. We ended up in the Rose Garden together for a ceremony. He was tenacious. This was, by the way, an issue that not all Democrats agreed with him on; yet he did what he felt was right in the name of good government. We also worked on other projects together, and I always found that his focus was on his State, the people he represented, and how to make their lives better. After his Senate career, he started a new project. It was called the Glenn School of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University. I had the honor of teaching there for a few years before running for the Senate. I was a co-teacher for four different courses and got to know John Glenn in an entirely different way. He asked me to join their advisory board, which I did join. I am still on the advisory board for now the Glenn College. Last year we elevated the school to a college. This was John Glenn's greatest single accomplishment in the latter years of his life--creating an institution where young people can go and be inspired to go into public service and given the tools to be able to succeed. He loved that school. He loved those students. He chaired a board meeting only last month. He did it with humor, as he always did, and passion. One of his big issues he talked about last month was how he wanted to have a leadership institute to ensure that more young people could understand the importance of government service, which he felt was a noble undertaking--military service, government service, service for your country, service greater than yourself. We lost an American icon. He was also a man who loved his family. His wife, Annie Glenn--many of us here in this Chamber know her, and we love her because she is an amazing woman in her own right. For 73 years, they were married. They knew each other as little kids. They virtually grew up from the crib until now together. Annie Glenn was at his side constantly. That relationship, their partnership, is an example for my wife Jane and me and for all of us here in this Chamber. Earlier this year, my staff and I had a retreat in Ohio. We brought all of our DC staff and Ohio staff together to talk about how to better serve our constituents, how to define the mission. I asked John Glenn to come address that group. What a treat. Our staff had the opportunity to sit and talk to John Glenn about his career, but more importantly, to talk about his passion for public service. The mission he gave us was one of honor and respect and decency for our constituents and to serve the people. That was his life. John Glenn's life story touches our hearts today, and his life story is also part of American history. I yield the floor.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for their thoughtful and informed analysis of an important national security issue. I ask unanimous consent to speak briefly, and I thank my colleague from Delaware for allowing me to do so.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Joe and Louise Head, recipients of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation's 2016 Jacob E. Davis Volunteer Leadership Award, which is presented annually to honor citizens who have made significant contributions to the greater Cincinnati community. Recognized for their generosity as philanthropic and civic leaders, Joe and Louise have volunteered their time, talents, and treasure to countless community endeavors to make the greater Cincinnati community a better place to live. They have both been very active volunteers to many local organizations including Xavier University, Seven Hills School, the Metropolitan Growth Alliance, and the Cincinnati Nature Center. Joe and Louise have also provided significant leadership by serving as trustees and board members to many civic and charitable organizations. Louise is a former governing board chair of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, and Joe is a former chair of the Christ Hospital Health Network board of directors. No couple is more community-minded, and the people of greater Cincinnati have been the beneficiaries. I would like to congratulate Joe and Louise Head on this award.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, we have heard a lot of wonderful things about Kelly Ayotte today and all are deserved. You notice they have come from both sides of the aisle, and they come from Members who were talking about her expertise on national security--as John McCain did eloquently--and homeland security. I certainly have worked with her on those issues. I was with her on the Armed Services Committee when I first came to the Senate, and we are on the Homeland Security Committee now. She has been a champion for those issues, there is no question about it. She has helped to keep our country safer, and legislation that she has championed will help to make it safer for our kids and grandkids. I have also worked with her on other issues, and I wish to talk about that for a second. One is this way in which we as a Chamber can ensure we are creating more jobs, being more energy independent, helping the environment, and that is energy efficiency. She has been a leader on that issue. Jeanne Shaheen and I have legislation that we are still working to get all of it done, but we have gotten some of it done, and Kelly Ayotte was a huge part of that. In fact, her legislation on Tenant Star is now law of the land. It is helping to make commercial buildings and office buildings, more energy efficient. Again, it has the added benefit of creating jobs and making the economy stronger while improving our environment. That is what she has led on as well. I have also worked with her on issues you would expect someone who is a national security expert to lead on. Iran sanctions, she has taken the lead on some of the issues that resulted in the incredible vote we had on the floor of this Senate just a few days ago when virtually every Senator voted to extend those sanctions, but I have worked with her on another issue that has nothing to do with our national security; it has everything to do with our family security. It has to do with ensuring that people have the opportunity to achieve their God-given purpose in life. It has to do with stopping the deterioration of our communities, families being torn apart, and the enormous impact we have seen of the opioid epidemic. Starting often with prescription drugs, often leading to heroin--now synthetic heroins such as fentanyl, carfentanil, and U-4, these are very difficult issues. I have seen no one in this Chamber who has a greater passion for this issue than Kelly Ayotte, and it comes out of experience. It is borne of experience of walking around New Hampshire communities with families who have lost a loved one. Earlier she talked about befriending a family who had lost their beautiful daughter to this horrible epidemic. It comes from going to the treatment centers and seeing the people who are in the trenches, saving lives, and improving lives. It comes from talking to those who at one point had great promise in their lives and got off track, seeing those people in a detox unit as she has done or seeing them in a treatment center or, promisingly, seeing them now in recovery and beginning to get their lives back together. This is not an issue of Republicans or Democrats. It is not an issue that is political. It is an issue that is in the heart of Kelly Ayotte because it affects the communities she knows in New Hampshire, the people she loves in New Hampshire, and now, sadly, our Nation. On that issue, she has led, not just to draft legislation--and she talked about the CARE legislation which is going to change the dynamic and get the Federal Government to be a better partner with State and local and begin to turn this tide--not just the Cures legislation, which does have funding for the next 2 years to try to stop some of this horrible growth in addictions, overdoses and deaths, but she has done this house-to-house, family-to-family, person-to-person back home to give people hope and to help gather the support in communities around New Hampshire to fight back. She will continue to do that. She is not doing it as a U.S. Senator. After all, she is doing it as a mom, she is doing it as a citizen. I am looking forward to continuing to work with her on that issue as well as the other issues we have talked about today. Her public service career is not over; in a sense, it is really just beginning. I know she will be active on the national security issues, on fighting against the heroin epidemic, on ensuring that we continue to have a safer and stronger country. I, for one, look forward to working with her on that. I thank her for her service. I thank her, her kids, and Joe for their sacrifice because this isn't an easy job. It does take you away from your family. Yet, in 2009, she decided she was going to serve her country because she was worried about the direction it was going. She did that, she did it valiantly, and she deserves our praise today. Kelly, we are going to miss you, but we also look forward to continuing to work with you on all of the issues that were talked about today. Thank you for your service. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, I speak today as a neighbor of Dan Coats. I am his neighbor here on the Senate floor, and I am his neighbor back home. I represent the State of Ohio, and he represents Indiana. I also was involved in Dan Coats' early political career because I was asked to interview him when I was a young lawyer for his potential move from the House to the Senate. There was no way to be involved in that process without acquiring great respect and admiration for this man. I got to know about his family and his background. He is literally and figuratively a Boy Scout in every way. He is also a guy who we will miss here greatly. He has become the voice of reason, the voice of wisdom, and the voice of knowledge here in the Senate. In our conference meetings, he is the person who, when he stands up to speak, others stop their conversations and actually listen, which is a rare trait for people in public office sometimes. But that is because Dan is always sincere, he is to the point, and, again, he has the experience and knowledge to be able to speak intelligently on a whole range of issues--some which we heard about today on the national security front. But also, he is an advocate for economic growth. He is the leader here on tax reform proposals. He is the guy who continually reminds us of our solemn duty here to represent all the people. So, Dan, we will miss you greatly. I know Marsha is happy to have you around a little more. You are going to have a great time with your grandkids, as we have talked about. But we know that there will be a great loss here when you move on. I have to find a new neighbor. I yield the floor.

Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Clermont County commissioner Bob Proud on a distinguished career serving the residents of Clermont County and southern Ohio. A seven-term Clermont County, OH, commissioner, Bob is a lifelong Clermont County resident. He grew up on a small farm in Batavia Township and graduated from Amelia High School. After Bob graduated from Cumberland College, he began his career in public service working for Clermont Senior Services. Bob is a champion of the community and a committed public servant to Clermont County, serving in a number of capacities, from the construction of a new Clermont County animal shelter in 2002, the reclamation of the former Ford transmission plant on State Route 32, to his service for senior citizens as a Meals on Wheels volunteer and his work on the Coalition for a Drug-Free Clermont County. For the last 25 years, Bob has served as chairman of the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission, OVRDC, a public regional planning commission that serves 12 southern Ohio counties. Bob has and continues to serve Clermont County with integrity and distinction. Bob is also a champion for our troops, veterans, and their families. He has been nationally recognized for his work on behalf of our military, as he founded the ``Whole In My Heart'' military family support group. As he prepares to retire from this position, I commend him for his hard work and leadership to make southern Ohio a better place to live and work.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to remember a dear friend, Bishop Emerson Colaw, a devoted and widely respected leader of the United Methodist Church. Bishop Colaw passed away on October 11, 2016, at the age of 94 in Ohio, where he lived during the final years of his life. Emerson Stephen Colaw was born November 13, 1921, in Chanute, KS, and moved to Cincinnati at the age of 16 to attend God's Bible School and College. A committed student, Colaw went on to earn a B.S. degree in 1944 from the University of Cincinnati, a bachelor of divinity, magna cum laude, in 1947 from Drew Theological Seminary, and a master of arts in 1953 from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He also received honorary doctorates from five different institutions. Remembered as a strong preacher and compassionate leader who loved the church and had a heart for the clergy, Colaw served as a mentor and role model of Christian discipleship for colleagues, congregants, friends, and family. He began his ministry as a clergyperson for the United Methodist Church serving the New York Annual Conference and the Northern Illinois Annual Conference, where he served three pastorates over 14 years. In 1961, Colaw was appointed to Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, OH, part of the West Ohio Annual Conference. During his time in Cincinnati, Colaw spent many years as the moderator of a weekly television program titled ``Dialogue'' which featured area clergy from a variety of faiths. After 19 years of service to Hyde Park Community Methodist Church, in 1980, Colaw was elected Bishop of the Minnesota Conference, where he served until retiring from the episcopacy in 1988. He went on to serve as professor of Homiletics and Christian Ministry at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH, from 1988 to 1999 and was its acting president in 1995-96. He later spent winters in Florida and served as bishop-in-residence at North Naples United Methodist Church. Emmerson and his late wife, Jane, were married more than 70 years and raised 4 children, 8 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and a great-great-granddaughter. I would like to honor Emmerson Colaw for his contributions to the United Methodist Church, his community, and our State.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise today on another topic that is affecting every single State represented here in this Chamber, and that is the opioid epidemic. This is heroin, prescription drugs, and increasingly the synthetic heroin coming into our State and poisoning the people we represent, leading to a situation where we have about 120 people dying every day of overdoses--about 5 a day in my State of Ohio. Unfortunately, I have to report today that it is getting worse, not better. I also believe that Congress is beginning to take the right steps to address that, and that is what I want to talk about today. This is the 28th time I have come to the floor to talk about this issue this year because it is one that affects every State, but particularly mine. I come from Ohio. It is a State that recently, based on a new report, was named as one of the top States in the country for overdoses and, unfortunately, the tragedy of overdose deaths. For those who die from overdoses, it is a tragedy, of course. But, frankly, it is the tip of the iceberg because there are so many people whose lives are shattered, whose lives are torn apart, who are not going to work and whose communities are facing more and more crime because of this issue. It was addressed here in this Chamber recently by the legislation I want to talk about today, but it is something we must find a way to deal with immediately because of the urgency of the problem. To this Senator, it is much like other public health crises that we face as a country, whether it is a Zika virus or other issues that come up where Congress has said that we need to have immediate funding and immediate changes in policies to address it. What Congress has done already and the President has signed into law as of a couple of months ago is broad legislation called CARA, or the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, and that legislation is historic in the sense that it is the first time in over 20 years that Congress has taken a look at this issue and come up with a comprehensive approach. It focuses on education and prevention to help people make the right decision and not get into the funnel of addiction, particularly focusing on young people. But it also focuses on better treatment services and recovery. Right now there are people who cannot access treatment, and part of the problem is that there is not adequate funding for that treatment. Part of the problem is that there is a stigma attached to addiction and people aren't willing to come forward. Our legislation, broadly speaking, addresses that as well because it says that addiction is a disease and ought to be treated as such, which should help to get people into treatment. For the first time Congress is supporting not just treatment and detox but actually getting people into longer term recovery programs. Think of housing arrangements or other supportive recovery services that we found from our experience in doing the research around the country, which are much more successful in terms of helping people to turn their lives around and to lead a productive life. What we have found in the last 3 years with five conferences here in Washington, DC, bringing experts in from all around the country, is that this is something that can actually help to turn the tide. It is the first time Congress has focused on that. We also focused on the issue of ensuring that the law enforcement community and first responders--our firefighters and others--have access to this miracle drug called Narcan or naloxone, which is able to reverse the effects of an overdose. There is a program to allow them to apply to get the Narcan they need to help save lives, and it is amazing. It was administered 16,000 times in Ohio last year. This year it will be a lot more than that. Those are lives that are saved. It is not the ultimate solution. The solution is getting people into treatment and the recovery they need, but it is necessary right now given the epidemic that we face. There are other aspects of the legislation, as well, that help ensure that we get the prescription drugs off the shelves, which unfortunately are being abused by having more drug take-back programs. We provide more resources to ensure that people can get the help they need in terms of treatment and recovery. I am happy to say that the legislation is beginning to be implemented. I would ask the administration again today to expedite that implementation. Of the seven larger programs that are part of this legislation, I think it is fair to say that two are being implemented at this point already, and we need to move forward with others as well. I know it takes a while. We need to be sure that the programs are properly implemented. But again, there needs to be an urgency about this issue. Section 303 of the legislation is being implemented now by the Department of Health and Human Services, as one example. It expands access to medication-assisted treatment by allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe medication-assisted treatment to help treat an opioid use disorder. This is important. Back in my home State, I am hearing a lot from people who are already training people to be able to provide this assistance to those who are addicted and need to have this medication-assisted treatment using methadone, Suboxone or Vivitrol. To allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to participate in this is incredibly important. This is progress, but we are pushing the administration to implement the law even more quickly. CARA also deals with the growing demand for drugs, as I said, by improving access to longer term recovery. Recently, I was able to go to a recovery house in Canton, OH, called the Phoenix Recovery Home. I was able to talk to some of the recovering addicts there, in one case several times where it had not been successful, but this longer term recovery was working for them. Again, this legislation is so important to implement the recovery aspect of it. The funding for this has also been a work in progress. We have made some progress toward increasing the funding. This year there is a 47- percent increase in funding for the opioid crisis. In the CARA legislation there is an authorization for additional funding in the amount of $181 million every single year. That is important. That $181 million every year going forward is something that will be important in this comprehensive approach. In the short term, we are working under a short-term spending bill right now called the continuing resolution. We were able to get funding of $37 million that expires next week. We have to be sure that funding continues. That is adequate funding to implement the program now, but we need to ensure that we have short-term funding over the next period of time, whenever that is--some say it will be from now until March--to ensure we keep CARA implemented. What I am pleased to report today is that the 21st Century Cures legislation, which the House has sent over to the Senate, includes a dramatic increase in funding for this issue. It is about $500 million per year over the next 2 years of additional funding that will be block-granted to the States for prevention and treatment. This is incredibly important to my State of Ohio and other States. My understanding is that States that have a higher prevalence of overdoses will be given priority in terms of these funding dollars. I think that is appropriate. It will be helpful to those States hardest hit. I wish that some of the parameters of the funding instructions had been a little broader to include this issue we talked about earlier having to deal with the recovery aspect. But we are working to ensure that, as this legislation is implemented, the States have maximum flexibility to address this problem. This legislation will be bipartisan. I think you will see the vote to be very bipartisan next week when we take it up, and in part it is because of this legislation. So between CARA and this new legislation in the Cures Act, we are going to see additional funding and it is urgent that we see it. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a report based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that one in nine heroin deaths in the United States happened in our home State of Ohio. We have the most deaths from synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and Carfentanil, that is coming into our communities. We are seeing unfortunately an increase not just in Ohio, but in other States around the country. Every day I hear about this issue from Ohioans. Sometimes when I am back home at events that have nothing to do with this substance abuse issue, people will come up to me, as they will this weekend, and talk about their personal stories. Recently, I received a couple of letters. Just before Thanksgiving I got a letter from Elaine. She is from Cincinnati, my hometown. She wrote that her daughter was lost to a drug overdose in 2013 and her grandson from a drug overdose on August 1 of this year. She writes that her other son is now an active heroin addict. She went through a story about trying to get him into a detox center for treatment but she faced barriers. One of the barriers in her case was being able to afford it. The insurance initially wouldn't cover it. We tried to help her with that, but in the meantime, she is at her wit's end to do something now to save her son's life, having lost two other members of her family. Again, this legislation we are going to vote on early next week, the Cures Act will help with regard to Elaine's inability to find detox and treatment for her son. Barbara in Columbus has been in touch with my office a lot. She lost her son Eric to an overdose in 2012. He was just a week shy of his 24th birthday. She writes that Eric wanted to go to rehab. His sister took him to every place in Columbus, and no one had room. There was no room at the inn. This is another issue we are finding across the country. Sometimes these resources are available in larger urban areas, but they are frankly oversubscribed given the issue of heroin and prescription drug addiction and the growing problem that we have. She writes: We need to stop jailing people for drug use. We need to stop people from dying in the streets, and get them into treatment clinics. We need to recognize the difference between drug use and drug abuse. We need focus on creating a society where people do not feel the need to numb the pain of their existence through drug abuse. I agree with her, and that is the focus of the legislation, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask for an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, again, I am pleased that Congress has made so much progress in this area. I see my colleague from the Judiciary Committee is here, Senator Leahy, who helped get this legislation through his committee, along with Senator Grassley. It is called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Now we have a chance with the Cures Act to put even more funding immediately against this problem. I encourage my colleagues to support that legislation. It is good legislation for other reasons, as well, but also because of the fact that this epidemic of opioid abuse must be addressed. I yield the floor.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the College of Wooster in recognition of its 150th anniversary of providing quality higher education to the citizens of Ohio. In 1865, Reverend James Reed, the minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Wooster, rallied the community to create a Presbyterian college in Wooster. On December 18, 1866, the then University of Wooster was incorporated by the Presbyterian Synod. In order to better reflect the institution's offerings, the University of Wooster became the College of Wooster. Wooster's first class consisted of 30 men and 4 women instructed by five faculty members; the college now enrolls over 2,000 students, representing 45 States and 44 countries, and instructed by 171 faculty members. Wooster now has more than 50 academic programs in business, the arts, humanities, and the sciences. The mission of the College of Wooster is to create ``a community of independent minds, working together to become leaders of character and influence in an interdependent global community.'' Wooster accomplishes this by offering a rigorous and dynamic liberal education that focuses on mentoring, applied learning, and project based learning where students develop attributes that are valued by employers and important for developing the leaders of tomorrow. It is helping to ensure that students are prepared with the skills they need for the jobs of the 21st century. Because of this, 92 percent of Wooster graduates are either employed or in graduate school within 1 year after receiving their diplomas. We are proud to have this extraordinary independent college in Ohio. I am here to honor the College of Wooster and to congratulate all of those who contributed to making its first 150 years such a success.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I would like to thank Senators Scott and Casey for their work on the antidiscrimination legislation, particularly as it relates to anti-Semitism. I support them in that effort and look forward to getting something done in Congress to help address the definition of anti-Semitism for the Department of Education.