Rob Portman

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), another active member of the task force who also happens to have been the mayor of a major city in America and has seen these problems firsthand.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass).

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson), my distinguished colleague and friend on the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Lewis) another member of the task force who has started a successful antidrug coalition in his own area.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I would like to indulge my colleague and cosponsor and see if perhaps we could get an additional 2 minutes on this side.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to in closing again thank my friend from Wisconsin (Mr. Barrett) for being willing to cosponsor the legislation, help improve the legislation and get it to the floor today. I also want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) for the work he has done in the Drug-free Communities Act and in implementing that legislation. As he indicated, that sometimes is the most important thing we do here is being sure that we can back home and make sure this legislation actually works. Let us take a step back for a moment, if we could, and reflect on what we are doing here this evening. And I think Bill Bennett wrote very articulately about the problem of substance abuse, and I would like to quote from him, former drug czar Bill Bennett. He said: Using drugs is wrong not simply because drugs create medical problems, it is wrong because drugs destroy one's moral sense. People addicted to drugs neglect their duties, they want to neglect God, family, children, friends and jobs, everything in life that is important, noble, and worthwhile, for the sake of drugs. As a parent and as a colleague, I would urge all the Members of this House to support this nonpartisan legislation that really will make a difference in terms of taking commonsense steps to rid our society of the devastating impact of illegal drugs.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, as we discussed earlier, the manager's amendment made in order by the rule provides for some technical and clarifying amendments and accommodates the concerns of two of the committees that have jurisdiction over aspects of this legislation. In the drug-free workplace provision, the amendment makes clear that an employee assistance program should offer access to treatment for employees. The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure staff provided a substitute for our drug-free teen drivers provision in the bill that clarifies the organization of the program established under the legislation and provides an explicit authorization for appropriations under that part of the legislation. The Committee on Commerce had requested that we replace the incentive for the development of anti-addiction medication, an issue that came up earlier in our debate, and we have indeed replaced the legislation that we had with regard to anti-addiction medication with a study for the need for such incentives. The amendment, therefore, grants their request. Finally, the amendment sets the quorum for meetings of the Commission on Medical Education that is in the legislation so that the meetings of the Commission can take place without any concern of not having a quorum present. Those, Mr. Chairman, are the changes in this manager's amendment. They are straightforward, they are technical and clarifying in nature, and I would hope that my colleagues would support them. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again I want to thank my colleague for helping perfect this legislation, and that includes this manager's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Briefly, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for her help on this legislation. She is a champion for the parent movement around the country, and I think this is an improvement to the legislation. My colleague agrees, we support the amendment, and we urge our colleagues to do the same thing.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve my point of order.

Mr. PORTMAN. I thank the gentleman. I appreciate his working with us on this. I think this is a very important aspect of the legislation to help medical professionals diagnose and treat addiction, and I think it is appropriate and important that we add the perspective of the psychiatric groups. I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Roukema) for bringing this to our attention.

Mr. PORTMAN. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, this is a very simple amendment to add to the Commission on Medical Education three psychiatric group representatives whose opinions and views will be very important to the commission. This commission is established under our legislation which in essence helps bring together the representatives from all the leading medical groups to help study and report on methods to enhance prevention, diagnosis and treatment of substance abuse by medical professionals through initial and continuing medical education.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment on behalf of the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Roukema).

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I, too, want to commend the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham) for his efforts on the task force and also for his amendment today which I think would provide an additional reason for people not to get involved with drugs and it would be a powerful remedy for victims of drug abuse. I understand that the point of order has been sustained, but I wanted to add to what the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) said about the importance of this legislation. Perhaps we can work on it in the future.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. I would just say, Mr. Chairman, that I very much support this amendment. I think it again improves the legislation. It clarifies the intent of the legislation. It also is consistent, as the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Barrett) says, with the changes which were made in the previous authorization which did pass the House with an overwhelming bipartisan margin. So we would certainly accept that amendment, and I appreciate the gentleman's help in improving it.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. PORTMAN. I suppose I must, Mr. Chairman, until the gentleman withdraws his amendment.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I would just say that if the gentleman has already withdrawn the amendment, I will withdraw my point of order, and I appreciate the dialogue.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4550.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill, H.R. 4550, the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections and conforming changes to the bill.