WASHINGTON, DC —One Nation, a public policy advocacy organization dedicated to breaking through the partisan gridlock in Washington, today issued the following statement from President and CEO Steven Law on the Senate’s vote to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA):
“As Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor yesterday, opioid abuse is a national crisis that is ravaging people of all ages and backgrounds and tearing families apart. The Senate’s passage of the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act today is another example of what the new management of the Senate means: constructive, bipartisan action to solve real problems in our communities. Leader McConnell and Sens. Portman, Ayotte, Toomey, Whitehouse and Klobuchar all deserve special thanks for their stand-up leadership on this issue.
“In stark contrast to this laudable spirit of cooperation and problem-solving, it’s sad that Minority Leader Harry Reid cited the 2016 elections as his motive for blocking an amendment from Sen. Ron Johnson that would have added the Indian Health Service to an interagency task force on pain management and prescribing pain medication. There is a time for politics and a time for helping people, and Harry Reid leaves the Senate with a shameful reputation for not knowing the difference.”