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Smith Statement on Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act and Related Legislation

Congressman Adam Smith released the following statement on the opioid related legislation considered by the House of Representatives:

May 13, 2016

“Our nation is in the midst of a heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic, resulting in the deaths of thousands, and taking a toll on the health and safety of many Americans and their families. Since 2000, overdose deaths have increased 137% - costing more than 60 lives a day. Congress must act to stem this nation-wide epidemic by investing in prevention, treatment, recovery, and efforts to prevent the smuggling of drugs across our borders. Addiction is a brain disease, and given the medical and technological advancements over the years, we now have a better understanding of the mental and physical aspects of drug abuse; and can work to increase access to recovery services that can turn the tide of this fight. The debate on the House Floor this week should have been much more comprehensive but I support the steps we have taken to combat the drug abuse epidemic and I will continue to support efforts to address inequities in our society.
 
“While I am deeply disappointed that the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act and its related bills do not provide the full funding necessary to confront the rising numbers of overdose death and addiction, I believe these legislative efforts will begin to address the fight against opioid and heroin abuse. It is my hope that the conversations my colleagues and I had on the piecemealed legislation that came to the House Floor this week will be the beginning of a much larger fight to secure the resources and funding necessary to meaningfully address this crisis and treat the overdose and addiction affecting our communities.
 
“The scourge of this disease is not limited to single cities or groups. As Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have personally fought for the wellbeing of our service members and requested critical support in efforts to address opioid misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death. I submitted an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, directing the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the DOD’s efforts to prevent, educate and treat prescription opioid drug abuse.
 
“While the current crisis we face in opioid abuse is extraordinarily important, we must remain cognizant of the unfinished business in the sentencing disparity between crack vs. powder cocaine. That these are essentially two separate forms of the same substance remains a significant issue that cannot be overlooked. In 2010, I supported the passage of S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the sentencing disparity between offenses for crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1. It also eliminated the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession offenses. The 100:1 ratio was scientifically unjustifiable, and resulted in individuals of color being targeted and jailed with disproportionately longer sentences.
 
“In the current Congress, I am a supporter of a number of bills that work to correct this historical inequity. H.R. 1252, the Fair Sentencing Clarification Act, would make the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactively applicable to federal prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine. I also co-sponsored H.R. 1255, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act, which would eliminate disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentences entirely – creating a 1:1 ratio. This legislation would combat inequities in our justice system, requiring that the same amount of each drug triggers the same sentence.
 
“We know that in order to pursue true racial justice we must re-examine the role of our justice system as the spearhead against the disease of drug addiction, challenging long-held assumptions and improving our system to emphasis prevention. Rather than focus on incarcerating Americans who suffer from addiction, we must focus on education, access to treatment services, and rehabilitation into society.  By doing so, we recognize the evidence-based fact that remanding these individuals to jail and prison is structurally, as well as morally, wrong. I applaud my colleagues for the bipartisan work accomplished this week to start addressing the issues of opioid prescription and heroin drug abuse, but know there is much more work that still needs to be done.”

Smith Statement on the Two-Year Anniversary of the Benghazi Committee

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Adam Smith, a Member of the Benghazi Select Committee and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of the creation of the Select Committee:?

May 8, 2016

staff then accidentally leaks the name of that individual.  The CIA quickly debunks Gowdy’s allegation.   ?

(7)  October 19, 2015:  The Washington Post reports on links between Gowdy and Stop Hillary PAC, which describes itself as “created for one reason only—to ensure Hillary Clinton never becomes President of the United States.”  Gowdy’s leadership PAC, Themis, shared the same treasurer as Stop Hillary PAC since 2013, an outspoken Clinton opponent named Dan Backer who also served as treasurer on three other PACs that each donated $2,000 to Gowdy for Congress.  Only after being confronted with these facts by the Post did Gowdy return these donations.  In September 2014, STOP Hillary PAC spent $10,000 on robocalls and other efforts in support of Gowdy.?

(8)  October 22, 2015:  Gowdy holds a marathon, 11-hour hearing with Secretary Clinton that is widely condemned by even conservatives commentators as a “carnival road show,”  “overkill,”  a “PR disaster for the GOP,”  a “big fat flop,”  and “a very bad day for Trey Gowdy and the Republicans.”  Gowdy concedes that the hearing revealed nothing new:  “In terms of her testimony?  I don’t know that she testified that much differently today than she has the previous time she testified.”

Donald Trump—now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee—calls Gowdy’s hearing “a total disaster” that “was not good for Republicans and for the country.”  He tweets, “Face it, Trey Gowdy failed miserably on Benghazi.”  He then refers to him as “Benghazi loser Gowdy.”  ?

(9)  February 11, 2016:  Gowdy starts withholding copies of Committee interview transcripts from Democrats in violation of House rules.  He later explains that he is withholding these transcripts from Democrats because he fears they might release more of them in response to his own unilateral releases:  “Committee transcripts will not leave the Majority’s control due to the Minority’s stated intention to selectively release them at will.?

(10)  April 29, 2016:  The Pentagon takes the highly unusual step of sending a letter to Gowdy exposing the latest GOP abuses, including dragging out the investigation, requesting duplicative and unnecessary witnesses, and asking witnesses to “speculate or engage in discussing on the record hypotheticals.”  The letter states that the Pentagon “expended significant resources” trying to locate an individual identified as “John from Iowa,” who called into Sean Hannity’s radio show and alleged he was a Remotely Piloted Aircraft camera operator and saw the video feed from the night of the attack.  Gowdy wanted to interview him even though the Select Committee already had access to the relevant video from that night.?

Smith Statement Denouncing Hateful Rhetoric

Washington D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith released the following statement condemning hateful and violent rhetoric:

May 6, 2016

“Disturbing statements from the Republican White House contender cannot go unaddressed. America must stay true to its founding principles by standing with immigrants and leading on refugee resettlement. Our American values embrace people of all faiths and backgrounds. Fear cannot cloud our judgement, drive policy, or destroy our country’s fabric. The Republicans are presenting a very different vision for our country.

“Here in the Puget Sound region we have seen firsthand the damage that hateful and violent rhetoric inflicts on our local community centers and places of worship. We know that our region's diversity is one of our greatest strengths. Instead of hateful and violent words, we should stay true to our values and work together to build a more just and peaceful society. We know that immigrants and refugees strengthen our communities, our economy, and our country's future. Throughout our history, refugees and immigrants have made America great and will continue to do so.” 

Smith Statement on Republican NDAA Provision Attacking LGBT Rights

Washington D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith released the following statement about the Russell amendment attacking LGBT rights that was included in the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. During mark-up of the NDAA in committee, Democrats fought against efforts to expand religious organizations’ ability to conduct ‘taxpayer funded discrimination’ against LGBT individuals, women, and other groups.

May 4, 2016

“The language in the Russell amendment is a direct attack on LGBT rights. The president issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity by government contractors. The Russell amendment tries to override this executive order by artfully claiming to protect ‘religious freedom,’ but just like similar efforts in numerous state legislatures, this is actually an effort to promote discrimination. The language tries to protect the so-called ‘right’ to get government contracts and grants and still discriminate against people whose lifestyle you don’t approve of. Government-funded discrimination is wrong under any circumstances, and we certainly shouldn’t be trying to expand it in a defense policy bill.”

Smith Statement on House Armed Services Committee Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act Mark-Up

Washington D.C. – Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee completed its mark-up of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

April 29, 2016

“The House Armed Services Committee is maintaining its bipartisan tradition. We worked through a lot of issues throughout the mark-up process, including a number of very controversial provisions. We crafted legislation the way it is supposed to be done. We held productive debates, disagreed, voted, and at the end of the process we passed a very significant piece of legislation.

“The National Defense Authorization Act is a very important bill that provides funding for essential defense priorities and sets military policy that impacts members of the military, their families and our local communities. As Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, I will continue to fight for a bill that reflects our national priorities”

The Amendment Process

During the mark-up, Democrats fought hard and won votes to protect the environment, overriding measures that would have prohibited USDA funds from being used to support DOD efforts to procure alternative fuels, prevented the construction of biofuel refineries, and overturned President Obama’s executive orders on climate change and sustainability.

Democrats won on a vote to establish equality for women in the military, by including them in the Selective Service.

Democrats won on votes to expand parental leave for military members to 14 days, expand adoption leave for dual military couples to 36 days, and require the Secretary of Defense to study flexible maternity and paternity leave sharing.

Fighting for Our Principles

With the support of my colleague Congressman Clyburn, I offered an amendment to pressure South Carolina to take down the Confederate battle flag flying above The Citadel, but Republicans modified it and voted for a version that would allow the flag to continue flying.

I continue to fight to remove unnecessary restrictions on the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and offered an amendment to get rid of the unnecessary restrictions on GTMO transfers added in last year's NDAA. My amendment failed but I will continue to fight to close this international eyesore that undermines national security objectives and damages our credibility with regard to human rights and international law.

Democrats fought back against an effort to prohibit unused military facilities from being used to house unaccompanied undocumented children.

Democrats fought back against efforts to protect government contractors who pervasively violate labor, nondiscrimination, workplace safety, minimum wage, and other laws from disclosure requirements.

Democrats fought against efforts to expand religious organizations’ ability to conduct ‘taxpayer funded discrimination’ against LGBT individuals, women, and other groups.

Democrats fought to remove $317 million in unrequested funds for nuclear weapons modernization, to reverse restrictions on dismantling nuclear weapons no longer in use, stop plans for an infeasible $300 billion ‘Star Wars’ space-based antimissile shield, and fought for independent cost estimates and more insight into the 30-year trillion-dollar plan for nuclear modernization.

Democrats fought big oil-driven efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act and undermine collaboration between DOD and DOI on land management via attacks on the sage grouse, the lesser prairie chicken, and the burying beetle.

Included in the Mark

The bill expresses a Sense of Congress valuing the expanded opportunities for women in the military and recognizing their long history of military service to the United States.

It  includes $10 million for research, development, and training at historically black universities and colleges; $20 million for military STEM education for at-risk youth; and $10 million for K-12 STEM education.

It allows transgender servicemembers who have changed their name after separation from service to receive amended discharge documents with their new name. 

It requires the Secretary of the Navy to review the court-martial convictions of those accused in the Port Chicago Naval Magazine incident of July 1944, to ensure there was no racial bias.

It requires a review of the service records of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander veterans from the Korean war and Vietnam war to determine whether racial bias unjustly prevented them from receiving Medals of Honor, in order to set the record straight.

It directs the Secretary of Defense to examine the feasibility of  allow applicants to the Discharge Review Board and the Boards for the Correction of Military Records to appear before the boards remotely.

It includes Talia’s Law, a measure to prevent child abuse and neglect on military installations.

It fully funds nuclear nonproliferation and funds nuclear clean-up efforts.

It directs a study to try and identify individuals who are at high risk for suicide, as well as outlining efforts to combat suicidality.

It affirms the Secretary of Defense’s legal ability to allow immigrants – including DREAMers – to enlist in the military and serve our nation in uniform.

I continue to fight for the wellbeing of our service members and provide critical support in efforts to address opioid misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death. I offered an amendment accepted by the committee directing the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the DOD’s efforts to prevent, educate and treat prescription opioid drug abuse.

I support people-to-people ties, as they form bonds and bridges between nations. Helping build capacity abroad through education, including English language programs, advances national security goals. The bill requires a brief on opportunities to explore expanded education programs abroad and at home, including partnerships with U.S. colleges and universities.

I recognize the importance of exploring technology for clean water and desalination. Knowing the DOD has made advances in desalination technology and that lack of clean water is a factor in destabilization around the world, the bill requires the DOD to provide further information on the recent advances in desalination technologies and how those advances have been shared with other Government agencies.

I continue to work towards stability and security in Somalia. The bill affirms the DOD’s bi-lateral security cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts to improve the security situation in Somalia and address terrorist threats from Al-Shabaab.

To watch the full committee mark-up, visit the House Armed Services Committee YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD506yORW2voSanqEgLOUIQ 

 

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