Senator Hassan: (3:20 p.m.)

• Spoke on opioid legislation.
  • "I spoke this morning with this group of grandparents, two of whom have been raising their grandson for nearly nine years now, one of whom has seen her grandchild returned - two grandchildren returned to their parents after their parents recovered from their addiction but in one case the grandparent who's grandchildren have gone back to his parents at age 57 starting life completely anew. She had given up her job, gone through her entire retirement savings to keep her children safe while their parents battled their addiction. Another set of grandparents who, again, have given up everything to keep their grandson safe are scared of going to court to get permanent custody and adopt their grandchild because they are concerned that the child's father will reappear and contest the custody and the cost of that custody battle will mean that they have no money left to care for their grandchild."

 

Senator McConnell: (3:32 p.m.)

• Spoke on Hurricane Florence.
  • "We stand ready to ensure that communities in the storm's path have the resources they need to recover and rebuild. Once that time comes. For now, we stand in solidarity with the Americans who are battling this storm and with first responders who bravely risk their own safety to care for their communities."
• Spoke on opioid legislation.
  • "That's exactly what this landmark legislation is. It combines work from five committees and input from more than 70 senators. First, this legislation will help cut off the opioid crisis at its roots. It will stop more drugs at the border, improve interstate monitoring, and encourage reform of prescription dosing. It will encourage recovery through more resources for state and local responders, better access to care for patients, and more support for the families and caregivers of those affected, and this legislation looks to the future by surrounding long-term medical research and economic solutions to get our country past this vicious cycle."
• Spoke on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
  • "In the Senate, and around the country, almost everyone who went into this process with an open mind who was prepared to give Judge Kavanaugh a fair hearing has come away impressed, but now, now an accusation of 36-year-old misconduct dating back to high school has been brought forward at the last minute in an irregular manner. It is an accusation which Judge Kavanaugh has completely and unequivocally denied. This is what he said. This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes to her or to anyone. It is an accusation which the ranking member of the committee of jurisdiction has known about for at least six weeks."

 

Senator Daines: (3:45 p.m.)

• Spoke on opioid legislation.
  • "In Montana, opioid overdoses have claimed the lives of 700 people since 2000. And from 2013 to 2014, 42% of all drug-related deaths were caused by opioids, with easier access and a larger supply on the street, we are finding opioids in the hands of more and more people. It's tearing families apart. It's devastating our communities. We must focus on combating the opioid crisis, we must also continue to address a related but separate epidemic that is wreaking havoc in Montana and many other states, and that is the methamphetamine epidemic."

 

Senator Cardin: (3:49 p.m.)

• Spoke on opioid legislation.
  • "Mr. President, shortly we're going to have an opportunity to vote on the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 which I strongly support, but I want to share with my colleagues a roundtable discussion I held in Baltimore just a few hours ago. I met in the area of Cherry Hill, I met with leading experts in regards to the opioid crisis. We had the leadership from Baltimore city, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, representatives from the state, and a lot of different other organizations. It started with Dr. Jason Lotter who is president of bay mark giving us a tour of the new facility that he opened up in Cherry Hill. This is a wonderful new facility for opioid addiction."