Floor Statements

Thanks to my colleague from Maryland for yielding to me. It is great to be back on the floor with him talking about retirement savings.

Back in 1996 and again in 2001 and 2006, we passed legislation while we were in the House of Representatives together to encourage people to save more for their retirement by providing more incentives, such as increasing, as an example, the amount you could put aside in a 401(k) or an IRA and catchup contributions and simplifying the rules for small businesses, and we made some progress.

Those legislative initiatives resulted in about a doubling of 401(k) assets and about a tripling of IRA assets but still way too little in savings. Senator Cardin talked a little about that. Our national savings rate is a problem. Our personal savings rate is a problem. Our economy would be stronger if we had more savings.

The real problem is that people just aren't saving enough for their retirement. Social Security is an absolutely essential safety net. Everybody wants to be sure it will be there into the future. But it is tough to live on your Social Security benefit alone. People need that private retirement savings.

We want to encourage people to save more for their own retirement. What is more important than peace of mind in retirement, knowing that you have the ability to take care of your needs--maybe long-term care needs, maybe

healthcare needs, or maybe just being able to have a comfortable retirement. This is something we are focusing on again.

The Senate did recently pass legislation that helps. It is called the RESA legislation. We both support that strongly, but our legislation builds on that and expands it pretty substantially. Senator Cardin just talked a little about it. It is legislation that we spent 18 months developing.

We heard from stakeholders all over the country. There is a reason that a lot of people are supporting this legislation, including the AARP, the chamber of commerce, and a lot of people who are in the retirement business--the American Benefits Council and others--because we took our time and went to them and said: Hey, what do people really need right now to expand their choices in retirement to be able to save more?

We came up with four or five different challenges in our current retirement system and then specific proposals to address those.

One is, we have an aging baby boomer population--I am among them, and I think all three of us are, Mr. President--that is not saving enough. That is a concern.

Second is a lack of access to employer-sponsored plans. We want everybody who is in the workplace to have access to a 401(k). Yet, when we look at this, particularly with smaller businesses, a lot of people don't have access or a chance to save.

A 401(k) is great because the employer typically puts in a match for you. So it is not just your money that is at a tax advantage, but, unlike an IRA, the employer puts in a match, and usually they help you with your decisions in terms of what kinds of investments to make with that 401(k).

Third, we found that typically with lower income Americans, there was a real issue with the amount of savings. Who needs money more in retirement than lower income Americans, because that is when they don't have other savings to help them through retirement.

Again, all of this is predicated upon the reality that we are living longer as Americans, longer and healthier lives, so we need more of those assets in retirement.

The final one is inadequate lifetime savings. A lot of people have a 401(k) or an IRA, and when they stop working, they think, this is great. They take the lump sum and maybe spend some of that--maybe buy the boat, maybe go on a nice vacation--and suddenly find, oh my gosh, I am living longer and longer. I hadn't expected to be in my nineties and still here. Yet the trend right now is that people are living longer. We have to ensure that there is longer lifetime savings as people are living longer and healthier lives.

After 18 months working with all these troops on the outside, we came up with 57 different provisions to address these four areas. How do we do it?

First, it allows those who saved too little to set more aside for their retirement.

For seniors--people who are over 60 years old--we have a special catchup contribution. If you are over 60 years old, under our legislation, you have the opportunity to put more aside in your retirement plan. That is important. Contribution limits go from $6,000 to $10,000 for workers over age 60 with a 401(k).

Senator Cardin talked a little about this, but among these baby boomers, based on a 2019 GAO report this year, nearly half--48 percent of all retirees over the age of 55 have no retirement nest egg saved. Some may have a public pension, for instance, but still, when you add that in, 30 percent have neither private retirement savings nor any kind of pension benefits that they are going to get in the future. You have a lot of people out there with nothing. This will help with regard to those individuals.

We also say that with regard to this first issue, it is not just being able to make a catchup contribution, but we tell employers: If you set up a plan that allows you to match 6 percent of pay rather than 3 percent of pay, we will give you a break from some of the onerous retirement rules in a safe harbor.

That will encourage more of those employers to do that. That provides a tax credit to those employers who offer these safe harbor plans. So it gives more generous benefits to employees. We think that is appropriate to help save for retirement. It also helps employees who are struggling to save for retirement and pay off student loan debt, people who are saying: I would love to save for retirement, but how can I do that when I have this student loan debt to pay off?

In Ohio, by the way, the average debt for someone coming out of a college or university is $27,000. A lot of people don't have enough disposable income to say: I am going to save for retirement and pay off college debt.

What we do here is we say that employers will now be able to make a matching contribution to the employee's retirement account in the amount of his or her student loan payment. So employers can do this. It is a good way to help people pay off their debt, to help the individual pay off their debt. The employer putting a match in for the same amount is also a good way to attract employees. If you are a business owner out there, you will like this because it will give you an advantage in the marketplace by saying: Hey, come work for me. We will help you on your student debt.

The second issue we talked about today is with regard to small businesses. This is important because we know that this is where most people work who don't have access to retirement plans. They work for smaller businesses. Bigger businesses tend to offer retirement plans, very generous ones. The smaller businesses tend not to.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that Senator Cardin talked about earlier shows that 68 percent of private sector workers have access to employer-sponsored plans, but it drops to only 49 percent for small businesses. So, if you work for a small business, it is less than half. By the way, it is only 39 percent if you are a part-time worker, which we also address.

The bill takes a number of important steps to help small businesses offer 401(k)s and other retirement plans for the workers. It increases the current law tax credit that is already out there, but it improves it and increases it from $500 to as much as $5,000 for small businesses that are starting new retirement plans. It simplifies top-heavy rules for small business plans to reduce the cost of enrolling new employees. It also establishes a new 3-year, $500-per-year tax credit for small businesses that automatically reenroll all of the participants in the plans at least once every 3 years. This is one of the issues out there. If you don't do auto enrollment--in other words, opt in--and you opt out, you are not going to get the participation rate you want.

By the way, this is legislation that Senator Cardin and I promoted back in the 2006 legislation that said to employers: Hey, you can do an auto enrollment. The participation then went from 75 percent to about 95 percent because there was auto enrollment. It is good for younger people. If you are just told ``Hey, unless you do something, you are going to automatically be enrolled in this 401(k),'' that really encourages them to get into retirement savings. All of that is to help these small businesses, and we think it is going to make a big difference.

Third, one of the big problems we face is that plan participation rates for low-income workers are well below what they are for others. So this bill expands access to retirement savings plans for hard- working, lower income Americans. The way we do that--and Senator Cardin is the expert on this--is to ensure that those people who are of low income have the ability to get into retirement plans with matches. That will incentivize them to get in. Only 22 percent of low-income workers participate in retirement plans today. Again, these are people who need savings the most.

The bill expands what is called the saver's credit. It expands the income thresholds to give more Americans access to increased credit amounts. It increases the government match for low-income savers with a saver's credit. By the way, the saver's credit goes directly into the retirement accounts. I think it is important because you don't want this money wasted, and you don't want it used for other purposes--so- called leakage in retirement accounts. This goes right into retirement accounts. We mentioned that only 39 percent have plans but, again, that only 22

percent participate. So this is important.

It also expands the eligibility of 401(k)s to include part-time workers. This is very important to the AARP and others out there who are looking at these part-time numbers and saying: Oh my gosh. There are only 22 percent who participate. That is it. So we have to do more there. It allows part-time workers who complete between 500 and 1,000 hours of service for 2 consecutive years to be able to join in with a 401(k).

These provisions are all designed to help particularly low-income Americans start to build nest eggs for retirement.

A significant challenge we face--again, as I said earlier--is this lack of lifetime savings. Our bill provides more certainty and flexibility during Americans' retirement years.

Last year, a study by Northwestern Mutual found that 66 percent of Americans believe they will outlive their retirement savings. So two- thirds of Americans are saying: I am going to live longer than my retirement savings. By the way, they are probably right. People are living longer and healthier lives and are running out of their retirement savings. It is a major concern.

We have a number of initiatives to try to provide more certainty and flexibility to seniors in their retirement years. Specifically, the bill increases the age for the required minimum distribution from age 70\1/2\, which it is now, to 72 and to 75. So it takes it up to 75 years old. Why is that important? For those of you who are not in retirement, you may not know there is a rule that says you have to start taking your money out of retirement at 70\1/2\. Now, if you are like my father, who was working full time at 70\1/2\, it was a head scratcher. Why should I take my money out of my 401(k) when I am still working? I ran into a guy like that last weekend in Ohio who said the same thing--that this makes no sense.

What we have said is, OK, we are going to kick it up to 75 years old but that if you have less than $100,000 in your retirement account, you will not be subject to the minimum required distribution rules at all. This is a great relief to a lot of seniors who are trying to save that money for retirement and don't want to pull it out because, although they may work until 75, they still know they are going to have another, maybe, 20 years to live, and they want to be sure they have that retirement savings in there.

I am really excited about all of these provisions.

I am hearing a lot about this last one. Here is Tom Kermode, from Geauga County, OH, who wrote:

Relief from required minimum distributions would be very

helpful in that it affords me and other senior taxpayers the

freedom to save to help fund my retirement years. Why should

I be forced to deplete my retirement account at age 70\1/2\

instead of remaining financially independent?

You are darned right, Tom. Thanks for your letter.

The bill also provides help in other ways. It reduces the current penalty for one's failing to take the required distribution from 50 percent of the shortfall amount to 25 percent in most cases and to as low as 10 percent in some cases if one self-corrects the error.

Finally, in order to help those who are in retirement, the legislation encourages the use of qualifying longevity annuity contracts, QLACs. What are they? They are retirement plans that provide annual payments to individuals who outlive their life expectancies. Basically, think of an annuity or a periodic payment. When you retire, instead of taking a lump sum, you have one of these contracts in which you are able to ensure that you are not going to outlive your retirement savings.

There are affordable options for a lot of Americans who are trying to hedge the risk of outlasting their savings. We should encourage those more, and that is what we do in our legislation.

These are all commonsense reforms. They deal with all four of these challenges that we have seen, as we have looked at the retirement system, that have been based on a lot of input from a lot of people. My hope is that we will be able to get this done.

Our coalition includes the American Benefits Council, the AARP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Insured Retirement Institute, Fidelity, Nationwide, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard, the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the American Council of Life Insurers, and The ERISA Industry Committee, to name a few. There are a lot more too.

We have had the opportunity to work together for a couple of decades now on these issues. I am glad that we are taking this next step to provide additional options for people to build and save for their retirements and to have more peace of mind in retirement.

I yield to Senator Cardin.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Maryland for his partnership on this over the years.

Let me just make the obvious point for those who are watching today. I am a Republican, and he is a Democrat. We are actually talking about doing legislation together. It is bipartisan. I would say, in the retirement space, we have tried to keep it nonpartisan because this is so important to the people we represent.

The committee also happens to be represented by a Republican and a Democrat who believe in this. Senator Grassley was the chairman of the committee back in 2001 when we first passed this major legislation to increase what people could save for their retirement. He is the chairman again, and he believes in this. Senator Wyden is the ranking Democrat, the top Democrat. He also was a former Gray Panthers executive director and also has a provision in our bill that is very important, as Senator Cardin talked about, with regard to student loan debt.

The constellations are kind of properly aligned. I think the ability for us to get this done might be counter to a lot of the partisanship and the gridlock we see here in this town. This is bipartisan stuff. It always has been. We have spent our time, have done it right, and have used input from all sorts of outside stakeholders. We have the opportunity here to improve our national

savings, which everyone says is important, including the Congressional Budget Office, and to help people have peace of mind in retirement. What could be more important?

Again, I thank my colleague from Maryland for allowing me to join him on the floor to talk about the importance of this legislation.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a look at this. I hope they will sign it and be cosponsors on this legislation. Let's get this passed. Let's do it this year.

I yield the floor.

Nomination of Kenneth Kiyul Lee

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc.

In order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 178 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I further ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume executive session.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today again to talk about the drug epidemic that continues to be such a big issue in my home State of Ohio and around our country. I am here now for my 56th floor speech, I am told, on this topic, sometimes talking about the opioid crisis that has gripped my State the way it has so many others in this Chamber but also talking about other issues that relate to the drug epidemic. It is not just about the prescription drugs, the heroin, the fentanyl, and the carfentanil that have impacted so many women and children and families and devastated so many communities; there are also other issues. The one I want to talk about today is what is happening with regard to crystal meth.

Methamphetamine is back with a vengeance, and we need to have a more effective response to it. Congress has done quite a bit in the last several years to push back against this drug epidemic.

New policies have been put in place at the Federal level for the past few years that are promoting better prevention, treatment, and recovery and helping our law enforcement respond with Narcan--that miracle drug that reverses the effects of overdoses--and helping to ensure that we have a prevention message out there that is more effective.

Congress has now spent more than $3 billion in additional funding-- taxpayer dollars--to support treatment and recovery programs, and it has been needed. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act has provided a lot of that, and so has the 21st Century Cures Act. That goes directly to the States.

The good news is that these efforts are actually starting to pay off. Drug overdose deaths are still way too high. In Ohio, we started with a high-water mark, but after 8 years of more people dying every single year, finally, last year, we saw in Ohio and around the country a reduction in overdose deaths. That is great news. We peaked in 2017 at 72,000 Americans losing their lives. It is the No. 1 cause of death in my home State of Ohio and the No. 1 cause of death for all Americans under the age of 50.

The progress has been particularly encouraging in places like Ohio. We saw a 21.4-percent drop in overdose deaths in the first half of last year, 2018. Those are the last numbers we have and the most recent data we have. That was the biggest drop in the Nation, actually, between July of 2017 and June of 2018. So in that 1-year period, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, Ohio had the biggest drop in the country. Again, that was partly because Ohio's numbers were so high. We were second in the Nation in overdose deaths, from that data.

Nationally, we are seeing a more promising, if more modest, downturn in overdose deaths. Between September of 2017 and March of 2018, overdose deaths fell from about 72,000 to about 71,000. Overall, the overdose rate dropped in 21 States and nearly a full percentage point nationally. So at least we are seeing some progress finally, after 8 years of increases every year and more and more heartbreak. This is progress.

I think we would have been doing even better, frankly, if we hadn't seen the big influx of fentanyl over the last 3 or 4 years. Again, Congress has passed important legislation, but we are pushing up against more and more fentanyl coming into our communities. That is an incredibly powerful synthetic opioid--50 times more powerful than heroin--inexpensive, and it is coming primarily from China and primarily through the U.S. mail system.

Our pushback on that more recently that is starting to be effective is called the STOP Act. We just passed it in this body last year. What the STOP Act says is that the post office has to start screening packages, particularly from countries like China, from which we know fentanyl is coming in. They haven't done exactly what we asked them to do yet, but they are doing a better job of stopping the poison from coming in from China, which is where the vast majority comes from.

Today, even as we see progress on opioids and as we see somewhat less fentanyl coming in and therefore higher prices for fentanyl on the street, which is important--as we see this progress, we are also seeing something that is very discouraging. What I have been hearing now for over a year from law enforcement, treatment providers, social service providers, and community leaders back home is that there is a resurgence of methamphetamine--pure, powerful crystal meth--coming primarily from Mexico.

I meet regularly with treatment providers and drug abuse task forces all over our State. Recently, I talked to community leaders in Knox County, at the Southeast Healthcare Services in Columbus, at the ADAMHS Board in Adams, Lawrence, and Scioto Counties, the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition, and community leaders and law enforcement in Butler County. Every single meeting ended up the same way: We are finally making progress on opioids. Thanks for your help--because all these communities are taking advantage of the legislation we passed here--but the new scourge is crystal meth. Help us with that.

Often they are saying that this crystal meth is being laced with something else, sometimes fentanyl. So this same deadly fentanyl we talked about earlier is sometimes now being laced with crystal meth, making for a devastating cocktail.

The October 2018 report from Ohio University said that psychostimulants--including methamphetamine--were found in just nine unintentional deaths in 2010. That number rose to 509 in 2017, the most recent data we have. That is an over 5,000-percent increase. Something is happening out there. Again, having finally gotten control of the opioid issue, even the fentanyl, synthetic opioids, which is the latest surge, now we are seeing methamphetamine deaths rising dramatically.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants, including meth, have also increased nationwide in recent years. Among the more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017, nearly 23,000--nearly one-third--involved psychostimulants such as meth, cocaine, or both. From 2016 to 2017, deaths rates involving cocaine and psychostimulants like meth each increased by approximately 33 percent. This increase is across all demographic groups, all census regions, and in several States.

A July 2018 report from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services highlights the intertwined nature of rising meth usage rates and the ongoing opioid crisis. They said some meth users initially turned to this drug to manage the heavy crashes that followed prolonged use of heroin and other opioids, and then they became just as addicted to meth as they were addicted to opioids. So that is one reason I think we see this increase in methamphetamines in Ohio-- because users are turning to meth to manage the crashes that follow prolonged use of heroin.

Meth is now stronger and cheaper than ever before. Again, it is coming almost exclusively to Ohio from Mexico. The days of home chemists and the one-pot meth labs are actually over. You probably heard about it in your community or other States where these meth labs were a big setup, and they created a huge environmental problem, as well as the issue of producing meth, which was devastating communities.

Those meth labs are pretty much gone now. In Ohio, there is not a county that tells me there is a meth lab left. That may sound like good news, but it is actually bad news. The meth labs are gone because the meth coming in from Mexico is more powerful and it is cheaper. So why make meth in the basement when you can have crystal meth delivered to your doorstep from Mexico? It is being mass-produced by Mexican drug cartels who are smuggling it into the United States.

According to Dennis Lowe, who is the commander of the Major Crimes Unit in Athens, OH, ``[Mexican drug cartels] almost single-handedly eliminated meth labs in the State of Ohio. . . . People are getting better quality product and it's cheaper to buy from a cartel.''

So it is more powerful, more deadly, and cheaper.

By the way, one Columbus, OH, enforcement officer recently told me that crystal meth on the streets of Columbus is less expensive than marijuana now--another reason we see it increasing.

As I have heard from folks all over Ohio, we are also seeing meth laced with other drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Many of these cartels splice these drugs into methamphetamine but don't tell the customers, so users may be consuming dangerous opioids without realizing it. Any street drug can be deadly.

Much of the methamphetamine, as I said, enters from Mexico through the ports of entry. It comes in bulk through the ports of entry. It is often hidden in cars and trucks. Smugglers make it through the screening process, and they sell it to the distribution network.

So we need to do more at the ports of entry to have better screening. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection folks, the amount of methamphetamines seized at our ports of entry has soared from 14,000 pounds in 2012 to 56,000 pounds in 2018--a huge increase. In fact, just in the last year alone, we have seen a 38-percent increase in methamphetamines trafficking across the southern border.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Ohio, the number of crystal meth submissions to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations' lab rose from 2,000 in 2015 to over 12,000 in 2018--in just a 3-year period, a 500-percent increase.

What's happening with crystal meth is one reason we need more resources to secure our southern border. It is not just my opinion. The experts at Customs and Border Protection tell us they need more physical barriers; they need more border patrol agents; they need more technology; they need more surveillance; they need more cameras; they need more screening to stop this illegal flow of drugs.

I think we are beginning now to make some progress here since we are deploying more sophisticated technology at the ports of entry, and that is smart. But the traffickers are smarter, and they are also learning ways to avoid those ports of entry, to go around them, to cross wherever they can continue this evil and prosperous trade.

A story originating in Galion, OH, last year caught the Nation's attention. A 5-year-old was out trick-or-treating for Halloween last year, and he was exposed to meth and began suffering from seizures and other symptoms of meth exposure.

Law enforcement checked his Halloween candy, thinking that was the problem, and it was not. It wasn't laced with the drug as they feared. But then they found the meth. It was in his own home--his own family home. His father eventually was charged with possession of drugs and tampering with evidence. But here is a 5-year-old kid suffering from a meth exposure.

Two weeks ago, I was in Knox County, OH, Central Ohio, where I participated in a roundtable discussion with local elected leaders and law enforcement officials, mental health recovery folks. This board is focused on the crystal meth problem. Why? Because it is overwhelming them. Opioids used to be their No. 1 issue. Now it is crystal meth.

I was told that methamphetamines are now involved in 89 percent of the drug cases in Knox County, and in many cases there is polysubstance abuse or overlap with any combination of meth, heroin, and marijuana.

Last August the Knox County Sheriff's Department arrested three individuals who were involved in trafficking, distribution of meth, moving from Columbus into Knox County. By the way, what law enforcement tells me about methamphetamines is that they are causing a new state of crimes, somewhat closer to the cocaine crimes that would have been back in the 1990s when cocaine was the primary concern.

Heroin is a drug that does not create the same stimulant effect; it is not a psychostimulant. So the crimes primarily are crimes to pay for the drugs--property crimes--whereas the meth crimes often tend to be crimes of violence because it is a stimulant like cocaine.

So law enforcement tells me they are very concerned. Their jails are being crowded now with meth users who are there for serious crimes. The big issue they are looking at is this: How do you get people through successful recovery?

Here is the other bad news: We do not know much about how to help people in recovery with methamphetamines. We know that with regard to opioids, there are medication-assisted treatments that can be used, and, in general, recovery practices that work for opioids can work for meth--taking people through a therapy process--but there are not the drugs to be able to help you

through it, as there are with opioids. So it is an even tougher problem in some respects.

We talked about the Federal funding that had been awarded to Knox County when I was there, and they are really happy about it. They are getting money through the 21st Century Cures funding that came from here, then went to the State of Ohio, and went down to them. They are getting money from my CARA legislation, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. They are also getting funding from the Drug-Free Communities Act--legislation that I authored when I was in the House of Representatives many years ago, and it is being used for prevention very effectively in some of these counties.

The one thing they said about the funding was that they want to be sure that there is more flexibility, particularly in the 21st Century Cures fund. So it can be used not just for opioids but also for dealing with this meth issue, which is their big problem now.

So my hope is that we will begin to see some flexibility in those funding streams to be able to help places like Knox County.

We need to build a sustainable infrastructure for prevention, treatment, and longer term recovery from all drugs. For these communities, having that flexibility gives them the ability to respond to whatever the latest problem is that is facing their community.

The U.S. Attorney's Office based in Cleveland, OH, which is led by Justin Herdman, has been deeply involved in this effort to combat the spread and distribution of meth. Last August his office indicted eight people in Federal Court for their efforts to create a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking supply network--a supply chain from Mexico all the way to Ohio.

In connection to these arrests, DEA agents seized more than 144 pounds of meth from a warehouse outside of Cleveland. It is believed to be the largest seizure of methamphetamine in Ohio history. Again, it demonstrates just how serious this threat is and how these criminal organizations pose such a threat to our State and our country.

Back in 2005, Congress passed a bill on meth. It was called the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act. It regulated the over-the-counter sale of certain drugs, like epinephrine, because of their use in the manufacture of methamphetamines. This helped to combat the ability of the meth producers to manufacture cheap methamphetamine from over-the- counter medicines that were easy to get. It dropped the price and reduced its availability. However, Mexican cartels have now again supplanted these domestic labs so that legislation is no longer effective because here we are laden with these cheap, high quality, crystal meth supplies from Mexico.

As the public learns more about the dangers of opioids and works to wean themselves off those drugs, methamphetamine, if left unchecked, is primed now to become the new drug of choice, perpetuating the cycle of abuse. We cannot let that happen.

As we begin to make progress again on the opioid epidemic, which is the worst drug crisis in the history of our country--and remains so--we can't take our eye off the ball. What we are doing is actually helping in the fight against opioids. We need to keep it up. We are actually making progress, finally. We have to keep the pressure on. But my question is, What do we do about the next wave coming? What do we do about the methamphetamine that is coming into my State and your State?

First, we need to continue awareness about the issue of addiction generally. This is not about one drug or just opioids or just meth or just cocaine. It is about the overall addiction--treating addiction like a disease, which it is; providing better treatment so that people can get back on their feet; providing longer term recovery. So raising that awareness generally is important, not just as to opioids but as to addiction, which is really the issue.

Second, we have to do more on our southwest borders to stop the flow of this crystal meth coming in. It is not the ultimate solution because there is enough demand in America for this drug. It will find its way in, but we can stop some of it. We are beginning to do that. At a minimum, we can raise the price on the street, which is one of the problems right now. As I said, it is incredibly inexpensive. As one law enforcement person told me, it is less expensive than marijuana in some cities of America.

Next, we need to do more to support Federal prevention programs that can address this issue--prevention, education, awareness. This is ultimately the most effective way to stop this epidemic from growing. One tool to do that is called the Drug-Free Communities Act. It has established more than 2,000 coalitions now around the country. Let's continue to support those coalitions.

Very little Federal money has gone in compared to the private-sector money, the State and local money, the foundation money, but it leverages some of that other money. We need to continue to support these community foundations.

Next, let's start a new prevention program focused on this meth challenge. One place we could find that funding, by the way, is in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. We authorized and then actually appropriated $10 million for a national prevention program. We allowed HSS to set that up. They haven't done it yet. I think it is important that we do it. I would take that $10 million and multiply it manyfold by using it as leverage to go out to the private sector, to encourage foundations, companies, pharma companies, and others to help in this effort. I believe there is an interest in that. I know there is. Let's do a massive prevention program because that may be, in the end, the most effective way to keep people from getting into the funnel of addiction in the first place.

Next, we need to continue to expand and support these high intensity drug trafficking areas. They really work. I will tell you, in Ohio, when you have Federal resources, combined with State and local resources, when they are coordinated together, focused on this drug issue, they make a lot of sense. They have stopped a lot of the meth distribution, as I said, in Ohio. I talked about what happened in Northeast Ohio. There was the largest meth seizure ever. That was through the HIDTA Program.

Next, we need a more effective treatment for meth. NIDA--the National Institute on Drug Abuse--and the NIH--the National Institutes of Health--are working on answers. But we need new medications so we can assist with quality treatment to help those suffering from addiction get into recovery. This is a major challenge.

I spoke to Scott Gottlieb today, who is a former FDA Commissioner, about this issue, and I have talked to others. We need to do everything we can to support efforts to try to come up with medication that can assist with regard to the treatment for these psychostimulant drugs.

Finally, we have to be sure that the communities have more flexibility to use the Federal funding they are already getting through Cures, through the State Opioid Response grants, to address issues like meth. I am exploring whether legislation is necessary to provide that flexibility, but I believe a lot of it could be provided through the administration of these grants and through the States.

I will continue to ensure that the Federal Government is a better partner for those working on the frontlines on this drug epidemic. Opioids--yes, we need to keep up the fight. We are finally making progress. After 8 years of increases in opioid deaths, finally last year, for the first time in 8 years, we are seeing a reduction of those deaths--the worst drug epidemic in the history of our country. It is not a time for us to pull back. It is time to focus on what is working and do more of it. But, also, we have these new challenges, particularly crystal meth. We need to do a better job of addressing that, as we talked about today.

Working together, I believe we can make a difference. I believe we can turn the tide on addiction in this country.

Thank you.

I yield back.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Park nomination expire at 1:45 p.m., Thursday, May 9. I further ask that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 196, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 197, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution

be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Thursday, May 9; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Park nomination under the previous order.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Madam President, today I wish to acknowledge the inaugural COSI Science Festival that took place in Columbus during the first 4 days of May. COSI is a statewide science center that has been engaging, inspiring, and transforming Ohio's young citizens since 1964 and directly impacts over 1 million people annually. This festival event serves as a conduit to involve students, educators, policymakers, and families in STEM. COSI hosted the culminating event, the Big Science Celebration, where thousands of individuals gathered to experience hands-on learning around critical industry sectors for Ohio, such as agriculture, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

COSI's Science Festival partnered with NASA, DOT, and several state agencies to provide hands-on learning opportunities. Local mayors from 10 partner-cities were also featured to demonstrate the value of STEM in our communities. Pioneers in STEM of all ages from central Ohio were appointed as STEM Stars to serve as liaisons between community and industry.

Visitors to the science festival experienced hands-on scientific demonstrations, interactive exhibits, workshops, and much more. Ohioans had the opportunity to take part in an event that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact in the STEM field.

I am honored to recognize the COSI Science Festival on this important event highlighting the impact of STEM throughout our nation.

Congratulations to all who were involved in making it a success.

Mr. President, I would like to join my colleague from Iowa and my colleague from South Carolina, Senator Scott, to talk about opportunity zones.

Senator Scott has shown incredible leadership on this issue. He has a big heart, and he has a passion for dealing with communities that have been left behind.

The tax reform bill we passed is doing a great job in growing the economy. If you look at the numbers, they are unbelievable. In the first quarter, there was a 3.2-percent economic growth. That is exactly twice what was projected by the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group in Congress, before tax reform was passed. Now tax reform has passed, and growth is twice as fast.

By the way, the same is true with job creation. Over the last year, we have created twice as many jobs as was projected before tax reform was passed. There is no question but that tax reform has helped stimulate development, helped stimulate economic growth, and helped stimulate jobs. Actually, what is most exciting to me is that it has also increased wages for people in Ohio and around the country.

Wages have increased higher in the last year than they have in the previous decade. You have to go back to before the great recession to find wage growth like we have seen. Wage growth is great across the board, but it is particularly encouraging that there is slightly more wage growth among what is called nonsupervisory jobs--think about middle-class jobs and blue-collar jobs. So this thing is working, and it is working well.

However, the fact is, the prosperity we are seeing is not evenly spread. There are some communities that haven't recovered since the great recession, and those are the communities--low-income communities that have been stubbornly poverty stricken--that the enterprise zones and opportunity zones are meant to focus on. It is a critical tool, and it is in the tax legislation. It is designed to help encourage investment and therefore job creation in these communities.

As I was listening to others talk earlier, they talked about States that are identifying urban communities and rural communities that are most in need. I will tell you that in my State of Ohio, we now have 320--320--census tracts that have been identified. When I am traveling around the State, it doesn't take me long to find one of these census tracts and to talk with people who are excited about it.

It allows investors and companies to defer paying these capital gains taxes, and, in some cases, if they make a commitment for long enough to invest additional money, they can avoid the capital gains tax altogether. This is working, and over time it is going to create more investment in these communities.

Throughout the past year, I have been traveling to Ohio and talking to people about this. In Youngstown, OH, and in Cleveland, OH, we had roundtable meetings with investors, businesses, and community leaders, and what I have heard is that people are excited about it. They think there is great potential here. To ensure that it works like it is supposed to work, we have to make sure everybody is involved, and that does include economic developers and all levels of government, not just the businesses and investors who are interested in getting the tax incentives. We have to work together to make sure these programs work and do expand opportunities in these communities.

By the way, I want to highlight the promising work Ohio has done to bring everyone to the table to ensure that happens. Specifically, last week, Governor DeWine announced the creation of a new website to serve as a one-stop shop for businesses, investors, and economic development officials who are looking to invest in Ohio's opportunity zones. The website includes an interactive map that shows investors where the projects are around the State, streamlining the flow of capital into these areas that need it most. These are the kinds of things we need to be able to ensure that this works properly.

I am also encouraged by the ongoing implementation of this program by Secretary Mnuchin and the Department of Treasury. Since the implementation process began, I have been urging the Secretary to issue taxpayer-friendly regulations and rules with regard to this. In other words, look at our intent--what we intended to do--which is, again, to create more jobs and economic opportunities in these zones. This includes a letter we sent, which was bicameral--meaning both the House and the Senate--and bipartisan to Treasury that named a number of concerns we had about where we were up to that point in terms of the regulations. We asked for some further guidance on a number of threshold questions that investors were asking about, including clarifying an onerous proposal that was out there that opportunity zone businesses have to make 50 percent of their revenues within their specific zones. That doesn't make sense for some businesses. I mean, think about a restaurant that is going to be built in an opportunity zone. If they don't get 50 percent of the revenue from people who live in that community, that is not necessarily a bad thing. We want to be sure they are hiring people from that community, but it may be that this 50-percent rule does not work for all of these businesses, including the ones that are going to sell to the outside or maybe even sell to other countries from an opportunity zone.

A few weeks ago, Treasury issued a second set of regulations that took important steps to responding to each of the requests we laid out in our January letter. I am pleased to see that, specifically, they addressed the 50-percent revenue requirement, providing safe harbors that seem to allow operating businesses to generate revenue outside of their opportunity zones without the risk of losing those tax incentives. Again, I commend the Secretary and the Department for taking these steps. We need that kind of certainty in order to ensure we take full advantage of this great opportunity. With the release of these new regulations, many more investors are going to have certainty to start making these investments in struggling communities throughout Ohio.

Overall, I am excited about the benefits of this new tax incentive, and I am committed to doing everything I can do to make sure Ohio communities benefit from it.

Thank you.

I yield back my time.

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

Mr. President, I thank my friend from Georgia, who just gave us some great memories about Dick Lugar--one of the truly great Senators who served here in the last half century. He was a friend and was someone whom so many of us looked up to.

One of the things he did that was special to Ohio was that he became totally devoted to his college, Denison University. He served on the board until his death. He was the longest serving board member ever, I am sure. He not only served on the board, but he showed up. Denison University, which is in my State of Ohio, is very grateful for his service, and as a neighbor from Indiana, again, I miss him, and I appreciate him.

Remembering Joseph H. Head, Jr.

Mr. President, I am here to take a moment to pay honor to a mentor of mine who was also one of the great Ohioans, Joseph H. Head, Jr., who was known for his leadership, for his unwavering loyalty to his city of Cincinnati, OH--my hometown--for his vision, and for all of his contributions. He was a tireless contributor to our community. In fact, I would describe Joe as a kind of one-person chamber of commerce for Greater Cincinnati. He loved his city, and he loved to help young people. I was a beneficiary of that.

I first met Joe when I was either in junior high school or just getting into high school. As usual, he was very direct. He came up to me and asked me about my future. I had no idea what my future was going to be.

He asked: Have you ever been to a law firm?

I said: No, I have not.

None of my family had been lawyers, and I hadn't had any experience with that.

He said: Why don't you borrow a tie from your father and come down to my law firm.

What do you say to that?

So I said: Yes, I will do that.

I remember I was a little intimidated, but I went downtown with my tie on--it was a little bit long for me--and I had an interesting visit with Joe Head.

Then, when I was in college, Joe Head gave me my first job in politics. It was an internship with then-Congressman Bill Gradison. Joe Head had been the chairman of his efforts and suggested that I work for him.

Bill Gradison was a Republican from my hometown, and 16 years later, I succeeded him in Congress. Trust me, I had no clue that I was going do that at the time I interned for him, but that door was opened by Joe Head.

I went on to practice international trade law after going to law school. Again, a lot of that was because of Joe Head, being exposed to the law through him. I then came back to Cincinnati and worked in his law firm, Graydon Head & Ritchey, where he was managing partner.

Lo and behold, George H.W. Bush got elected President and asked me to come to Washington to work in the White House as Associate Counsel to the President. Joe Head encouraged me to do that, but he also encouraged me to come home when I was done. In fact, at the farewell party sending me off to Washington from the law firm, there was a large card that was presented to me, and Joe Head wrote on that card: ``Come home when you are done.'' That was great advice, maybe some of the best advice I ever took, because I did go home, went back to the law firm, and became a partner in that law firm.

I had not expected to run for Congress, but, again, Bill Gradison had resigned unexpectedly, and Joe Head, of course, chaired my campaign.

He was a guy who didn't just benefit people like me; he benefited everybody in Greater Cincinnati because he was so involved throughout his life.

In 2016, he and his wife Louise were honored with the Jake Davis Award from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. That is a big deal. It is an annual award given to only one community-minded citizen or couple who volunteer their time and leadership skills to make Greater Cincinnati a better place to live and to work. Joe certainly lived up to that.

Just a couple months ago, Joe also received another big honor, and that was the highest honor of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce called the Great Living Cincinnatian Award. I had the honor of being there to watch him receive that award. He received it for his community service, his leadership, and his lifetime of helping others in the community--all of his distinguished accomplishments.

Joe also served his country. Prior to his service to our community, he served in Germany with the U.S. Army's artillery division for a couple of years. He also had the Midas touch in law and in business, both as the

managing partner at the Graydon Head & Ritchey law firm and then as CEO and chairman of the Atkins & Pearce company, an industrial textile business.

His active service on area boards was where he really distinguished himself. I got into the habit of just calling him Chairman because he chaired everything. He chaired the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the Children's Home of Greater Cincinnati, the Christ Hospital Board, the Fine Arts Fund for Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Business Committee. I know I have missed a number of entities, institutions, and nonprofits he chaired. The point is, no one was a bigger booster or bigger contributor to our community.

I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that we are going to miss his dedication, his humor, his wisdom, and his uncanny ability to articulate and define issues. He was an impressive leader, a dear friend, and a truly great Cincinnatian.

To his extraordinary wife, Louise, of 60 years; to his children, Lisa, Jeb, and Andy, and their spouses, Nirvani, Jack, and Melanie; to his grandchildren and his one great-grandchild, Jane and I send our condolences. We are thinking about you. Joe was so proud of each and every one of you.

May we all endeavor to embrace Joe's extraordinary commitment to his community and carry on his profound legacy.

Godspeed, Joe Head.

Mr. President, I would now like to yield to my colleague from Delaware who has just come to the floor, and I would like to speak after him.