Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control to Hold Hearing on Federal Response to the Drug Overdose Epidemic

*** HEARING ADVISORY ***

Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control to Hold Hearing on Federal Response to the Drug Overdose Epidemic

***Co-Chairs’ opening statements and witness testimony included below***

Washington, DC – Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Co-Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and members of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control will hold a hearing entitled, “The Federal Response to the Drug Overdose Epidemic.”  The hearing will address the federal response to the drug overdose epidemic and drug threats that have emerged or changed as a result of COVID-19. 

EVENT:         Senate Drug Caucus Hearing on Federal Response to the Drug Overdose Epidemic

WHEN:          Tuesday, July 20th, at 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:       Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 608

STREAM:      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV4XrUxDy4I   

Witness Panel I

• Regina LaBelle, Acting Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy (written testimony)
• Tom Coderre, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (written testimony)
• Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (written testimony)

Witness Panel II

• Nicole Alexander-Scott, Director, Rhode Island Department of Health (written testimony)
• Keith Humphreys, Esther Ting Memorial Professor, Stanford University (written testimony)
• Steve Gurdak, Group Manager, Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Northern Virginia Financial Initiative (written testimony)

Whitehouse and Grassley’s opening statements, as prepared for delivery, are available here and here.

Established in 1985, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control consists of seven members, four of which belong to the majority party.  The Caucus, which is authorized in law and has the status of a standing committee, has held hearings on strengthening U.S. antinarcotics efforts around the world, as well as addressing heroin and prescription drug abuse on American soil.  In the past decade, the Caucus has drafted reports on the West African drug trade and the connection between U.S. money laundering and organized crime.

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