Joe Donnelly

Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly introduced an amendment to federal legislation Wednesday that addresses the national opioid and heroin use epidemic.

The legislation would give money to state and local response programs.

Donnelly’s proposed amendment is part of the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA.  The legislation would fund state and local programs that address prescription practices, improve treatment and expand access to opioid abuse prevention and education methods.  

Carrier is not going to stop its move to Mexico, despite some last-ditch efforts by Indiana's senators.

Dan Coats (R-IN) says his Tuesday meeting with Carrier execs did nothing to change their minds.

“I tried to convince them: ‘Is there anything that we can do to rethink this thing through?’ And they made it clear that over this -- next three years -- period of time, they’re going to be shifting out of Indiana,” Coats says.

Indiana Fourth District U.S. Representative Todd Rokita says the federal highway bill recently passed by Congress provides reliability in funding and eliminates stress for states and contractors as they plan to upgrade and maintain roads.

 The bill provides five years of funding with more than $5 billion for Indiana.

 Rokita, a member of the House Transportation Committee, says the federal highway bill is paid for without gimmicks, relying mostly on the gasoline tax, with some alternative revenue streams that include funds from the Federal Reserve. 

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly says his latest effort on military suicide prevention aims to help servicemembers and veterans connect with mental health providers in their communities.  That follows up on Donnelly’s 2014 legislation that allowed all military members to receive annual mental health screenings.

Senator Joe Donnelly says his latest package of bills, recently signed into law, helps servicemembers find mental health providers attuned to their specific needs.  Donnelly says one way is to expand training beyond traditional mental health providers.

US Senator Joe Donnelly says the Environmental Protection Agency needs to collaborate with small businesses and the agricultural community before crafting new water regulations, legislation co-sponsored by the Hoosier Democrat failed to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate Tuesday.

The EPA regulates navigable waterways under the Clean Water Act.  But the federal agency sought to broaden its regulatory reach by redefining what’s known as the Waters of the United States law to include smaller bodies of water, including streams, ponds, and drainage ditches. 

The House has again voted to repeal the medical device tax included in the federal health care law -- but Indiana manufacturers insist this time, it might stick.

The Senate is considering repeal of the 2.3-percent tax under a rule which prohibits a filibuster. That makes the bill likely to reach President Obama's desk for the first time.

The White House has already threatened a veto, but Indiana Medical Device Manufacturers Council president Denis Johnson maintains there's reason to believe Obama might reconsider.

US Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) says he’s still optimistic about the future of the Grissom Air Reserve Base despite the Air Force’s decision Thursday not to choose the Indiana site as home of a new tanker aircraft. 

The 434th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom in northern Indiana was one of four finalists to become the first Air Force reserve unit to fly the new KC-46A tanker aircraft. 

There's rare bipartisan backing from Indiana's congressional delegation for President Obama's decision to extend the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan.

Republicans and Democrats alike invoke the specter of Iraq as a cautionary lesson on the risk of pulling out American troops before security forces are capable of taking over.

Congressman Andre Carson (D-7th) says he's disappointed Obama isn't keeping a pledge to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year, but says with the Taliban still a threat, the U.S. has no choice.

As Suicide Prevention Month comes to a close, Senator Joe Donnelly says America’s military still has work to do to help prevent servicemember suicides.

Servicemember suicides are on pace this year to decline for the second consecutive year.  Yet for three straight years more members of the military have taken their own lives than have died in combat.

Republican Senator Dan Coats says he’ll oppose short-term government funding measures until Congress addresses what he sees as a coming fiscal crisis created by President Obama. However, Coats’ Democratic counterpart Joe Donnelly says shutting down the government would threaten an improving economy: