LEXINGTON, Ky. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was in Lexington Tuesday, speaking at the third annual Kentucky Recovery in the Workplace Conference.

Though he addressed a range of topics throughout the afternoon, addiction recovery is a cause McConnell has repeatedly spearheaded in the Senate. Among other past bills, he sponsored the CAREER Act in 2018, which tackles addiction recovery and workforce reentry.

"It’s both a combination of law enforcement and addiction recovery," McConnell said as he explained his desire to punish drug dealers while treating addiction. "The federal government is spending an enormous amount of money on this, and I think that’s gonna continue on a bipartisan basis."

Speaking with reporters during the event, McConnell was asked about other recent issues, including creating a national standard as college athletes fight to make money off of their name, image and likeness. Last Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order allowing Kentucky college athlete endorsement deals.

"What we need from the NCAA is, 'What do you think is the best approach?'" he said. "In other words, we don’t have the expertise to fix this. We need to get advice about what will fix it."

McConnell added that he does not want to create laws that endanger "non-revenue" college sports.

McConnell was also asked about the currently-stalled infrastructure bill or bills. President Joe Biden had previously demanded there be a follow-up bill funding what he called “human infrastructure” like home healthcare. McConnell wants one bill that is narrowly tailored. 

"Infrastructure could be bipartisan," he said. "And you watched discussions between 10 of my members and 10 Democrats who have been working together to try and find a way that we can spend about $1 trillion."

McConnell said he plans to make more stops across the Commonwealth this week as the Senate takes a break, though it is apparent the push and pull of Washington is still in full motion.