Major congressional action on combating opioid abuse may be in danger as Democrats are uniting to include more funding in a bill for treatment recovery.
Democrats want to add $920 million to legislation that was created by a committee of Senate and House lawmakers to address the opioid crisis and have indicated they wouldn’t support the legislation without it. The money is taken from other federal programs to give states more resources to expand treatment options for addicts.
“It would be legislative malpractice for Congress to do half the job,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “Congress needs to take action today to lock in real funds for this epidemic.”
Republicans have rebuffed the idea, saying that more money needs to be added during the regular budget process.
“Money helps, and over the last two years Congress has increased funding for opioids by seven times,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said during the conference committee’s meeting Wednesday.
Democrats responded that funding is needed this year to address a problem that kills more than 70 people a day from painkiller and heroin overdose.
“For too many families there is no later,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who introduced the amendment to the legislation. “This is the opioid bill this year, and frankly people across the country are running out of time.”
Democrats had called for $600 million in new funding to be added when the original legislation came before the Senate and House but both times were rebuffed by Republicans.
Top White House officials slammed the compromise legislation.
Without the additional funding, the legislation is “insufficient to make a dent in providing treatment to people who desperately need it,” said Michael Botticelli, director of National Drug Control Policy at the White House, during a call with reporters Tuesday.
