Senate Democrats on Tuesday touted a commitment from Senate GOP leadership to provide more funding to fight the opioid epidemic, but Republicans say it’s not clear yet how much more money they can deliver.
Democrats said Senate GOP leadership gave them a commitment to more funding to combat the opioid epidemic to help get them on board for a short-term spending deal that funds the government through Feb. 8. The short-term deal was signed into law by President Trump on Monday and ended a three-day government shutdown.
However, top GOP senators said that any details on funding would have to wait until a long-term spending bill called an “omnibus” is hammered out.
“There is no agreement yet on the budget caps,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “I think that will be discussed as part of the agreement on what the level of the military and domestic spending would be.”
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that he is looking into what areas may need more funding to help tackle the epidemic. He pointed to more money for new research.
“I think the programs that give the estates flexibility have a lot of promise here,” he said. “Some kind of flexible granting program to the states would be part of that discussion.”
He referenced the 21st Century Cures Act, which had $1 billion in new funding for grants to states to tackle opioid abuse.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., a member of GOP leadership, suspects that funding will wind up in the omnibus.
“I think everybody here is concerned about effectively treating the opioid epidemic in this country, but I don’t think there are any numbers agreed to,” he said.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., tweeted Monday that a short-term deal to fund the government until Feb. 8 came with a “commitment” to take up opioid funding and funding for community health centers that expired on Sept. 30.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire both said Monday that the deal allows Congress to “move forward” on critical priorities that include combating the opioid crisis which federal data shows kills 91 Americans a day.
More funding to fight the opioid epidemic has been a major issue for Democrats. Shaheen and Hassan have called for $25 billion a year in opioid funding.
Earlier this month a group of 10 Senate Democrats and one Independent wrote to Trump asking him to make a new emergency declaration for the opioid epidemic. The senators complained that not much action has been taken on opioids since Trump made the declaration in October, including a lack of new funding.
