President Obama on Friday signed legislation aimed at fighting the opioid abuse epidemic, despite his disappointment the bill didn’t include more funding for treatment.
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The Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act, from Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is intended to tackle the opioid crisis through several different avenues, including increasing treatment options for addicts and expanding use of the overdose antidote naloxone.
But what isn’t in the bill has President Obama upset.
“I am deeply disappointed that Republicans failed to provide any real resources for those seeking addiction treatment to get the care they need,” he said in a statement. “In fact, they blocked efforts by Democrats to include $920 million in treatment funding.”
Obama noted that the legislation provides some modest steps to address an issue that kills 78 Americans a day.
“Some action is better than none,” he said.
