King Praises President's Increased Funding to Fight Opioid Abuse

Statement

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today praised an announcement by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) that the President's upcoming budget will include $1 billion to fight the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic in America. In a letter to the President this past December, Senator King called on the Administration to increase the federal government's financial commitment to combatting drug addiction and supporting communities dealing with the opioid crisis. ONDCP Director Michael Botticelli personally informed Senator King of the increase in a phone call.

"For those struggling with addiction, for their families, for medical professionals and law enforcement officers, this funding is more than just money. It's hope -- hope that, together, we can finally stem the tide on an epidemic that's taken too many lives and ravaged too many communities," Senator King said. "I applaud the Administration for taking this much-needed step, and I urge my colleagues to come together in a bipartisan way to fully fund the President's request. Doing so will help deliver the necessary tools and resources to those who are fighting this crisis every day and, ultimately, save lives."

Today, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell and ONDCP Director Botticelli announced that President Obama's forthcoming Fiscal Year 2017 Budget will include $1 billion in new mandatory funding over two years to expand access to treatment for prescription drug abuse and heroin use. The announcement falls in line with a December 2015 letter from Senator King to President Obama, in which Senator King requested that the Administration increase funding to combat the crisis.

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