Ayotte Applauds Subcommittee-Passed Bill's Increased Funding for Opioid Abuse Programs
Press Release
U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today applauded the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS-ED) Subcommittee on Appropriations' inclusion of increased funding for programs to combat opioid abuse at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The additional resources were included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 L-HHS-ED and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which passed the L-HHS-ED Subcommittee on Appropriations this morning. In response to letters Ayotte sent the Subcommittee earlier this year, the legislation includes important resources for fighting the opioid abuse crisis in New Hampshire and across the country.
"So many people in New Hampshire have told me time and time again that it's going to take a coordinated, comprehensive response to fight the crisis facing our state and save lives. Today, I'm grateful to the Subcommittee for taking another step towards making that response a reality," said Senator Ayotte. "Increasing funding for opioid abuse prevention and treatment programs at the CDC and SAMHSA are strong pieces of our response to this epidemic. I will continue to fight to ensure that the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act is fully funded and that we are dedicating sufficient resources to battling this epidemic."
The L-HHS-ED Appropriations Act includes a 93 percent increase for opioid abuse programs at HHS agencies such as CDC and SAMHSA. This represents an increase of approximately $126 million over FY 2016. Earlier this year, Ayotte led a bipartisan letter to the Subcommittee asking that it appropriate the necessary funding to address the opioid abuse epidemic in a comprehensive manner, emphasizing the focus on prevention, treatment, and recovery taken under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which Ayotte co-authored and which passed the Senate by a vote of 94 to 1.
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