U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Joins Coalition Urging Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to Focus on Funding for Opioid Crisis and Medical Research in Government Spending Bill

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and a group of 17 other Senators in calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to include a substantial increase in funds for the fight against the nation's opioid epidemic and additional investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as part of the Continuing Resolution currently being negotiated in Congress to avert a government shutdown. The letter was signed by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Al Franken (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

"While past Congresses have made promises about providing states with additional funding to address the ongoing opioid crisis, appropriations legislation like the pending budget deal is where the bill comes due. Americans are counting on Congress to live up to its commitments by supporting funding for the priorities that matter most in their lives," wrote the Senators. "Funding to fight the opioid epidemic and support research into lifesaving cures through the NIH rank at the top of this list, and we urge you to include substantial additional funding for these areas in the appropriations legislation now being negotiated."

The Senators asked for additional resources to address the nation's opioid crisis, particularly those communities which have been hit hardest by the epidemic, noting that only ten percent of people with substance abuse disorder receive specialty treatment due in large part to lack of funding for services.

The Senators also called for increased investment in the NIH to support continued biomedical research, citing the institute's critical role in discovering cures for life-threatening diseases and its numerous, valuable contributions to science.

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