Letter to Barbara Mikulski, Chairwoman, Richard Shelby, Ranking Member, of the Senate Appropriations Committee - Heroin Usage

Letter

Dear Chairwoman Mikulski and Ranking Member Shelby,

As your subcommittee continues to prepare the FY2015 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, I respectfully write to request your support for funding to a federal program that is in dire need of increased funding.

Over the last several years, a disturbing and dangerous trend has begun to emerge. Heroin, a drug once thought of as only for the most serious of drug users, has infiltrated our cities, towns, and local schools. My home state of New York has been especially ravaged by this increase in abuse. In 2012, thirty-six people died from heroin overdoses in Staten Island alone, and that is just and that is just a small sample of the havoc this drug has brought upon the state. The amount of heroin seized in investigations that involve New York City's Special Narcotics Prosecutor is already higher this year than any full year that the office has kept data, while Upstate and Western New York have fared no better. All across the state, the price of a tenth of a gram has plummeted to roughly $10, which has effectively made heroin easier to acquire than other opioids such as hydrocodone or oxycodone. It has become so prevalent across the state that 35% of the Drug Enforcement Administration's total seizures nationwide have been by New York agents.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has been instrumental in the fight against prescription drug abuse, and as they turn their attention to heroin, they need our continued support. That is why I am asking that this year you increase funding for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program to $338,522,000. I realize this level is significantly higher than the fiscal year 2014 approved appropriation as well as the recommendation of the President; however it is imperative that we assist local officials in every way possible to prevent heroin from becoming more of a crisis than it already is. The crack epidemic in the 1980's is an example of what can happen when a dangerous drug is left unchecked by federal officials, and we must take action. Not only has the HIDTA program been essential to New York, but it has helped facilitate cooperation and information sharing among law enforcement agencies and public health officials alike all across the country. They provide vital technical and substantive support to local law enforcement as they work cases from beginning to end, trying to locate and track the individuals responsible for bringing this epidemic within our borders. As a federal program not directly tied to any one agency, the HIDTA program is uniquely positioned to serve as a platform to bring public safety and public health officials together as they both strive for the same goal: preventing dangerous drug abuse. ONDCP and HIDTAs can ensure that all officials with a vested interest in preventing drug abuse, and especially the rise of heroin abuse, have a venue to discuss and implement their ideas and potential solutions.

The NY/NJ HIDTA has begun to take these important steps, organizing a meeting to bring federal, state and local officials from both the public health sphere and public safety sector together in order to streamline overdose data processing and try to pinpoint where abuse is most prevalent using data-driven approaches. However, they cannot implement these strategies without our help. I believe that increased funding is warranted considering the scope of the heroin crisis nationwide and the integral role HIDTAs play in ensuring the continued health and safety of our citizens.

Thank you for all your work on the appropriations process, and for your consideration of this important request.

Sincerely,

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