White House to Congress: Include funding provisions in opioid bills

The White House wants to make sure Congress’ bills to curb opioid use in the U.S. include plans for funding. President Obama has said he wants to see up to $1.1 billion offered for opioid addiction treatment and management of the crisis.

The plea to include monetary pledges in an upcoming joint bill came in a blog post by the Director of the Office of the National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan June 17.

“Recovery from opioid and other substance use disorders is possible, and many Americans are able to recover because they get the treatment and care they need. But too many still do not get treatment and care. That’s why the President continues to call on Congress to provide the resources to ensure that every American who wants treatment can get it and start the road to recovery,” they wrote.

The money proposed by the president would be divided up by state, depending on congressional approval and the states’ populations and rates of opioid use.

The request from the White House came the same day 66 Senators voted to support a version of the bill that outlined a monetary plan for the law. They also voted to start collaborating with the House of Representatives on a two-chamber bill that would aim to find ways to stem the recent surge of Americans’ use of opioid drugs.

Republicans have been generally more resistant to attaching numbers to funding pledges in the early versions of the opioid bills, while Democrats have wanted to include monetary provisions from the get-go. Several Republicans, however, broke with the party line June 16 to vote in favor of including funding in the final joint bill. No Senate Democrats voted against the funding portion of the bill after administration officials met with congressional Democrats June 14 to hammer out a plan to get $1.1 billion included in the bill.

Several members of Congress will now go forward to reconcile the chambers’ two versions into a final law, including at least three Republican senators who voted to exclude funding.