Pubdate: Mon, 11 Jul 2016
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2016 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Karoun Demirjian

BILL NEARING APPROVAL WILL ADDRESS OPIOID CRISIS

Congress this week is expected to send President Obama legislation to 
combat heroin and painkiller abuse, despite lingering disputes over 
whether there is enough money to support new treatment and prevention programs.

Senate Democrats have pushed for additional funding, arguing that 
without it the bill will not be able to deliver on its promise to 
help thwart the opioid epidemic.

But they do not plan to block the agreement that House and Senate 
negotiators finalized last week, according to a spokesman for 
Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). It is unclear how many 
Democrats will support the bill, but the legislation is expected to 
easily be approved in time for the height of the election season.

The House passed the legislation Friday on a 407-to-5 vote. All House 
Democrats voted for the bill but decried its lack of funding.

The bill would create or modify existing education, prevention and 
treatment programs and put more lifesaving anti-overdose drugs in the 
hands of first responders.

Republicans and Democrats will continue wrangling over whether there 
should be additional funding later this year when final spending 
bills are debated.

"We can't do it on the cheap," Reid said last week. "And that's what 
they're trying to do."

Democrats are also expected to make what they see as a lack of 
funding for the opioid crisis as well as the Zika virus and the water 
emergency in Flint, Mich., an issue on the campaign trail when 
lawmakers depart Washington at the end of the week for an extended recess.

For many Republicans in tough reelection contests, Congress cannot 
pass the opioid bill soon enough.

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) have placed 
particular emphasis on the legislation in their bids to retain their 
seats. They have highlighted their work on the issue - Portman was a 
co-author of the bill and Ayotte a chief co-sponsor - and their 
willingness to vote with Democrats for extra funding to show their 
commitment to fighting an epidemic that has hit their states particularly hard.

"I understand there is an election year and that some people may want 
to score a few political points," Portman said in a floor speech 
Thursday. "This needs to come above politics. We need to get this 
done and we need to get it done now."

By supporting the bill, Democrats will effectively be handing a 
campaign point to some of the very lawmakers, such as Portman, they 
hope to defeat in November.

But there is consensus around the Capitol that the bill is a first 
step that lawmakers have to take while they can.

"It's not perfect and does not nearly do enough from a funding 
perspective, but it makes some important steps that would allow us to 
begin to address the opioid addiction crisis that is impacting our 
nation," Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N. J.), a lead negotiator on the 
compromise, said on the House floor Friday.

Republican leaders have pushed back against Democrats' calls for more 
funding, noting that money authorized to fight opioid abuse is "at 
record highs."

"Nobody can come to this floor and credibly claim the House is not 
putting its money where its mouth is," said House Judiciary Committee 
Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who was a lead negotiator on the bill.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom