On Senate Floor, Shaheen Announces Amendment to Address Heroin and Opioid Abuse With a Vote Expected Later Today

**Dedicates $17.5 billion to significantly ramp-up the federal government’s efforts to combat substance abuse and treatment for mental health** 

**Amendment to Republican’s Affordable Care Act repeal bill that will be voted on later today,

would provide resources to the front lines of the epidemic** 

**Shaheen also denounces Republican legislation that repeals New Hampshire’s Medicaid Expansion and defunds Planned Parenthood** 

(Washington, DC) – This morning, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) spoke on the Senate floor to announce an amendment that would ramp-up the federal government’s efforts to combat the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic. Senator Shaheen introduced her amendment to Republican legislation that would repeal key parts of the Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood under a procedural process known as reconciliation. The amendment will be voted on later today. You can watch her remarks here.

Specifically, Senator Shaheen’s amendment would:

• Hold Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) issuers on the exchanges accountable to stronger mental health parity and addiction equity standards.

• Strengthen Medicaid coverage of services to prevent and treat mental illness and substance use disorders by eliminating current barriers.

• And create a Substance Use and Mental Health Capacity Fund to increase funding by $17.5 billion for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant and the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant programs. 
  • This new funding will expand and sustain federal investments in state programs to prevent and treat mental illness and substance use disorders.

Senator Shaheen’s amendment is fully paid-for by enacting the Buffett Rule, preventing corporations from moving offshore to avoid paying taxes, and closing tax loopholes that allow corporations to write-off executive bonuses.