Shaheen Welcomes Introduction in the House of Her Emergency Funding Bill to Address the Heroin Crisis

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) welcomed the introduction in the House of her bill to provide $600 million in emergency funding to address the heroin and opioid epidemic. Shaheen’s bill was introduced in the House today by Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02).

“The federal government needs to do much more to stem the tide of this crisis, that I believe is now a pandemic,” said Shaheen. “I welcome Congressman Courtney’s introduction in the House of my emergency funding bill to address this crisis. It’s critical that Congress works quickly to approve these resources for first responders and treatment providers on the frontlines.”

Shaheen’s legislation would provide supplemental appropriations to programs at the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services. Last week, Shaheen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her legislation and the importance of allocating additional federal resources to support public health and law enforcement.

Yesterday, President Obama announced that his budget proposal will include $1.1 billion in new funding to address the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic, following Shaheen’s call last month for its inclusion in his budget.