Warner, Kaine call for additional funding to combat drug abuse

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have called on Senate appropriators to increase federal funding to address the nation’s prescription drug abuse and heroin epidemic.

As the Senate Appropriations Committee drafts its FY 2017 spending proposals, Warner and Kaine joined 20 Senators from both sides of the aisle to express strong support for effective drug prevention and treatment programs that will save lives, reunite families and strengthen communities.

“As you consider spending priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2017, we are writing to request the highest possible funding for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant – a critical program distributed to all States that supports lifesaving substance use disorder treatment, prevention, and recovery services,” the Senators wrote. “In our view, the scope of this epidemic requires our continued focus and attention, and stemming its tide requires sufficient federal resources to help support state and local efforts.”

Warner and Kaine have supported legislation at the federal level to strengthen prevention efforts and help prevent opioid overdose deaths, which outnumbered car accident fatalities in Virginia in 2014. Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed a bipartisan bill introduced by Kaine that would encourage physicians to co-prescribe the life-saving drug naloxone alongside opioid prescriptions and make naloxone more widely available in federal health settings.