{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/a-reality-check-on-the-presidents-opioid-announcement", "A REALITY CHECK ON THE PRESIDENTS OPIOID ANNOUNCEMENT", "2017-10-26", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.26.17\n\t\t\t A REALITY CHECK ON THE PRESIDENT\u2019S OPIOID ANNOUNCEMENT \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWhite House\u2019s Tough Talk On The Opioid Crisis Crumbles\r\nAs New \u2018Plan\u2019 Offers No New Resources,\r\nWhile Congressional Republicans Act To Slash Medicaid By $1 Trillion\r\nPresident Trump\u2019s long awaited declaration on the nationwide opioids crisis is nothing more than symbolic talk.\u00a0 There is no action or new funding behind the President\u2019s empty words to address this crisis.\u00a0 This is unacceptable.\r\nIt is far past time for the administration to acknowledge that the opioid crisis is a national emergency that affects every community across the country.\u00a0 This scourge does not discriminate between rich and poor, or Republicans and Democrats, or urban areas and rural ones.\r\nThe plan provides no new funding, but attempts to take credit for what Congress provided in the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-31).\u00a0 Making the response to the crisis even worse, the President\u2019s FY 2018 budget proposes to cut funding for the opioid epidemic by $97 million compared the FY 2017 enacted levels.\r\nAmericans suffering from opioid addiction do not want or need empty talk and symbolic action.\u00a0 They need resources for medication-assisted treatment, which is expensive, yet House and Senate Republicans just passed a budget with the President\u2019s support that slashes Medicaid by $1 trillion, which would force States to severely reduce coverage and restrict eligibility.\u00a0\r\nThe President touts that this plan allows the Department of Labor to issue dislocated worker grants to help workers who have been displaced from the workforce because of the opioid crisis.\u00a0 Yet the President\u2019s budget request would slash funding for dislocated workers grants for states and national emergencies by more than 40 percent in FY 2018, a cut of over $500 million, despite his empty promises to help American workers and fight the opioid crisis.\r\nThe Senate Appropriations Committee is working to provide the necessary funding to target this crisis by providing roughly $1.4 billion in its FY 2018 spending bills, an increase of more than $137 million above the President\u2019s budget request, $42 million above the House, and $41 million above FY 2017 enacted levels.\u00a0 These resources include:\r\n \r\n$174 million for the Justice Department to fight heroin and illegal distribution and use of opioids, which includes $12 million for Anti-Heroin Task Force grants to states.\u00a0 The Trump budget eliminates this program.\r\n$316 million for Health and Human Services to address the opioid crisis, including $15 million at SAMHSA for a new opioid prevention program.\u00a0 The Trump budget provides nothing for this.\r\n$500 million for the State Response To The Opioid Abuse Crisis grants provided by the 21st Century Cures Act to help prevent and treat opioid abuse in hundreds of underserved areas around the nation.\r\n$386 million for Veterans Affairs for treatment and prevention of opioid dependency among veterans.\r\n \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle: 202-224-3693\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/a-reality-check-on-the-presidents-opioid-announcement"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.366244163364172, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}