{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-pushes-bipartisan-fix-to-better-fund-opioid-treatment", "McCaskill Pushes Bipartisan Fix to Better Fund Opioid Treatment", "2017-11-16", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "McCaskill Pushes Bipartisan Fix to Better Fund Opioid Treatment \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Legislation would adjust funding formula to better assist hardest-hit states \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThursday, November 16, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is joining a bipartisan plan to prioritize federal opioid funding for states that have been hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. The legislation would charge the federal agencies tasked with combating the opioid epidemic to take into account mortality rates and lack of access to treatment and services when allocating funding, rather than the current method which unfairly benefits states with higher populations.\r\n\u201cWe need to make sure that our hardest-hit communities and those lacking important treatment resources are getting the help they need to combat this epidemic,\u201d McCaskill said. \u201cOpioids have been tearing apart communities across Missouri, and we need to make sure not only do we have an all hands on deck effort to curb this epidemic but that we\u2019re doing so in a way that is most effective.\u201d\r\nMcCaskill has been an outspoken advocate in combating the opioid epidemic. Following her\u00a0successful work\u00a0to ensure county and municipal level prescription drug monitoring programs would be\u00a0eligible for federal funds\u00a0and her\u00a0support\u00a0for the grant application, McCaskill announced\u00a0that St. Louis County was awarded $1 million to support the network of county and city level prescription drug monitoring programs in Missouri.\r\nMcCaskill launched the most comprehensive Congressional investigation into the opioid crisis to date earlier this year, requesting documents from opioid manufacturers\u00a0in March, and adding additional manufacturers in July as well as expanding her investigation to include\u00a0distributors\u2019 role\u00a0in fueling the epidemic. In September, McCaskill\u00a0announced the first round of findings, detailing systemic manipulation of the prior authorization process by Insys Therapeutics\r\nAdditionally, McCaskill recently\u00a0introduced a bill\u00a0repealing the law that dramatically restricted the ability of the Drug Enforcement Administration to crack down on opioid distributors suspected of wrongdoing.\r\nVisit\u00a0mccaskill.senate.gov/opioids\u00a0for information and resources related to Missouri\u2019s opioid epidemic.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 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.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-pushes-bipartisan-fix-to-better-fund-opioid-treatment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2864130549132824, "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"}