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Foster Applauds White House Efforts To Increase Resources For Opioid Abuse, Calls On Congress To Act

February 2, 2016

Washington, DC – Today, President Obama proposed $1.1 billion in new funding to combat opioid abuse and heroin addiction throughout the United States. Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) praised the increase in resources and called on Congress to adopt the proposal.

"The President's proposal is a comprehensive approach to dealing with the opioid epidemic that includes funding not only for treatment, but also for research in evaluating effective treatment programs," Foster said. "The Eleventh Congressional District has been hit hard by the increase in overdose deaths, and our community needs comprehensive action by our federal, state, and local governments to make sure addicts get the help they need and to prevent more families from losing a loved one. I hope Congress will work with President Obama to act on what is truly a national problem."

President Obama's plan includes $920 million to support cooperative agreements with states to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders, $50 million in National Health Service Corps to expand access to substance use treatment providers, and $30 million to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs.

"As a scientist, I'm glad to see that medication-assisted treatments are included in the President's proposal. Medication-assisted treatments are coming into use at facilities throughout Illinois and, in addition to social support, are having a huge impact on helping individuals win the battle with addiction," Foster added.

Additionally, the President's budget includes approximately $500 million to expand state-level prescription drug overdose prevention strategies, increasing the availability of medication-assisted treatment programs, improving access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, and supporting targeted enforcement activities.

More information on the President's proposals is available here.

Foster will host a review of the fight against heroin addiction in Illinois on Monday, February 8 at 10:00 am at the Will County Health Department in Joliet, Illinois. More information and registration can be found at foster.house.gov/heroin.

Last year, Foster introduced two pieces of legislation to address heroin abuse: the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Expanding Opportunities for Recovery Act. He has also called for increased resources for Naloxone and he called on the NIH to examine home-brewed heroin.