Shaheen & Hassan Help Secure Agreement to Increase Funding for Opioid Response Efforts & Improve Funding Formula To Prioritize New Hampshire

Senators Receive Assurances that Funding Formula Will be Improved to Prioritize States like New Hampshire

(Washington, DC)—U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) issued the following statement after helping to secure an agreement to provide an additional $6 billion to respond to the opioid epidemic over the next two years, with $3 billion being provided each year. The Senators also received assurances that the opioid funding formula will be improved to prioritize states like New Hampshire with high mortality rates from overdoses. In recent weeks, Senators Shaheen and Hassan have been participating in bipartisan negotiations as part of a common sense caucus where they’ve been advocating for additional opioid funding and a change in the federal funding formula.

“This is a very encouraging agreement that would substantially increase federal support for New Hampshire’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic,” said Senator Shaheen. “This agreement is the product of good faith bipartisan negotiations which I hope will continue to further address the opioid epidemic and other challenges facing the nation. Much more needs to be done to provide substance use disorder treatment to those who desperately need it. We still need a federal response to this epidemic that matches the national public health emergency we are facing. President Trump needs to begin helping, not hindering efforts to reach bipartisan agreements in Congress, and follow through on his promise to help end this epidemic. Lives are at stake and we can’t afford to delay delivering resources any longer.”

“Over the past weeks and months, I have fought to secure a significant increase in federal funding to combat the opioid crisis as part of the bipartisan agreement that was just reached,” Senator Hassan said. “This bipartisan agreement, which includes billions of dollars in additional resources, is an important next step in strengthening our response to this epidemic. It will be critical that these new federal dollars are prioritized for states like New Hampshire that have been hardest hit by this crisis, and I will continue working with Senator Shaheen to ensure that happens. We also know that we will ultimately need far more funding beyond this measure over the years to come to truly address this crisis, and I will keep fighting to secure more resources to strengthen treatment, prevention, recovery, and law enforcement efforts.”

Senators Shaheen and Hassan have led efforts in Congress to provide additional funding to respond to the opioid epidemic. They have also urged both the Obama and Trump administrations to change the opioid funding formula. In November, Senator Shaheen introduced, and Senator Hassan sponsored, bipartisan legislation to change the formula.

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