WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the support of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), the U.S. Senate today passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government through December 9^th, 2016 and includes funding for drug treatment and recovery programs authorized through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). In a September 8^th letter to the President and Senate leaders, Senator King specifically requested the funding be included in the CR.

            “This funding, although not nearly enough, is a welcome step forward and, at the very least, is a starting point for what I hope will be a larger effort to finally put our money where our mouths are when it comes to fighting addiction,” Senator King said. “The opioid and heroin epidemic is shattering lives across Maine, and communities need federal investment and support to fight back and save lives. While this is a step in the right direction, I hope in the coming months that the Senate can significantly boost this funding through a long-term budget rather than a temporary funding measure.”

The continuing resolution will provide approximately $7 million to support CARA-authorized programs between now and December 9^th. Of that funding, about $3.84 million will go towards U.S. Department of Justice programs and about $3.27 million will go to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Departments will then allocate that money.

The inclusion of the funding follows a letter written by Senator King to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to fund CARA in the continuing resolution. He wrote a similar letter to President Obama, and also spoke on the Senate floor to implore his colleagues to act on this pressing issue that is affecting communities across America.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President earlier this year, authorized government programs to combat the opioid and heroin crisis but did not actually appropriate any money to do so. Senator King has repeatedly called for Congress to step up and fund CARA at a time when drug-related deaths in Maine are on track to surpass last year’s record numbers.

Senator King has been a leading proponent of providing adequate funding to fight the heroin and opioid crisis. In January 2016, he cosponsored legislation with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) that would dedicate $600 million to law enforcement programs at the Department of Justice and treatment programs through the Department of Health and Human Services. The Senate earlier this year rejected that legislation as an amendment to CARA, which Senator King criticized as a “missed opportunity.”

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