A House-Senate conference committee has reached agreement on a measure authorizing $8 billion in spending to combat the nation’s drug crisis.
The legislation advances a mix of law enforcement and health measures. It goes after the importation of the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl by mail from other countries, and it allows more access to anti-addiction medications.
But Democratic First District Congressperson Chellie Pingree says it provides little in actual funding.
“A lot of the things that are in this bill are authorizations that, my guess, will not get funding until the next fiscal year because we have gone through most of the funding,” she said.
Pingree is referring to the funding bills for the federal budget year that starts next week. The drug bill faces both House and Senate votes before it goes to the President, but it’s unanimous vote in conference makes final passage likely.
“There is definitely an expansion of who is allowed to prescribe treatment, which has been an issue for a while,” she said. “It lifts the cap on how many patients a doctor can have.”
