Political Quotes

“the pending amendment offered by the Senator from New Hampshire appropriates $600 million on top of the $571 million provided in the bill as reported by the Judiciary Committee over the 2016-2020 period. Unlike the underlying bill, which requires appropriators to provide the authorized funding within the discretionary spending caps, the Shaheen amendment would designate new spending as emergency not subject to budget enforcement. I am also concerned that this amendment lacks specificity in how the funds are allocated. For example, the bill provides $300 million to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for substance abuse treatment to address the heroin and opioid crisis and its associated health effects. While we all agree that the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic must be addressed, I believe the underlying bipartisan bill provides a better framework to tackle this problem. It provides a comprehensive, specific, and evidence-based approach to help Americans combat this epidemic. In the meantime, the Senate Appropriations Committee shepherds resources to the opioid problem in the consolidated appropriations bill signed into law late last year. Nearly $600 million was included to start down the road to helping States and communities to address this problem.…”