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September 04, 2019

Trone Hails New Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Epidemic, Calls for Congress to Provide Long-term Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov

Trone Hails New Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Epidemic, Calls for Congress to Provide Long-term Funding

Funding Includes $33.2 Million for Maryland through State Opioid Response Grants

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. David Trone (MD-06) hailed the announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that states would receive more than $1.8 billion in federal funding to combat the opioid crisis. This funding includes $33.2 million in funding for Maryland from State Opioid Response (SOR) grants.

”The opioid crisis kills more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam war, said Rep. David Trone. “The health care providers and community advocates on the front lines of this fight need the certainty of consistent federal funding, not piecemeal grants. Congress must pass my bill to provide this certainty for the next five years so states can plan for the long-haul and end, once and for all, this epidemic.”

In May, Trone introduced the State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act, which would authorize for five years the State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) Grants. This bill would guarantee long-term funding for states to combat the opioid crisis. These important programs provide funding to states to reduce overdose related deaths through prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. 

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland. In Congress, he founded the Freshmen Working Group on Addiction, a bipartisan group of 64 freshmen lawmakers dedicated to ending the addiction epidemic in the country. Thus far, the group has visited Johns Hopkins Medical facilities to see the latest research on addiction, introduced legislation to combat the spread of the epidemic, and promoted practices and policies to tackle the crisis from every angle. In June, Trone wrote about the progress the group has made within Congress, acknowledging the long way we still have to go to stop the spread of addiction.  

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