ICYMI: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $450M to Support President Biden's Unity Agenda Efforts to Beat the Overdose Epidemic & Save Lives

Yesterday, on International Overdose Awareness Day, the Biden-Harris administration is recognized all those who have lost someone to an overdose. President Biden declared August 27 through September 2 as Overdose Awareness Week to focus the nation's attention on the devastation caused by illicit fentanyl and other drugs. During this week of recognition, the Administration reaffirmed it's commitment to beating this epidemic — in memory of those we have lost and to protect the lives we can still save.

In support of President Biden's Unity Agenda efforts to beat the overdose epidemic and save lives, the Biden-Harris administration also announced more than $450 million to strengthen prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services and crack down on illicit drug trafficking.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to building on this progress and doubling down on all efforts to reduce drug overdose deaths, save lives, and make our communities safer. To continue the Administration's efforts to combat fentanyl, the request includes nearly $800 million to reduce the influx of fentanyl across our borders and counter the threat fentanyl poses to our public health.

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Fox News: White House announces additional $450 million in funding to fight opioid epidemic
[Adam Shaw, 8/31/23]

The White House on Thursday announced an additional $450 million in funding for efforts to tackle the scourge of opioids, including fentanyl, in the U.S., after President Biden declared Overdose Awareness Week. […] The latest funding focuses on prevention and treatment. It includes $20 million to support drug-free community coalitions working to keep communities drug-free, including a $1 million investment in an ad campaign to reach young people. […] Biden declared Aug. 27 to Sept. 2 Overdose Awareness Week and said the nation will "reaffirm our commitment to beating this public health and public safety epidemic in memory of all those we have lost and to protect all the lives we can still save." While opioid deaths have continued to rise in recent years, the administration has pointed to data suggesting overdose numbers are slowing and have tied it to its drug strategy. "Because of the historic investments and the Biden-Harris administration, overdoses have flattened," Emhoff said.

Bloomberg: White House Offers $450 Million to Combat Drug Overdoses
[Ryan Teague Beckwith, 8/31/23]

The Biden administration announced a $450 million effort to fight overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids amid a nationwide surge that has become a 2024 campaign issue. White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said in a briefing Thursday that the money would be spent on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services, as well as cracking down on drug trafficking. "Overdose is preventable, addiction is treatable," she said. Tanden said the US can also disrupt fentanyl trafficking networks. The efforts include grants to distribute naloxone — an overdose-prevention drug — to rural areas, train paramedics on treating overdoses, increase spending on an anti-fentanyl ad campaign, and expand regional drug-trafficking programs, among other things. In 2022, more than two-thirds of the 107,081 drug overdose deaths in the US involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Axios: White House sending nearly half-billion dollars to tackle overdose crisis
[Sabrina Moreno, 8/31/23]

The Biden administration on Thursday announced it's providing an additional $450 million toward expanding overdose prevention strategies to beat back an epidemic killing more than 100,000 Americans each year. Why it matters: The new money could help address system-wide failures that experts say have allowed overdose deaths to soar in recent years, such as limited treatment options, housing services and data to track the crisis. Details: More than half ($279 million) is going to state and local health departments to improve overdose data surveillance and identify gaps in prevention and treatment strategies. 1) Over $80 million is headed to rural communities to expand treatment sites and the distribution of the overdose reversal treatment naloxone. 2) Nearly $58 million is to connect people to recovery support, which includes mental health care, housing services and job training. 3) About $19 million is slated for dismantling fentanyl trafficking operations, with roughly $7 million allocated toward expanding "Crime Gun Intelligence Centers" to track gun-related drug crimes.

The Hill: Biden administration announces $450M in funding to beat overdose epidemic
[Alex Gagitano, 8/31/23]

The Biden administration announced more than $450 million in new funding to combat the overdose epidemic with the goal to reduce deaths, support recovery efforts and invest in information campaigns that target young people. […] Emhoff and Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), will meet with parents who have lost loved ones to drug overdose later on Thursday to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. This is the second year they are hosting this community of parents. Within that $450 million, ONDCP will invest over $20.5 million to 164 new Drug-Free Communities Support Programs, which support evidence-based prevention efforts locally, $1 million will go to a campaign to reach young people about Fentanyl awareness and more than $18.9 million will go to disrupt illicit drug trafficking operations.

Spectrum News: On Overdose Awareness Day, Biden admin. announces $450M in new funding to tackle drug abuse
[Ryan Chatelain, 8/31/23]

The announcement coincided with Overdose Awareness Day. Also Thursday, Biden administration officials planned to meet at the White House with families whose loved ones died of drug overdoses. […] Thursday's announcement includes $180 million in grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to states and municipalities to expand harm-reduction strategies, link people to life-saving care and make the latest data available to help develop strategies. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is spending an additional $20 million to support 164 new Drug-Free Community coalitions working to prevent youth substance use, bringing its total investment for the year to nearly $94 million for 751 coalitions in every state. The ONDCP is also spending $19 million to help communities combat drug trafficking and drug-related gun crimes, as well as $1 million on a public service campaign with the Ad Council to warn young people about the dangers of fentanyl. Meanwhile, $80 million from the Health Resource and Services Administration will go toward helping rural communities prevent overdoses and expand treatment, and $57 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will help connect Americans to substance use treatment and recovery services.