Obama says Senate opioid bill falls short on funding

The White House said Tuesday a bipartisan bill to address the nation’s prescription opioid and heroin epidemic doesn’t provide enough money to implement its own policies, lending support to a Democrat-driven push to approve emergency funding that Republicans have deemed unnecessary.

Influential Democrats, however, signaled their troops will back the bill even if the Senate rejects an amendment by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, that fast-tracks $600 million to first responders on the front lines of the crisis.

“We’re going to support it, but we want the Shaheen amendment to pay for it,” Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said. “Ultimately, I think the public will see through it if Republicans won’t pay for it and won’t come up with the resources.”

Senate Republicans said last year’s omnibus spending bill set aside more than a half-billion dollars to fund policies within the bill, which is designed to cut the supply of dangerous prescription drugs and bolster treatment options. “It just seems ill-advised, to say the least, to appropriate more money when in fact there is $571 million available to deal with this epidemic,” Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, said.

The fiscal squabble is roiling what’s otherwise been a bipartisan effort to stem an epidemic that is now killing more Americans per year than traffic accidents. Over the past year lawmakers from both parties have become increasingly alarmed over the proliferation of opioid painkillers and heroin, which affect the body in similar ways and are causing frequent overdoses.

Dubbed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, the bill by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, and Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, would help states monitor prescribing practices, expand the number of sites where parents can dispose of unneeded painkillers and distribute more naloxone — a treatment that can reverse the effects of an overdose — to law enforcement agencies and first responders, among other reforms.

The administration said the bill hits the right notes on policy but falls short of the $1 billion that President Obama proposed in his fiscal 2017 budget to combat the epidemic.While the bill “identifies several steps needed to respond to the opioid epidemic, the administration is concerned that the bill does not include the funding necessary to implement these steps — and until that funding is provided by the Congress, these steps would do little to address the epidemic,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement on administration policy.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said Tuesday he intends to shepherd the opioid bill across the finish line, giving his leadership team a bipartisan win in a hard-fought election year.

“We’ll work it out through an open amendment process,” Mr. McConnell said.Those amendments are piling up, including a proposal from Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, who faces re-election in November, that would make sure patient surveys on pain management are not tied to doctors’ pay under Medicare. Senators said the surveys may incentivize doctors to prescribe painkillers more frequently, while penalizing those who show restraint.

Senate leaders haven’t announced which amendments will get a vote, although a GOP aide said Mrs. Shaheen’s amendment will be one of them. Democrats may not have the votes to approve it, and leading voices signaled defeat will not tank the bill. Mr. Whitehouse said he does not intend, “nor do I know anyone, who intends to block the passage of [the bill] or to interfere with it [not passing] over the question of funding.” Republican leaders said they can free up more money this year, if needed, though Mrs. Shaheen said the problem requires a big commitment now.

“The omnibus,” she said, “shouldn’t be used as an excuse for Congress to ignore the immediate need for resources in New Hampshire and across the country.”