Opioids

On April 14^th the Trump administration renewed the 90-day emergency declaration The declaration allows the federal government to reallocate resources to respond to the opioid epidemic. In addition, on April 24^th, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee added markups to the Opioid Crisis Response Act, including allowing the CDC to address other infections as they relate to illicit drug use.  This bill passed the Committee unanimously.

NCSD has been communicating with the Senate HELP Committee on this portion of the bill and believes that the current draft contains flexibility that would allow for programs to address the STD impact of illicit drug use, as well as HIV and Hepatitis C. There is lots of discussion on how Congress will address the opioid epidemic—with several bills in discussion in both chambers—so this conversation is ongoing.  We will keep you updated.

FY19 Budget

Negotiations for a FY19 budget agreement in the Senate is beginning to dwindle. The Senate will most likely not pass funding ceilings for FY19, and instead will choose to use the spending limits set in the FY18 budget agreement. In the House, the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) has put forward a FY19 budget deal that includes deep cuts to programs, however, this bill will most likely just be symbolic for the upcoming election year. We will keep you updated as these budget negotiations continue.