The Biden administration’s request for $10.7 billion from Congress to fight the U.S. opioid crisis would mark a significant uptick in funds to battle an addiction problem that has worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The proposed funding for fiscal 2022 reflects the administration’s first-year plan to boost access to treatment for opioid use disorder and end racial, gender, and economic inequities in drug policy.
“The opioid epidemic has shattered families, claimed lives, and ravaged communities across the Nation—and the COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened this crisis,” the White House said in a budget request outline issued Friday.
The requested funds ...