Dems seek drug abuse funds as election-year issue sharpens
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats called Thursday for hundreds of millions in emergency spending to fight drug abuse but ran into Republican resistance as another health issue spiraled into an election-year showdown.
With the calendar edging deeper into the campaign season, the latest dispute echoes other clashes over whether the federal government should use more taxpayer dollars to contain the Zika virus and help Flint, Michigan, recover from a public health crisis in which its water system has been contaminated with lead.
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee used a voice vote to approve a bipartisan bill bolstering education, prevention, treatment and law enforcement efforts against prescription opioid and heroin addiction.
Asked later about the Democratic demands for extra money for drug abuse, Flint and the Zika virus, No. 2 Senate Republican leader John Cornyn of Texas said Democrats had no specific plans for using the funds or paying for the expenditures.