Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and other Senate Democrats have asked the the Government Accountability Office to review actions taken by the Trump Administration to address the opioid epidemic since it was declared a public health emergency.
Last October, President Trump directed agencies to declare the opioid crisis an emergency and open up services. Baldwin and the other Senators wrote they have become concerned that little has been done by the White House since the announcement.
Last Saturday while in Rhinelander, Baldwin said the federal dollars to help the local communities deal with the growing problem haven't been allocated. She says Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, strengthening the partnerships from the federal government down.
But she says even with the act and a Presidential declaration to address the epidemic, little has been done...
"....the resources, the dollars behind those policies haven't come through. There hasn't been the commitment hasn't been made. There is a bipartisan estimate of what we need to put in there to start turning(the epidemic) around. Right now it's still getting worse. It's not even turned around and it's getting better and we need to keep the momentum going. We haven't turned the corner yet...."
An estimated 2.6 million Americans are said to be in the clutches of opioid use disorder. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 42,000 people died from opioid-involved overdoses in 2016. Baldwin notes only 1 in 10 people in need of treatment for substance abuse disorders can access help. President Trump's initial emergency declaration expired on January 23, but was extended for 90 days by Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Hargan.
