The bipartisan budget agreement released by the Senate Wednesday would devote $6 billion in funding to address the nation's opioid crisis and other mental health issues, as well as $2 billion in new funds for the National Institutes of Health, according to a report from STAT.
Here are three things to know.
1. President Donald Trump first declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October of last year, but the move did not provide significant funding to address the issue. The president called on Congress to allocate new funds. The $6 billion in funding for the opioid crisis falls in line with recent proposals from both Democrats and Republicans to provide between $2 billion and $4.5 billion annually to address the public health crisis.
2. The $2 billion increase to the NIH budget continues a trend of budgetary increases for the agency over the last few years. The funding increase diverges from a White House budget request submitted last May, which proposed cutting NIH's 2018 budget by 17 percent, according to STAT.
3. The White House endorsed the Senate's budget plan, which is expected to pass in the Senate Thursday. House votes on the measure are not yet locked in, according to CNN.
More articles on opioids:
Poll: America divided on Trump administration's response to opioid crisis
Treating depression linked to reducing chronic opioid use
Alabama AG takes aim at Purdue Pharma with opioid lawsuit