After Republicans Refuse to Act, Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan to Help Iowa Combat Opioid Epidemic

After Republicans Refuse to Act, Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan to Help Iowa Combat Opioid Epidemic

After Iowa Democrats called out Governor Kim Reynolds for Republican's inaction on curbing the use of opioids and fentanyl in Iowa, the state has announced it will use $17.5 million from President Joe Biden's American Rescue plan to help Iowans who have been affected by opioid addiction.

"For the third year in a row, millions of non-taxpayer dollars that could and absolutely should be used to help Iowans with substance use issues are sitting unused in the state treasury," said Democratic Senator Janice Weiner in a guest column written to the Gazette. "Right now, it's $47.5 million - and that number grows every day with accruing interest and additional settlement payments."

Luckily for her, Reynolds has Biden's American Rescue Plan to fall back on to help combat the opioid epidemic after her party refused to act on the issue during the 2024 legislative session.

The American Rescue Plan money will go toward several initiatives, including to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the Iowa Economic Development Authority to disburse funds to treatment and recovery providers to build new facilities or expand existing buildings, to an Opioid Prescription Prevention Program to provide training to doctors in prescribing opioids to patients, to a public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid use, and more.

"The opioid epidemic has hit Iowa hard, and Democrats up and down the ballot have been working hard to try and pass legislation and resources to help combat the crisis," said IDP Chair Rita Hart. "I'm thankful to President Joe Biden for stepping in and providing Iowa with the resources we need to start helping Iowans who are affected by the opioid epidemic and to better educate our doctors and the public about the dangerous threats opioids can pose - especially after Iowa Republicans did nothing to respond to this deadly issue."

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