Senator Murray Visits Lummi Nation Health Center, Discusses Funding She Secured to Combat the Opioid Crisis

Murray, former HELP Committee Chair, negotiated and passed landmark opioid legislation in 2018; this year, Murray secured $4.6 billion in federal funding for substance use disorder treatment and recovery programs

Murray is working to secure more than $10 million for the Lummi in FY25 to help construct a detox facility

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Bellingham, WA - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, toured the recently opened Lummi Nation Health Center and heard from staff and Tribal members about how the opioid crisis is affecting their community. Murray toured the center's new behavioral and physical treatment facilities for members of the Lummi Nation-and talked about her ongoing work to secure $10.4 million in funding for the Lummi Nation to construct a detox facility to help respond to the opioid crisis.

Lummi Nation continues to be one of the communities most affected by the opioid and fentanyl crisis in all of Northwest Washington. Across Washington state, American Indian and Alaska Native residents have the highest rate of death from opioid overdoses, with figures rising sharply since 2019.

"The opioid crisis has been devastating for communities across Washington state-and it has hit Tribal communities especially hard," said Senator Murray. "I fought tooth and nail to secure billions in funding for substance use disorder treatment and prevention programs to help tackle this crisis. The Lummi Nation Health Center provides the kind of culturally-informed care our Tribes need, and I will continue to support the Lummi as Chair of the Appropriations Committee in their fight against this deadly epidemic. Today's visit was a reminder of just how important federal funding is, and why resources to help build a detox facility are so critical."

"We are thankful to Senator Murray for taking the time to come to Lummi and learn more about our efforts to overcome this fentanyl crisis and protect our home from the ongoing threats to our way of life," said Lummi Chairman Anthony Hillaire. "We look forward to our continued partnership to ensure treaty and trust responsibilities are upheld."

As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Murray has made securing federal resources to help combat the opioid crisis a top priority, and in spending bills she negotiated and got signed into law in March, Murray was able to secure$4.6 billion to support substance use disorder treatment and recovery programs, despite tough budget caps pushed for by House Republicans. Murray also secured millions in Congressionally Directed Spending for community-level substance use disorder treatment programs and care clinics across Washington state. Senator Murray is now working to secure $10.4 million in funding to help Lummi Nation construct a new stabilization and withdrawal management services center in fiscal year 2025 spending legislation.

In previous government funding legislation signed into law in December 2022, Senator Murray secured the inclusion of a mental health and substance use disorder package she negotiated as Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to bolster states' response efforts to address the opioid epidemic and increase access to substance use disorder treatment and naloxone for overdose reversal, among other things. Murray also secured an additional $345 million-for a total of $5 billion-to address the opioid epidemic in that package. In the annual funding bill before that, Murray secured a $300 million boost for the Department of Health and Human Services' work to address substance use disorders by funding State Opioid Response Grants, overdose prevention work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among much else.

Murray has a long bipartisan record on this issue-most notably, as the top Democrat on the HELP Committee in the 115th Congress, Murray negotiated and championed landmark legislation to tackle the opioid crisis-the SUPPORT Act. Senator Murray is currently working with HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to reauthorize the SUPPORT Act.

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