On Wednesday, April 4, 2018, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will give funding priority in two, key, grant programs, to help combat the opioid epidemic in rural communities.
In July of 2017, Congresswoman Bustos and Senator Donnelly introduced bipartisan legislation–the Addiction Recovery for Rural Communities Act–in the House of Representatives, to help rural Americans better leverage United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development programs, to combat opioid and heroin use. Specifically, the USDA is adopting their proposal to set aside grant funding for the Community Facilities Grant Program and the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant (DLT) Program.
“Opioid addiction knows no boundaries,” Congresswoman Bustos said. “The damage this crisis is inflicting on our region is heartbreaking, especially to our small towns. These investments will play a critical role in ensuring that rural areas have the resources they need to address the growing epidemic.”