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Recent Press Releases

Kentucky to Receive Nearly $4 Million to Combat the Opioid Epidemic

September 4, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) has been awarded $940,000 each year for the next four years to combat the prescription drug abuse and heroin epidemic in Kentucky. CDC Director, Dr. Tom Frieden, shared this news with Senator McConnell, who wrote a letter of support to CDC earlier this year on behalf of KIPRC, which is a partnership between the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the University of Kentucky.

These competitively awarded federal funds will be used to improve controlled substances prescribing practices and to evaluate drug overdose prevention interventions for prescription drugs and heroin. This effort will allow Kentucky to continue to enhance and implement one of the nation’s leading prescription drug monitoring programs, commonly known as KASPER; by improving interoperability with electronic health record systems. In addition, the funds will be used to target interventions in counties with some of the highest rates of drug overdoses, including Jefferson, Fayette, Boone, Kenton and Campbell.

“The opioid epidemic continues to wreak havoc on communities and families throughout the Commonwealth,” Senator McConnell said. “I am pleased to see Dr. Frieden continue to prioritize federal funding opportunities at CDC to help identify and prevent prescription drug abuse and heroin use in Kentucky. I look forward to seeing how this competitive grant enhances the efforts of KIPRC in saving lives.”

“Nearly 150,000 Americans have died from prescription drug overdoses in the past decade, and Kentucky has been hit especially hard,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Because we can protect many Americans from becoming addicted to opioids, we must take swift action to help states track prescriptions to improve safer prescribing. Kentucky has taken action and has the leadership and commitment to turn the tide on this epidemic.”

Interim Dean of the UK College of Public Health, Dr. Wayne Sanderson, said, “This grant is transformational in its potential to help state and local communities address the serious problems associated with substance abuse that are plaguing our citizens. For 20 years, KIPRC has targeted improvements on substance abuse treatment and policy. This most recent grant is an excellent example of the impact the Center is making to improve health and safety and addressing one of the Commonwealth’s most serious concerns. The Center is grateful for the advocacy and support of Senator McConnell on our behalf to the CDC, and the impact it had on our success in receiving this award.”

KIPRC Director, Dr. Terry Bunn, thanked Senator McConnell for his efforts: “The Drug Overdose Prevention for Kentucky grant affords Kentucky the opportunity to enhance integration of our prescription drug monitoring program (KASPER) reports with electronic health records to improve physician workflow. A Drug Overdose Technical Assistance Center will be established at KIPRC to provide targeted drug overdose data to local communities to inform drug overdose prevention interventions and policies. On behalf of the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, we would like to thank Senator McConnell for advocating on our behalf to the CDC for state drug overdose prevention funding.” Dr. Bunn Terry is the principal investigator for this competitive grant.

Click HERE for more on Senator McConnell’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

Senator McConnell on NLRB’s Latest Assault on Small Businesses

August 27, 2015

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following comment today regarding the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Browning Ferris decision:

“This NLRB decision is a gift to the Left and big labor bosses—at the expense of small business owners and their employees. This ruling could take away independence from small businessmen and women – like decisions on hiring and pay, or even on how to run their business – and put it in the hands of corporate bosses. These extreme, politically-motivated proposals hurt our constituents to help the administration’s friends, rather than helping economic growth and employment.”

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McConnell: Kentucky to Receive Federal Grant to Fight Heroin Crisis

‘This is a positive development for Kentucky’s efforts to fight the use of heroin that is hitting the Commonwealth particularly hard.’

August 17, 2015

LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was informed today by Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli that Kentucky will be among the states that will be sharing a $2.5 million federal grant to help fight the heroin crisis in our communities. Director Botticelli contacted Sen. McConnell to alert him to the support and commitment from the federal government for Kentucky in our growing fight against heroin. Over the years, Sen. McConnell has worked closely with Director Botticelli in drug eradication efforts, including during an April 9th visit to Northern Kentucky – one of the areas in the state hit hardest by the opioid epidemic.

The funding, being announced today, will be used for the Heroin Response Strategy, a combined effort to confront the severe heroin threat that exists in communities in 5 of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), Washington/Baltimore; New York/New Jersey; Appalachia; New England; and Philadelphia/Camden. HIDTA will determine the amounts that will be distributed to each state.

“This is a positive development for Kentucky’s efforts to fight the use of heroin that is hitting the Commonwealth particularly hard,” Sen. McConnell said. “I appreciate Director Botticelli contacting me with the good news and I appreciate all he has done to assist in our efforts back home. We must use federal resources to combat this epidemic in the most efficient and effective way possible, and I look forward to our continued efforts.”

“The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program helps Federal, state, and local authorities to coordinate drug enforcement operations, support prevention efforts and improve public health and safety,” said Director Botticelli. “The new Heroin Response Strategy demonstrates a strong commitment to address the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic as both a public health and a public safety issue. This Administration will continue to expand community-based efforts to prevent drug use, pursue ‘smart on crime’ approaches to drug enforcement, increase access to treatment, work to reduce overdose deaths, and support the millions of Americans in recovery.”

In addition to the $2.5 million federal grant, the Appalachia HIDTA will also receive nearly $400,000 to be used for programs to help prevent drug abuse in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.

The five HIDTAs will utilize the funding to target the emergence and resurgence of heroin by sharing intelligence, analyzing trends, providing law enforcement training, and strengthening public health – public safety partnerships. The funds will support expansion of a Drug Intelligence Officer Network in 15 states, education and training for public safety first responders, and conferences related to public health and public safety.

“One of the most salient points I have learned from studying prescription drug and heroin abuse is that multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency law-enforcement efforts, such as the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HIDTA, are crucial to our success. I have no doubt that this new funding will enhance law enforcement’s ability to fight heroin in some of the areas, such as Kentucky, that have seen communities and families ravaged because of this drug. In this era of limited federal resources, we must use these interagency partnerships to maximize our return from the federal dollars we spend to combat this epidemic,” Sen. McConnell added.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, Senator McConnell has worked tirelessly engaging with Kentucky law enforcement and ONDCP to increase the number of Kentucky counties included in Appalachia HIDTA, successfully advocating for Jefferson County’s, Hardin County’s, Madison County’s, and Nelson County’s inclusion. Along with his commitment to expanding Appalachia HIDTA, in this year alone, Sen. McConnell, along with Sen. Casey, introduced the bipartisan Protecting Our Infants Act in the U.S. Senate, which is designed to address prenatal opioid use and the scourge of opiate withdrawal in newborns. Sen. McConnell also joined with Sen. Markey in a letter to HHS Secretary Burwell calling on the agency to issue a Surgeon General’s Report and Call to Action on prescription drug and heroin abuse. And as part of the FY16 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, Sen. McConnell requested and secured report language directing CDC to work with states to enhance their public health response to infants being born dependent on opioids and suffering withdrawal symptoms, and grant certain states and communities flexibility in managing needle exchange programs.

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