REMEMBER: With only $2.6 million cash on hand as of the last fundraising period, Strickland is far, far away from raising the $20 million that his own campaign stated was “mission-critical” in an internal memo.
Meanwhile, as Retread Ted stonewalls on his fundraising numbers, The Washington Post reports that Congress is expected to pass Rob Portman’s legislation to combat the heroin and prescription drug epidemic:
In case you missed it…
Congress set to pass bill to combat opioid abuse
Congress this week is expected to send President Obama legislation to combat heroin and painkiller abuse, despite lingering disputes over whether there is enough funding to support new treatment and prevention programs.
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The House passed the legislation Friday on a 407 to 5 vote. All House Democrats voted for the bill despite decrying its lack of funding.
The bill would create or modify existing education, prevention and treatment programs and put more life-saving anti-overdose drugs in the hands of first responders.
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Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) have placed particular emphasis on the legislation in their bids to retain their seats. They have highlighted their work on the issue — Portman was a co-author of the bill, and Ayotte a chief co-sponsor — and their willingness to vote with Democrats for extra funding to show their commitment to fighting an epidemic that has hit their states particularly hard.
“I understand there is an election year and that some people may want to score a few political points,” Portman said in a floor speech Thursday. “This needs to come above politics. We need to get this done and we need to get it done now.”
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Republican leaders have pushed back against Democrats’ calls for more funding, noting money authorized to fight opioid abuse is “at record highs.”
“Nobody can come to this floor and credibly claim the House is not putting its money where its mouth is,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who was a leading negotiator on the bill.