2004 former Libertarian challenger for Senate (CA)
Fully fund drug treatment and addiction recovery
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, the Democratic challenger to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul this fall, held a news conference in Louisville to chastise Paul and Congress for failing to fund the recently passed Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. It calls for
improving prescription drug monitoring programs, expanding treatment for addicted prison inmates and increasing the availability of a drug that counters the effects of heroin and opioid overdoses. "Legislation without funding is a failure,"
Gray said. "You have to fund it and that hasn't been done."
Earlier in the year, President Barack Obama asked Congress to provide $960 million with the act, but Congress didn't include funding. Gray criticized Paul for not voting for an amendment
that would allocate about $600 million with the bill.
Paul's spokeswoman said the senator voted for a Republican omnibus bill that would have provided $1.5 billion for addiction prevention and treatment last year.
