Congressman MacArthur Opposes ONDCP Budget Cuts

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom MacArthur, Republican Chair of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, released the following statement on reports that the Administration is considering cutting the budget of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP):

 I am extremely concerned about reports that the Administration is considering a 95% budget cut to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and remain completely opposed to any effort to downsize this office, slash its budget, or reduce its role. Last year, when this same idea was floated, myself and many of my colleagues successfully fought against it and you can expect us to fight again.

In December, the CDC reported an opioid-related mortality rate increase of 28 percent over the last year.  This crisis is not getting better—it’s getting worse.  We need to ramp up our federal efforts, not downsize them.

In our communities, ONDCP does an outstanding job administrating the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and the Drug Free Communities (DFC) programs.   I worked long and hard to get Ocean County’s HIDTA designation last year, which brings much-needed resources and enhanced coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement to combat drug trafficking in South Jersey.  I’m not about to back down now.