His plea for more federal resources comes after a Centers for Disease Control report showed that 143 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016 in Westchester and Rockland counties – a nearly 200 percent increase from 49 deaths in 2015.
In 2016, there were 42,000 opioid-related drug overdose deaths across the nation, according to the report.
Sen. Schumer is attaching the $8 billion opioid funding request to the new budget which has to be passed by Jan. 19.