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Ayotte: Defense Bill Will Boost New Hampshire's Efforts Against Heroin

Brady Carlson
/
NHPR

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte says the newly-passed defense spending bill includes provisions to help New Hampshire fight heroin and opioid abuse.

Funding for these provisions in the $607 billion bill will be directed to the U.S. military's Southern Command, along the Mexican border, but Ayotte says that will ultimately help cut down on the amount of drugs coming into New Hampshire. 

"Heroin is coming over the southern border, and then it's being transported up through Lowell and Lawrence and into New Hampshire," Ayotte says. "Our military can see some of this coming over and they need more assets, more support to be able to interdict it."

Among the funding in the bill: a $30 million funding increase for disrupting and cutting off drug activity, and $20 million more for intelligence and surveillance work.

The Senate voted Tuesday to approve the measure, which the House had already approved.

The White House says President Obama will sign it.

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