Cohen bill would provide abuse funding

WASHINGTON — Sen. William S. Cohen introduced legislation Monday that would increase federal funds for state substance abuse and mental health programs by $1.6 million.

According to Cohen, the state was cheated out of its fair share of government funds for those programs when Congress restructured the allocation formula to channel a greater percentage of money into the nation’s big cities.

“While it is true that large urban areas have serious drug problems,” Cohen said, “we in rural areas have substance abuse problems as well, and we need our fair share of federal funds to deal with them.”

Maine was one of seven states who received no increase in federal funds for those programs, despite the fact that Congress increased overall funding by 50 percent.