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Malliotakis Leads New York Republican Delegation in Introducing Bill to Defund Supervised Injection Centers

December 8, 2021

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Today Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) led the New York State Republican delegation in introducing the 'Defund de Blasio's Injection Sites Act of 2021,' legislation that would withhold federal funding from city, state, tribal, or private entities that operate supervised injection centers in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

Washington Heights Corner Project (WHC) and New York Harm Reduction Educators (NYHRE) have partnered together to form "OnPoint NYC," and are operating the two injection facilities in New York City. WHCP has received over $600,000 from the Small Business Administration (SBA), while NYHRE has received over $770,000 from the SBA. In 2019, NYHRE received over $1.1 million from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and lists HHS, the CDC, and HRSA, as their past and current federal funders. Malliotakis' legislation would have prevented these funds from being dispersed.

In 2018 as a State Legislator, Malliotakis introduced legislation and sent a letter to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's original Supervised Injection Center plans. In response, the DOJ committed to stopping the mayor's plans if they were to proceed given its clear violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Last week, Malliotakis called on the Biden Administration to make the same commitment. Today, Malliotakis also sent a letter to New York State Attorney General Letitia James calling on her office to enforce state law and immediately shut down the sites.

"In 2018, the Department of Justice committed to me that it would intervene if Mayor de Blasio proceeded with his illegal scheme to open heroin injection centers in New York City," said Congresswoman Malliotakis. "Now that Mayor de Blasio has gone forward with these plans, I've called on the Biden Administration to take the same course of action. If they don't, I've introduced this legislation to ensure any federal funds sent to entities that operate these unlawful facilities are stripped for good. We've already identified millions of federal dollars that have been sent to these facilities. Gifting money to heroin shooting galleries that only encourage drug use and deteriorate our quality of life is an egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars."

“These ‘safe’ injection sites are yet another terrible idea being imposed by a lame duck mayor who New Yorkers can't wait to permanently get out of office," said Congressman Zeldin. "Encouraging even more drug abuse has to be the stupidest idea that has ever been proposed to combat the addiction crisis. I’m grateful to Congresswoman Malliotakis for her leadership in pushing back on this boneheaded policy.”

“Drug overdoses have devastated far too many Long Island families,” said Congressman Garbarino. “De Blasio’s illegal injection centers will only worsen the problem in NYC and set a dangerous precedent for the rest of New York. This bill would ensure that no federal dollars are used to subsidize government supervised drug use. I vehemently oppose these illegal injection centers and thank Congresswoman Malliotakis for her leadership on this issue.”

“If Democrats were serious about combating the opioid epidemic, they would focus on securing our southern border to reduce the flow of illicit drugs and take responsible steps to expand access to treatment options,” said Congressman Katko. “Instead, Democratic politicians are supporting the proliferation of substance use by endorsing injection sites. These facilities are subverting federal law, and since they opened in New York City, we have already seen numerous overdoses. In response, I’m joining Republicans from New York State’s Congressional Delegation to introduce legislation to prevent injection sites from contributing to overdose deaths and rising rates of substance use.”

“Mayor Bill de Blasio is opening up New York City for illegal drug consumption and it is astonishing that our Attorney General is also complicit in allowing this to happen,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “These injection sites stand in clear violation of federal law and it is now the responsibility of the federal government to intervene and put an end to this lawlessness. I’m honored to partner with my New York colleagues in standing for the rule of law and safe communities against the normalization of deadly and illegal drugs.”

On January 13, 2021, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled "that it is a federal crime to open a supervised injection site or 'consumption room' for illegal drug use," after a nonprofit attempted to open supervised injection sites in Philadelphia. In agreeing with the government’s interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act, the Court explained, “[t]hough the opioid crisis may call for innovative solutions, local innovations may not break federal law.”