With the body count continuing to rise with the opioid epidemic, lawmakers are hoping a new initiative will stop that trend.

In a new spending bill, billions will be used to help in the fight. Speaking at the Tompkins County Mental Health Center, Senator Chuck Schumer discussed the $3 billion push. He says places like Ithaca need funding now. Sometimes it can take months for funding to trickle down.

Today, I'm calling on the federal agencies to move these drug funds out of the coffers and into communities, ASAP." said Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer.

Ideally, he'd like to see the money in cities like Ithaca within the next three months.