The Times Union is reporting U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said on January 10, he will fight for a major increase in federal funding to combat the opioid crisis in upstate New York during final budget negotiations. “I’m going to fight for an increase in grants to upstate New York so they have the resources to fight back,” Schumer said in a conference call with reporters. Overdose death rates rose 23 percent in upstate New York between 2015 and 2016, to nearly 1,400. And a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that life expectancy in the U.S. has fallen for the second year in a row, a trend attributed primarily to overdose deaths. Also on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, announced the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, a House of Representatives caucus, has endorsed his bill to increase addiction treatment access. The bill would increase the types of medical professionals that can prescribe medication to treat opioid addiction. Read the full story in the Times Union.