Rep. Salinas Demands Trump Administration Immediately Restore Funding to Mental Health and Addiction Services
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led over 90 of her colleagues to demand the Trump Administration immediately restore funding to grants supporting mental health and drug addiction services.
On Tuesday night, the Administration abruptly sent cancellation notices for nearly $2 billion in grants, intended to support suicide prevention efforts, overdose prevention and treatment programs, naloxone distribution, and peer recovery services. This news comes after Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. renewed the public health emergency declaration addressing our nation’s opioid crisis last March.
Click here or see below for the full letter:
Dear Secretary Kennedy,
We are extremely concerned by reports of the sudden termination of what appears to be the vast majority of the discretionary grants at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Addressing mental health and substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery is a bipartisan priority. The work of SAMHSA is not a partisan priority. It should be a priority for every American, every member of Congress and every Administration. Every state relies on SAMHSA funding to respond to these pressing mental health and addiction challenges. In Congress we have worked to prioritize the focus on mental health and substance use disorder, to reduce stigma and to expand access to prevention, recovery and treatment.
Reports indicate that 2,800 grant termination notices have been distributed across the nation for critical programs that support mental health and addiction resources effective January 13, 2026.
We strongly urge you to rescind all of the terminations immediately. Too many people across the country are suffering without necessary resources. We must ensure that SAMHSA programs serve their congressionally intended purpose of getting lifesaving resources to our communities.
Given the urgency, we ask that you provide the following information by January 16, 2026.
1. How many grants were terminated at SAMHSA and what programs were included?
2. What was the rationale for each termination? Please explain how each program “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
3. The President recently signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, which reauthorized many of these programs for 5 years. Of the grants that were cancelled, please provide a justification as to why these grants do not align with the direction given under the SUPPORT Act?