Apr 29, 2025
Today the Energy and Commerce Committee in the US House of Representatives passed the revised Support Act. It will now be scheduled for a vote by the entire House before it moves to the Senate for consideration.
The same bill was passed by the House in July of 2023, but never made it beyond the Senate. The Committee and House vote in 2023 was unanimous, however today’s vote was primarily along party lines. Democrats on the Committee used the opportunity to voice concerns regarding the Administration’s elimination of half of the 900 employees at SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), which normally would administer funding included in the Support Act. They also objected to lack of Congressional oversight as these sweeping changes are proposed.
The Support Act reauthorization, originally passed in 2018, funds critical treatment and recovery programs for substance use disorder and expands the availability of medications for opioid use disorder. It also expands funding for workforce development, and other priorities for the field.
NAATP supports passage of the legislation while also maintaining concerns regarding how the reorganized Health and Human Services (HHS) will operate as HHS Secretary Kennedy eliminates and combines agencies previously designed to administer SUD support services.
We will be actively engaged as these monumental changes impacting the entire health care field are proposed
