Pappas Leads Call to Restore Over $12 Billion in Funding to States for Public Health and Addiction Treatment

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) led 50 of his colleagues in urging Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse the cancellation of over $12 billion in federal grants for state health services from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This funding is critical for states and community health departments’ ability to strengthen public health infrastructure and provide life-saving health services, including mental health care and substance use disorder treatment.

The members wrote, “You have dangerously framed this as a cost saving measure that pulls back funds no longer necessary, when instead this funding provides invaluable public and mental health services that keep our communities healthy and safe. A cessation of these funds, especially done so hastily, hinders the ability of states and awardees across the nation to protect and serve our fellow Americans.”

“To this day, these funds are used for public health infrastructure like treatment and testing for respiratory diseases, like bird flu, and wastewater surveillance systems, which are helping us monitor the current measles outbreak. While the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11, 2023, the need for public health infrastructure did not,” they said, underscoring the risks that the bird flu and measles currently pose to the American public.

The members stressed the importance of this funding for mental health services and substance use disorder treatment, saying, “In 2023, 49,316 Americans died by suicide  – nearly one death every 11 minutes. Clawing back SAMHSA funds aimed at addressing the substance use crises we are facing and supporting those living with mental illnesses will prove a death sentence for some.”

“We must put politics aside and invest, rather than divest, in evidence-based solutions. Supporting our communities’ mental health needs and services requires a sustained, long-term strategy. It requires a multi-pronged approach that includes robust funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts… We urge you to reverse this decision and resume the flow of funds that help save lives,” they concluded.

Read the letter below or here:

Dear Secretary Kennedy, 

We write to you regarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) abrupt cancellation of $11.4 billion in federal grants that our states have been using for public health services and the cancellation of $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

You have dangerously framed this as a cost saving measure that pulls back funds no longer necessary, when instead this funding provides invaluable public and mental health services that keep our communities healthy and safe. A cessation of these funds, especially done so hastily, hinders the ability of states and awardees across the nation to protect and serve our fellow Americans.

The CDC funds, originally allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic for use toward testing, vaccination, and monitoring programs – among other uses – remain in use for important public health initiatives across the country. To this day, these funds are used for public health infrastructure like treatment and testing for respiratory diseases, like bird flu, and wastewater surveillance systems, which are helping us monitor the current measles outbreak. While the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11, 2023, the need for public health infrastructure did not. 

In 2023, 49,316 Americans died by suicide  – nearly one death every 11 minutes. Clawing back SAMHSA funds aimed at addressing the substance use crises we are facing and supporting those living with mental illnesses will prove a death sentence for some. These funds were allocated, and states were rightfully depending on them to support the mental health services and supports available to their residents.

On February 25, 2025, the CDC released its prediction that there was a “nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending in September 2024, compared to the previous year.”  One month later, the careless decision to revoke $1 billion in SAMHSA funding that goes toward reducing overdose deaths and other mental health services was announced. The predicted decrease in overdose deaths is promising and shows that now is the time to build on that momentum and continue investments in mental health services, not pull the rug out from underneath our communities.

For all too many American families, the addiction epidemic and support for mental health services are deeply personal. We must put politics aside and invest, rather than divest, in evidence-based solutions. Supporting our communities’ mental health needs and services requires a sustained, long-term strategy. It requires a multi-pronged approach that includes robust funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. 

This administration’s callous actions to reduce government spending are once again reckless and done without regard to the communities they will harm. We urge you to reverse this decision and resume the flow of funds that help save lives.

Sincerely,

XXX