WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration terminated an estimated $2 billion in grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to treat addiction, mental health, and provide homelessness services. The grant cuts also affect Durbin’s longstanding bipartisan priorities to address childhood trauma and bolster rural ambulance services. Durbin’s office was notified by Illinois constituents last night about these abrupt grant termination letters.
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“President Trump’s war on drugs will take more than a new President in Venezuela. Last night’s termination of addiction treatment is a step backwards that will cost lives. Other cuts to mental health treatment and EMS services show this Administration is more interested in building White House ballrooms than life-saving clinics.”
Despite the Trump Administration’s claims about prioritizing opioid and fentanyl overdoses, or the mental health of children, the elimination of funding for suicide prevention and addiction treatment services across the country will risk lives and harm the economy.
The Trump Administration’s grant termination directly affects Durbin and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s (R-WV) Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) from Trauma Act, bipartisan legislation to increase support for children who have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma, including witnessing community violence, parental addiction, or abuse.
These cuts also affect Durbin and U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Reauthorization Act, legislation that supports rural EMS agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting certification courses, and purchasing equipment, including naloxone to address the opioid overdose epidemic.
