[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 97 (Friday, June 6, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS AND COMMUNITIES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2025

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                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2025

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I will vote in support of H.R. 2483, the 
Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and 
Treatment (SUPPORT) Reauthorization Act of 2025. This bill, which was 
first signed into law in 2018, aims to fight the opioid epidemic in our 
country by improving access to treatment, increasing recovery 
opportunities, and strengthening prevention initiatives. The opioid 
epidemic has devastated communities and torn apart families across our 
country, and H.R. 2483 is the latest in a long line of bipartisan 
efforts to address this problem and ensure Americans get the help they 
need without stigma or other barriers.
  However, we must acknowledge that this legislation came to the House 
Floor at a time when the Trump administration is systematically 
dismantling our Nation's mental health and substance use treatment 
programs. In the last several months, the administration has announced 
plans to eliminate the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA) as an independent division of the Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS), fired hundreds of SAMHSA employees, 
rescinded over $1 billion in state funding to treat mental health and 
substance use disorders, and proposed eliminating some of the very 
programs that are authorized in the SUPPORT Act. House Republicans have 
also just voted to make the largest health care cut in history in their 
so-called ``Big Beautiful Bill'', taking away Medicaid from millions of 
Americans.
  While I will vote in favor of the SUPPORT Act, my concern is that 
this Republican led Congress has authorized these programs with no one 
left at the agencies to see them through.

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