Senator Murray Statement on Trump Axing Thousands of Grants to Treat and Prevent Addiction, Provide Mental Health Services

Overnight, Trump admin wiped out billions in mental health and substance use disorder grants awarded by SAMHSA to communities nationwide-including in Washington state

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Trump administration's decision overnight to reportedly terminate as many as 2,800 grants totaling approximately $2 billion for communities across the country to combat substance use disorder and provide mental health services. The grants were awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

"So much for Make America Healthy Again and saving Americans from addiction and suicide-last night, the Trump administration decided to rip $2 billion away from communities across the country to tackle the fentanyl crisis and get people mental health care. This administration's claims about taking on the opioid crisis couldn't be more hollow. You can't cut off thousands of grants to tackle addiction and pardon a man convicted of mass-scale drug trafficking and pretend to be serious about dealing with this issue.

"This decision is going to mean real people in Washington state and every part of the country do not get the care and treatment they are counting on-and that could save their life. Republicans must join me in demanding these cuts be reversed."

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