Rosen, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration Reverse Decision to Block Funding for Fentanyl Detection Strips

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senate colleagues in sending a letter calling on Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse new guidance that blocks funding for drug use prevention and harm reduction technology. The new guidance ends the ability of federal grant recipients under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) to use federal funding for test strips that detect fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and help reduce overdoses and drug-related deaths.

The efficacy of fentanyl strips have made them critical for many state and county health authorities and law enforcement entities nationwide for counter-fentanyl strategies. In addition to fentanyl test strips, the Trump Administration also ended funding for test strips that detect xylazine and medetomidine, both powerful veterinary sedatives, which are increasingly found in illicit fentanyl and contributing to overdose deaths.

"Your actions will directly undermine the work of law enforcement and put lives at risk," the senators wrote. "Doing away with this mainstay of overdose prevention runs directly counter to this administration's own promises to crack down on the addiction epidemic in the United States. We demand that you reinstate this funding before American lives are lost as a direct result."

The senators further noted that less than five months ago, Donald Trump signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act into law with strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate, which expressly provides that federal grant funding be used for harm-reduction tools like test strips.

The full letter can be found HERE.

Senator Rosen has been on the frontlines in the fight against fentanyl and other illicit drugs. She successfully pushed to reverse the Trump Administration's decision to withhold $140 million that had been appropriated to combat the fentanyl crisis. The Senator has also secured millions in federal funding for health centers in Nevada that provide substance abuse treatment, recently securing funding for a health care center in Fallon. Last Congress, Senator Rosen helped introduce a bill to prevent fentanyl trafficking through U.S. transportation networks through non-intrusive detection technology. That same year, the Rosen-backed FEND Off Fentanyl Act was signed into law, requiring the President to sanction drug rings involved in international drug trafficking and cracking down on fentanyl-related money laundering. Earlier in 2024, her END Fentanyl Act became law, requiring the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to update its drug interdiction guidance at least once every three years to ensure it is up to date. Previously, many CBP policies that outlined drug interdiction practices were outdated and did not provide guidance on how to handle drugs like fentanyl.

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