On September 2, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Education approved its FY 2026 spending bill. While the funding levels approved by the subcommittee are not optimal, there was still encouraging news. In their budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, the White House recommended that SAMHSA be eliminated along with four other agencies, and its functions folded into a new “Administration for a Healthy America.” It also called for the elimination of $800 million in funding for Programs of Regional and National Significance, and the consolidation of SAMHSA’s three block grants. The House of Representatives bill did not implement these proposals, just as the Senate’s bill did not.
The House bill funds SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at a level almost $200 million below the Senate’s figure, and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at approximately $30 million less than the Senate. The larger SUD grant programs fared well when the fiscal environment is considered. The House committee funded the SUPTR block grant at just over $2 billion, a number very similar to the one in the Senate bill. The State Opioid Response (SOR) grant was also fairly well funded, at $1.575 billion, also very close to the Senate amount.
The legislation proposes some deep cuts to recovery programs at SAMHSA. The Building Communities of Recovery (BCOR) program is funded at half of last year’s level (a cut of $8.5 million) and the funding for the Peer Technical Assistance Center is eliminated outright ($2 million.) The news was better for the Treatment, Recovery, and Workforce Support program, which received a proposed funding level of $12 million, the same as last fiscal year. This program supports individuals in substance use disorder treatment and recovery to live independently and participate in the workforce.
The House also continued to make clear its disdain for harm reduction programs. The following excerpt explains their stance:
Harm Reduction—The Committee commends the Trump Administration’s efforts to prioritize prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery in relation to substance use disorder. The Committee continues to support the availability and provision of naloxone to reduce overdose deaths, however, the Committee provides no funding to support harm-reduction activities related to supporting the continued use of illicit controlled substances.
It remains to be seen whether the full House can pass an HHS spending bill, due to its fraught political environment and very narrow majority. If a bill does manage to pass, it will then go to a conference with the Senate where these discrepancies will be debated.