McCollum vote on H.R. 2483

Mr. Speaker – I voted 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as an independent division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), fired hundreds of SAMHSA employees, rescinded over $1 billion in state funding to treat mental health and substance use disorders, and proposed eliminating some of the very programs that are authorized in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 voted 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. 

Thank you, I yield back.