U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) recently sent a bipartisan letter to Senate appropriators to request that any final appropriations package include necessary resources for critical substance abuse prevention and treatment services. The Senator is seeking funding at the highest possible level for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) – programs located within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
“With the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, we urge the Committee to revisit initial proposed funding reductions for the SAPT Block Grant and CSAT as the appropriations process moves forward. In particular, we urge you to take action that would maintain the highest possible level of funding for these key programs,” the Senators wrote. “We recognize the continued fiscal challenges facing our country, however, with our nation currently facing an opioid abuse epidemic, we believe it is critical to make sensible investments in effective programs that are crucial to helping save lives, reunite families, and strengthen communities.”
Senator Manchin was joined on the letter by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Al Franken (D-MN), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Angus King (I-ME), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
The following organizations endorsed the letter: Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Harm Reduction Coalition, Hazelden Betty Ford Institute, International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium, Legal Action Center, NAADAC – The Association of Addiction Professionals, National Association for Children of Alcoholics, National Association of Drug Court Professionals, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, National Council for Behavioral Health, National Criminal Justice Association, National Family Partnership, National Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities, Partnership for Drug Free Kids, Treatment Communities of America, Trust for America’s Health, and Young People in Recovery.