Rep. Judy Chu Statement on Passage of H.R. 2483, the SUPPORT for Patients and Families Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) released the following statement after H.R. 2483, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, passed the House in a bipartisan 366–57 vote:

“Today, I voted in favor of H.R. 2483, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. Families in my district and across the country are still struggling with the devastating impacts of the opioid epidemic, and this bill renews critical funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs that help save lives and support individuals working to overcome addiction.

While I support reauthorizing these important programs, I am outraged by the Trump administration’s brazen efforts to dismantle the very services we are working to preserve, and by House Republicans’ refusal to stop them. Even as Congress moves to reauthorize critical mental health and substance use programs, the Administration is executing an unauthorized and unlawful plan to dismantle the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): firing hundreds of experienced public health professionals, shutting down congressionally mandated offices, and rescinding over $1 billion in committed funding to states and local communities. These programs are being gutted in real time, and the same House Republicans who claim to support them are standing by in silence.

At the same time, just two weeks ago, Republicans pushed through the largest cut to Medicaid in U.S. history, slashing the very program that covers nearly 40 percent of all nonelderly adults living with substance use disorder.

I will continue to fight to protect Medicaid and hold the Trump administration accountable for its cruel, irresponsible assault on mental health and substance use care.”