Senate Appropriators Propose Mental Health, Substance Use Increases

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the Chairman's mark of 12 senate appropriations bills, which proposes funding SAMHSA at $9.1 billion, an increase of $2.6 billion or nearly 40 percent above FY22. This includes:

• $2.4 billion for the Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, an increase of $500 million;

• $1.42 billion for the Mental Health Block Grant, an increase of $564 million;

• $824 million, an increase of $625 million, for suicide prevention programs, including $697 million for 988 and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline;

• and $2.025 billion, an increase of $500 million, for State Opioid Response Grants.

The bill also eliminates the Needle Exchange Amendment, which prohibited federal funding from being used to support syringe service programs. Cont.