TAKE ACTION: Protect funding for treatment, overdose prevention & lifesaving services

Americans from all walks of life are feeling the devastating impacts of fentanyl, addiction and overdose. Recent declines in overdose deaths show that access to treatment, naloxone, and other health services keep people alive and on a path towards recovery.

Yet, the Trump administration and Congress have dramatically cut funding for these crucial public health solutions–and are trying to cut even more. The administration’s proposed budget cuts an additional $10 billion from treatment and overdose prevention, shuttering treatment and mental health services nationwide, and dismantling the backbone of a public health response to addiction.

These new cuts sacrifice Americans’ safety and health to funnel billions into violence and warfare. And they’re on top of nearly a trillion dollars that’s already been cut for health services and treatment, which is pushing people off health coverage, making treatment harder to afford, and forcing hospitals and treatment centers to close. Additionally, recent federal guidance attempts to cut off SAMHSA funding for tools like fentanyl test strips, which help people avoid using fentanyl.

Our previous efforts to push back on devastating cuts and preserve funding for overdose prevention and addiction services have worked. Once again, we need your help to ensure Congress protects services that save lives, such as naloxone, fentanyl test strips, addiction treatment, recovery supports, mental health services, youth prevention programs, and more.

Urge your members of Congress to reject these cuts and protect funding for treatment, overdose prevention, and other lifesaving services.

Take Action

Your Message

Subject

Dear Representative/Senator,

Message Body

I urge you to reject President Trump’s budget proposal for FY27 that is asking Congress to cut an additional $10 billion from treatment and overdose prevention, which will shutter treatment and mental health services nationwide and dismantle the backbone of a public health response to addiction.

Americans from all walks of life are feeling the devastating impacts of fentanyl, addiction and overdose. Recent declines in overdose deaths show that access to treatment, naloxone, and other health services keep people alive and on a path towards recovery.

Yet, the Trump administration and Congress have dramatically cut funding for these crucial public health solutions. They’ve already cut over a trillion dollars in funding for health services and treatment, which is pushing people off health coverage, making treatment harder to afford, and forcing hospitals and treatment centers to close. The Trump administration’s proposed budget will:

--Dismantle the backbone of public health response: Cutting nearly $753 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and $3 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would further devastate these agencies and reduce funding for treatment programs, recovery services, community-based prevention, medications that prevent overdose, and the data systems that guide lifesaving interventions. And in April 2026, the administration released new guidance (https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dear-colleague-letter-upated-hr-funding-guidance.pdf) announcing that fentanyl test strips would no longer be supported by federal funds, contradicting previous guidance that had explicitly allowed them. This lifesaving tool decreases overdose risk by detecting the presence of fentanyl (or other drugs) in the illicit supply. People who use test strips are more likely to avoid using fentanyl and make safer decisions such as going slower, not using that batch, or not using alone.

--Gut addiction research: National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding would be cut by $5 billion, including $165 million cut from addiction research, slowing critical development of new treatments for emerging synthetic drugs.

--Eliminate overdose data collection: Programs that track and prevent infectious diseases and opioid overdoses would lose critical funding, weakening our ability to respond to emerging crises. This data informs decisions on where to deploy overdose prevention resources.

A recent analysis shows that 400 hospitals across the U.S. are at risk of closing or drastically reducing services due to President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” The Trump administration’s proposed FY27 budget, stacked on top of previous cuts, would slash even more. If implemented, this would be a major blow to the public health infrastructure that keeps the country’s treatment, overdose prevention, and addiction research systems running.

In 2024, U.S. overdose deaths fell 27%, yet over 80,000 people still died—more than from vehicle crashes and firearms combined. That decline was driven by sustained investments by CDC and SAMHSA in substance use prevention and treatment, overdose response, infectious disease prevention and surveillance, and recovery support services under the last three administrations.

This crisis demands ongoing federal backing for proven interventions like naloxone distribution, medications for opioid use disorder, fentanyl test strip programs, addiction treatment, recovery supports, mental health services, youth prevention programs, and more.

Americans want health and safety, not more cuts to care that harm our loved ones and communities. Congress listened to Americans by protecting this critical funding in the FY26 budget. And I’m counting on Congress to hold the line again in the FY27 budget by rejecting any more cuts to these lifesaving services. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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TAKE ACTION: Protect funding for treatment, overdose prevention & lifesaving services

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