SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025

SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 This act reauthorizes and revises programs and activities relating to addressing substance use disorders, overdoses, and mental health. (For additional information on each section of this act, see CRS Report R48864.)

TITLE I--PREVENTION

(Sec. 101) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) programs that provide information, grants, and technical assistance relating to studying and preventing prenatal and postnatal substance use disorders.

(Sec. 102) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 CDC programs that carry out and provide grants for surveillance, treatment, and education relating to infections associated with illicit drug use.

(Sec. 103) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 and expands CDC programs that carry out activities and provide grants relating to monitoring drug use and overdoses (e.g., supporting state prescription drug monitoring programs), preventing and responding to substance use disorders, and raising awareness regarding opioids and other substances.

The section authorizes additional activities, including wastewater surveillance and collecting data on risk factors associated with overdoses.

(Sec. 104) This section reestablishes, expands, and provides statutory authority for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) activities addressing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (i.e., conditions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure), including carrying out and providing grants for research, education and public awareness, and intervention and support services for affected individuals.

(Sec. 105) This section specifies that, in providing grants to support state prescription drug monitoring programs, the CDC is not authorized to require states to use specific vendors or interoperability systems other than to align with general, consensus-based standards for interoperability.

(Sec. 106) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 and expands grants to government entities to provide first responders with opioid overdose reversal drugs (e.g., naloxone) and related training. The grant program is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The section expands the program to include (1) treatment and training for overdoses from other drugs besides opioids, and (2) treatment with drugs or devices that are legally marketed under applicable law. Current law limits the program to addressing opioid overdoses and to drugs or devices that are officially approved or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

(Sec. 107) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 and revises the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative and related activities, which are administered by SAMHSA. Under the initiative, SAMHSA provides grants and other support to improve the quality of and increase access to services addressing psychological trauma in youth and families.

The section requires grant recipients to develop training and other resources for collaborative implementation of best practices.

(Sec. 108) This section requires SAMHSA to undertake efforts to protect the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline from cybersecurity threats. (The lifeline is a three-digit number that connects callers in suicidal crisis or mental health distress to a national network of crisis centers.) The section includes requirements for the lifeline’s network administrator and participating local and regional crisis centers to report identified cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities.

The Government Accountability Office must conduct a study that evaluates cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities associated with the lifeline and report the findings to Congress.

(Sec. 109) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 CDC activities to collect and report certain public health data relating to potentially traumatic childhood experiences.

(Sec. 110) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 an interdepartmental committee on substance use disorders, establishes an interagency work group on fentanyl contamination of illegal drugs, and expands certain SAMHSA activities to include supporting strategies to raise awareness about the dangers of synthetic opioids for youth.

(Sec. 111) This section requires HHS to publish guidance regarding at-home safe drug disposal systems.

(Sec. 112) This section requires HHS to publish a plan for assessing approved opioid analgesic drugs (i.e., opioid pain relievers) that addresses the public health effects of these drugs, including updates on actions by the FDA with respect to risk-benefit assessments and supporting development and approval of nonaddictive medical products. HHS must provide an opportunity for public input on the FDA’s regulation of opioid analgesic drugs.

(Sec. 113) This section provides statutory authority for SAMHSA’s State Opioid Response and Tribal Opioid Response Grants to be used for facilitating access to drug checking technologies, such as fentanyl and xylazine test strips, to the extent permitted by federal and state law.

TITLE II--TREATMENT