The Trump administration moved to terminate at least $2 billion in discretionary grants from an agency focused on behavioral health.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, housed within the Health and Human Services Department, moved to cut this funding from across the country, according to an agency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Letters were sent to grant recipients indicating that federal grants were terminated for “non-alignment” with the agency, according to the official who shared one of the letters with Bloomberg Government. SAMHSA is “adjusting its discretionary award portfolio, which includes terminating some of its awards,” the letters said.
NPR first reported Tuesday morning the news that the agency was cutting billions. The terminations come after the Trump administration proposed drastic cuts to the agency and to combine it with others into a new Administration for a Healthy America. A Bloomberg Government story identified 40 programs that were at risk.
Read More: Drug Deaths Plunged. Trump Wants to Cut Funds Cited for the Drop
“I have seen cancellation notices from Alabama to Salt Lake City to Detroit to El Paso to New Hampshire,” said Andrew Kessler, founder and principal of behavioral health consulting firm Slingshot Solutions, LLC. He said grants were terminated late Tuesday.
HHS did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
To contact the reporters on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story: