Pappas, Goodlander Lead Legislation to Combat Substance Use Disorder in House

July 17, 2026 Press Release This week Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) introduced the Turn the Tide Act in the House of Representatives. This legislation would deliver more than $65 billion in federal funding over the next ten years for substance use treatment and prevention. This legislation would expand critical treatment programs, prioritize prevention and increase access to care by addressing workforce shortages. U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan introduced this legislation in the Senate. “It’s clear that investing in substance use treatment and prevention works,” said Congressman Pappas. “This administration has repeatedly tried to devastate our efforts to combat and prevent addiction, but what we actually need is continued investment to ensure treatment and prevention programs can reach everyone across our communities. This crisis is deeply personal for Granite Staters, and I will always fight to deliver New Hampshire the resources we need to save lives and help our communities stop this crisis.” Specifically, the Turn the Tide Act : Increases State Opioid Response (SOR) treatment grant funding to $5.5 billion per year over the next five years and provides needed flexibility so that providers can treat patients who have non-opioid related substance use disorders, such as methamphetamine or other substances. Expands the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Recovery Housing Program and ensures states receive more consistent funding to support patients in recovery. Establishes a new grant program modeled off of the successful Manchester Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team program to assist children who have been exposed to trauma, often as a result of substance use disorders among family members or friends. Requires that private insurers and Medicare Part D plans cover Naloxone without any co-pay or deductible requirements and prohibits insurers from setting up administrative barriers, like prior authorization, that delay start of medication-assisted treatment. Last year Pappas led 50 of his House colleagues in urging Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy to reverse the cancellation of almost $12 billion in federal grants for state health services from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which included $80 million in public health funding for New Hampshire . He also led a call for the Administration to immediately reinstate illegally fired SAMHSA workers alongside leading members of the Addiction, Treatment, Recovery Caucus, Mental Health Caucus, and Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force. A court ultimately ordered that the workers be reinstated in December 2025. In January 2026 the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation successfully pushed the Trump Administration to reverse its massive, sudden, and unexplained cuts to critical mental health and addiction prevention grant programs . After organizations across New Hampshire began to receive grant cancellation notices from the Department of Health and Human Services, they quickly pressed Secretary Kennedy to reverse the cancellations, and within days the Administration began reinstating this critical funding for New Hampshire organizations.