Sen. Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday he has introduced the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery through Effective Employment and Reentry (CAREER) Act of 2025, which helps address the impact of substance abuse on America’s workforce.
This bill reauthorizes and improves federal programs that support individuals in states most devastated by substance abuse to reenter the workforce.
The CAREER Act supports Americans recovering from substance use disorder by providing funding for stable, transitional housing, and by providing the support they need to reenter the workforce and maintain gainful employment. It builds on the success of two programs created by the CAREER Act: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMSHA) Treatment, Recovery and Workforce Support Grant Program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Recovery Housing Program.
Since the measure was first signed into law, Kentucky has received about $12.5 million in federal funding. Through SAMHSA’s workforce reentry program, Isaiah House, St. Elizabeth Medical Center, and Mountain Comprehensive Care Center have received several million dollars in federal funding over the past few years to address workforce participation challenges caused by the prevalence of substance abuse in Kentucky.
“The substance abuse epidemic has claimed lives in Kentucky at an unprecedented rate, but this problem isn’t only devastating families and communities, it’s also a workforce emergency,” McConnell said. “That’s why I’m proud to once again champion legislation that addresses this crisis’s devastating effects on the American worker, and the American workforce.
"Since shepherding the CAREER Act into law six years ago, and funding it through the annual appropriations process, this legislation has helped countless Kentuckians return to productive, healthy lives through the structure and support that come from stable housing and employment. This epidemic requires our continued attention, and we’ll keep working to deliver the tools Kentuckians in recovery need to rebuild their lives and stay drug free.”
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