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Dear Chairwoman DeLauro, Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Granger and Vice Chairman Shelby:
The undersigned 140 members of the CDC Coalition and other supporting state and national organizations urge you to include at least the House-passed level of $10.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s programs in any final FY 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill. We truly appreciate your support for CDC and for the significant increases provided in both the House and Senate versions of the FY 2022 appropriations bill. Strong funding for CDC is critical to supporting all of CDC’s activities and programs, which are essential to protect the health of our communities. Due to years of underfunding, many CDC programs have not received the funding that is needed to address the many health challenges we face as a nation, resulting in many of CDC’s most effective prevention programs not reaching all states. We also believe that it is critical for Congress to quickly finalize the FY 2022 appropriations process to avoid lengthy continuing resolutions that bring uncertainty and make it more difficult for the agency and its grantees to protect the public’s health.
The CDC Coalition is a nonpartisan coalition of organizations committed to strengthening our nation’s public health infrastructure and prevention programs. Our mission is to ensure that health promotion and disease prevention are given top priority in federal funding, to support a funding level for CDC that enables it to carry out its prevention mission and to ensure an adequate translation of new research into effective state and local programs. Coalition member groups represent millions of public health workers, researchers, clinicians, educators, patients and individuals and families served by CDC programs.
CDC serves as the command center for the nation’s public health defense system against emerging and reemerging infectious diseases as well as man-made and natural disasters. From playing a leading role in aiding in the surveillance, detection and mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and globally, to playing a lead role in the control of Ebola in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to monitoring, investigating and helping to control the recent measles outbreaks in the U.S., to pandemic flu preparedness, CDC is the nation’s – and a global – expert resource and response center, coordinating communications and action and serving as the laboratory reference center. States, communities and international partners rely on CDC for accurate information, direction and resources to ensure they continue to be prepared for and able to respond to and recover from a crisis or outbreak.
While CDC is playing a leading role in protecting the public’s health from COVID-19, it is faced with many other unprecedented challenges and responsibilities ranging from chronic disease prevention to combating the opioid, tobacco, e-cigarette and obesity epidemics to emergency preparedness. CDC funds programs for injury control; research into gun violence prevention; global health security; health promotion in schools and workplaces; the prevention of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, lung disease and other chronic diseases; tobacco prevention and control; nutrition and physical activity; immunizations; HIV, STI and hepatitis prevention; prevention of vector-borne diseases; environmental health, including the prevention of childhood lead poisoning and protecting the public from the health impacts of climate change; oral health; reducing health disparities; preventing infant mortality and birth defects; sickle cell disease data collection; preventing antimicrobial resistance; preventing prescription drug overdose; improving the health and quality of life of individuals with disabilities; Alzheimer’s disease prevention and awareness; vision and eye health and public health research and health statistics. It is notable that more than 70% of CDC’s budget supports public health and prevention activities through state and local health organizations and agencies, national public health partners and academic institutions.
In addition to ensuring a strong public health infrastructure and protecting our communities from public health threats and emergencies, CDC programs are crucial to reducing health care costs and improving health. Despite the progress CDC has made to meet these needs, the agency’s programs have been woefully underfunded. We urge you to include at least $10.5 billion for CDC’s programs in any final FY 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Please contact Don Hoppert at [email protected] or 202-777-2514 with any questions regarding our request.
Sincerely,
AANS/CNS Joint Section on Neurotrauma & Critical Care
AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery
AIDS United
Allergy & Asthma Network
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association on Health and Disability
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Physicians
American Dental Hygienists' Association
American Heart Association
American Liver Foundation
American Lung Association
American Medical Women's Association (AMWA)
American Physical Therapy Association
American Public Health Association
American School Health Association
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
American Thoracic Society
American Trauma Society
Arizona Public Health Association
Arthritis Foundation
Association for Clinical and Translational Science
Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Minority Health Professions Schools (AMHPS)
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
Big Cities Health Coalition
Children's Environmental Health Network
Clinical Research Forum
Coalition for Clinical and Translational Science
Coalition of National Health Education Organizations
Colorado Public Health Association
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Cooley's Anemia Foundation
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Covering Kids & Families of Indiana
Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
Digestive Disease National Coalition
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
Endocrine Society
Entomological Society of America
Epilepsy Foundation
Eta Sigma Gamma, Inc
Florida Public Health Association
GBS|CIDP Foundation International
GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
Health Care Without Harm
Hepatitis B Foundation
HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute
Illinois Public Health Association
Indiana Public Health Association
International Association of Forensic Nurses
International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC)
International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders
Interstitial Cystitis Association
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Kansas Public Health Association
Lakeshore Foundation
Louisiana Public Health Association
Lymphatic Education & Research Network
Maine Public Health Association
METAvivor
Michigan Public Health Association
Minnesota Public Health Association
Missouri Public Health Association
Montana Public Health Association
Morehouse School of Medicine
NASTAD
National Alopecia Areata Foundation
National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Center for Healthy Housing
National Eczema Association
National Fragile X Foundation
National League for Nursing
National Pancreas Foundation
National Safety Council
National Tuberculosis Controllers Association
National WIC Association
North Carolina Public Health Association
NephCure Kidney International
Nevada Public Health Association
New Hampshire Public Health Association
New Mexico Public Health Association
New York State Public Health Association
North Dakota Public Health Association
Patient Services, Inc.
Pennsylvania Public Health Association
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Prevention Institute
Project Sleep
Public Health Institute
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Research!America
Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation
Safe States Alliance
Scleroderma Foundation
SHAPE America - Society of Health and Physical Educators
Sleep Research Society
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Women's Health Research
South Carolina Public Health Association
South Dakota Public Health Association
Southern California Public Health Association
Spina Bifida Association
Susan G. Komen
Tennessee Public Health Association
The AIDS Institute
The Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Trust for America's Health
Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM)
US Hereditary Angioedema Association
Utah Public Health Association
Virginia Public Health Association
Washington State Public Health Association
WE Public Health
Wisconsin Public Health Association