Trust for America’s Health Applauds Proposed Increases to Public Health Spending in House Appropriations Bill
May 1, 2019
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the House Appropriations Committee and Chairwomen Nita Lowey and Rosa DeLauro for the draft FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) spending bill, which would increase funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many programs that address the nation’s leading health threats.
Last week, TFAH released a report: The Impact of Chronic Underfunding of America’s Public Health System, which found that chronic underfunding of the nation’s public health system puts lives at risk. A list of TFAH’s top FY20 funding priorities can be found here.
TFAH’s President and CEO, John Auerbach, said:
“We are grateful to the leadership and staff of the Appropriations Committee and the Labor-HHS Subcommittee for demonstrating a substantive commitment to public health and prevention with the proposed funding levels. Public health officials are addressing an unprecedented range of health crises – the substance misuse and suicide epidemics, chronic diseases that contribute to rising healthcare costs and disability, public health emergencies and outbreaks – yet they are doing so with stagnant funding and outdated systems. The proposed bill would invest in public health infrastructure and proven programs that prevent illness and injury and improve emergency preparedness.
Public health doesn’t always get the headlines. But we have public health to thank for the safety and health of our communities. This bill only represents the first step in modernizing our public health system and we stand ready to work with Congress see this through.
We urge the Senate to prioritize public health with the same urgency and thoughtfulness the House has shown and we encourage both House and Senate leadership to work with the President to raise the budget caps so public health can tackle the nation’s urgent health challenges.“
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Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.