BCHC Joins CDC Coalition in Urging Congress to Fully Fund Programs

March 4, 2019

CDC Coalition

Dear Chairwoman DeLauro, Chairman Blunt and Ranking Members Cole and Murray:

The undersigned 225 members of the CDC Coalition and other supporting state and national organizations urge you to provide at least $7.8 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s programs in the FY 2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. We believe that Congress should prioritize funding for all of the activities and programs supported by CDC which are essential to protect the health of the American people. We are grateful for the important increases provided for CDC programs in FY 2019 and we urge Congress to continue efforts to build upon these investments to strengthen all of CDC’s programs. We also urge your continued support of the Prevention and Public Health Fund which currently makes up more than 10 percent of CDC’s budget and provides funding for critical public health and prevention activities.

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 assure an adequate translation of new research into effective state and local programs. Coalition member groups represent millions of public health workers, researchers, clinicians, educators and citizens served by CDC programs.

CDC serves as the command center for the nation’s public health defense system against emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. From aiding in the surveillance, detection and prevention of the Zika virus to playing a lead role in the control of Ebola in West Africa and the current outbreak in the Republic of the Congo to monitoring and investigating disease outbreaks in the U.S., to pandemic flu preparedness, CDC is the nation’s – and the world’s – expert resource and response center, coordinating communications and action and serving as the laboratory reference center. States, communities and the international community rely on CDC for accurate information and direction in a crisis or outbreak.

CDC is faced with unprecedented challenges and responsibilities ranging from combating the opioid, tobacco and obesity epidemics to emergency preparedness and chronic disease prevention. CDC funds programs for injury control and 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/AIDS prevention; environmental health, including the prevention of childhood lead poisoning; oral health; reducing health disparities; preventing infant mortality and birth defects; preventing antimicrobial resistance; preventing prescription drug overdose; improving the health and quality of life of individuals with disabilities; vision and eye health and public health research and health statistics. It is notable that more than 70 percent of CDC’s budget supports public health and prevention activities by 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 Americans 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 support a funding level of at least $7.8 billion for CDC’s programs in FY 2020.

Please contact Don Hoppert at donald.hoppert@apha.org or 202-777-2514 with any questions regarding our request.

Sincerely,

1,000 Days
AcademyHealth
Advocates for Youth
Alabama Public Health Association
Alaska Public Health Association
Allergy & Asthma Network
Alzheimer’s Association
Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM)
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Dental Research
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association on Health and Disability
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Dental Association
American Dental Education Association
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
American Liver Foundation
American Lung Association
American Optometric Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Podiatric Medical Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Nutrition
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
American Statistical Association
American Thoracic Society
Arizona Public Health Association
Arkansas Public Health association
Arthritis Foundation
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association for Psychological Science
Association of Accredited Public Health Programs
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Black Cardiologists
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Pathology Chairs
Association of Population Centers
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN)
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
Autism Society of America
Avery’s Angels Gastroschisis Foundation
Big Cities Health Coalition
CAEAR Coalition
California Consortium of Addiction Programs & Professionals
Child Neurology Foundation
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation
Children’s Environmental Health Network
Climate for Health, ecoAmerica
Coalition for Health Funding
Colorado Public Health Association
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc. (COA)
Connecticut Public Health Association
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Cooley’s Anemia Foundation
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
Dystonia Advocacy Network
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
Endocrine Society
Entomological Society of America
Epilepsy Foundation
Epilepsy Foundation Alaska
Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas
Epilepsy Foundation Eastern PA
Epilepsy Foundation Heart of Wisconsin
Epilepsy Foundation Iowa
Epilepsy Foundation Maryland
Epilepsy Foundation New England
Epilepsy Foundation North/Central IL
Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona
Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado
Epilepsy Foundation of Delaware
Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee
Epilepsy Foundation of Florida
Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia
Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles
Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois
Epilepsy Foundation of Hawaii
Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana
Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan
Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota
Epilepsy Foundation of Nevada
Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York, Inc.
Epilepsy Foundation of Oklahoma
Epilepsy Foundation of Southeast Tennessee
Epilepsy Foundation of Utah
Epilepsy Foundation of Vermont
Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia
Epilepsy Foundation Ohio
Epilepsy Foundation Oregon
Epilepsy Foundation Texas-Houston/Dallas-Fort Worth/West Texas
Epilepsy Foundation Washington
Epilepsy Foundation West Virginia
Family Voices
Florida Public Health Association
Friends of NCBDDD
Friends of NCHS
GBS|CIDP Foundation International
Georgia Public Health Association
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
Hawaii Public Health Association
Healthy Teen Network
Hepatitis B Foundation
HIV Medicine Association
Idaho Public Health Association
Illinois Association for Behavioral Health
Illinois Public Health Association
Immunize Nevada
Indiana Public Health Association
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Interstitial Cystitis Association
Iowa Public Health Association
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Lakeshore Foundation
Louisiana Public Health Association
Lung Cancer Alliance
Maine Public Health Association
March of Dimes
Maryland Public Health Association
Massachusetts Public Health Association
METAvivor Research & Support, Inc.
Michigan Public Health Association
Minnesota Public Health Association
Mississippi Public Health Association
Missouri Public Health Association
Montana Public Health Association
Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health
NAPHSIS
NASTAD
National Association of Community Health Centers
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH)
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Black Nurses Association
National Blood Clot Alliance
National CMV Foundation, Inc.
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Environmental Health Association
National Fragile X Foundation
National Hemophilia Foundation
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Kidney Foundation
National Medical Association
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Pancreas Foundation
National Recreation and Park Association
National Safety Council
National Tuberculosis Controllers Association
NC Public Health Association
NephCure Kidney International
Nevada Public Health Association
New Hampshire Public Health Association
New Jersey Public Health Association
New Mexico Public Health Association
New York State Association of County Health Officials
New York State Public Health Association
North Dakota Public Health Association
Ohio Public Health Association
Oklahoma Public Health Association
Oncology Nursing Society
Oregon Public Health Association
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD)
Pennsylvania Public Health Association
Population Association of America
Prevent Blindness
Prevent Blindness NC
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin
Prevent Cancer Foundation
Prevention Institute
Public Health Association of Nebraska
Public Health Institute
Puerto Rico Public Health Association
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Research!America
Rhode Island Public Health Association
Safe States Alliance
Scleroderma Foundation
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators
Sleep Research Society
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Public Health Education – Minnesota Chapter
Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education
Spina Bifida Association
Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
Tennessee Public Health Association
The AIDS Institute
The Immunization Partnership
The Johns Hopkins University
The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Tourette Association of America
Trust for America’s Health
Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance
US Hereditary Angioedema Association
Utah Public Health Association
Vaccinate Your Family
Vermont Public Health Association
Virginia Public Health Association
Washington State Department of Health
Welcome Back Initiative
West Virginia Public Health Association
Wisconsin Public Health Association
Wyoming Public Health Association
YMCA of the USA

Cc: House Appropriations Committee
Senate Appropriations Committee