Dear Representative:
The undersigned 136 members of the CDC Coalition and other supporting state, national and academic organizations write to express our strong opposition to the $1.8 billion (22%) cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposed in the House FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Our organizations urge the House to reject this bill that severely undercuts public health. Instead, we urge you to work in a bipartisan manner to develop a final bill that contains robust funding for the agency and rejects controversial policy riders. Due to years of underfunding, many of CDC’s most effective prevention programs are not reaching all states and communities, and the House bill as currently drafted will only exacerbate this problem.
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. CDC programs protect the nation from public health threats including the current multi-state Listeria outbreak linked to sliced deli meats, the 13 reported measles outbreaks we have seen this year, and many other health threats that could impact any state and congressional district.
The House bill would eliminate funding for numerous CDC programs that are critical to combating chronic diseases, improving emergency preparedness and response, preventing injury and violence, ensuring workplace safety, protecting the public from environmental health threats and addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic among others. Specifically, the bill would eliminate or drastically reduce funding for the following:
- Eliminates funding for the Center for Forecasting and Analytics, which enables more effective infectious disease outbreak responses through next-generation forecasting tools;
- Eliminates funding for CDC’s Injury Prevention and Control Center in its entirety, including the Suicide Prevention program, Opioid Overdose Prevention and Surveillance activities, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research, programs to address adverse childhood experiences, domestic violence, drowning prevention and other programs that work to reduce injuries and deaths in our communities;
- Eliminates funding for the Tobacco Prevention and Control program, which helps states prevent youth vaping and saves lives by addressing one of the leading causes of preventable death;
- Eliminates funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative and the Global HIV/AIDS programs;
- Eliminates funding for the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program that provides states and localities with flexible funding to address their own unique health challenges;
- Eliminates funding for the Climate and Health and Environmental Health Tracking programs, which are critical to ensuring our nation’s readiness to address the health impacts of extreme weather events and wildfires;
- Eliminates funding for the School Health program that works to prevent HIV, STIs and unintended pregnancies among youth;
- Eliminates funding for Prevention Research Centers that conduct research to help communities prevent chronic diseases; and
- Drastically cuts funding for Occupational Safety and Health Research and Environmental Health Laboratory programs.
These cuts would be devastating to communities across the country — especially to state, local, tribal and territorial public health infrastructure and workforce. Currently, nearly 80% CDC’s base budget goes to state, tribal, local and territorial health organizations and agencies, national public health partners, community-based organizations and academic institutions across the nation to support public health and prevention activities. We strongly urge you to reject these proposed cuts and to provide CDC with the robust funding it needs to keep our communities healthy and safe from the many health threats and challenges we currently face and from future public health emergencies. A strong CDC is essential to building public trust and improving and protecting the health of all our communities.
Thank you for your attention to our concerns with the House FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill.