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The House of Representatives will vote tomorrow, April 27, to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund (the Fund). Members of the House must hear from you today! Every member of the House is important in this debate. They will kill the Fund if they do not hear from you.
Call members of the House of Representatives and let them know the importance of the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Fund is again in serious jeopardy of being eliminated as an offset for extending the current federal student loan rate.
On top of eliminating the Fund in future years, the bill would also rescind all unobligated funds. If you are set to receive federal dollars through the Fund this year, this bill will eliminate those resources.
The full text of the student loan bill is here. Section 3 repeals the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
The Fund already took a hit earlier this year and was stripped of $6.25 billion to offset freezing the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula for doctors for 10 months. This current attempt will effectively destroy it.
Call your Representatives and let them know why maintaining funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund benefits your state and their constituents. Let them know what you have used/are using the Fund for in your state. Swift action from the public health community is absolutely vital. Here is a link to the roll call vote from April 2011 on repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund so you can see how your Representative voted then.
Talking Points
Cutting prevention and public health - both ongoing and new efforts - is a shortsighted and dangerous approach, risking Americans' health and lives now and in the future. I urge that you not reduce federal support for public health and prevention.
Our state relies heavily on the Section 317 Immunization program to vaccinate underserved children. Repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund would strip $190 million from the program for Fiscal Year 2012 alone. We cannot make up that loss, leaving thousands of children without vital immunizations.
Through the Prevention and Public Health Fund, our state utilizes funding from the National Public Health Improvement Initiative. This program aims to improve the delivery of necessary public health services. Public health capacity will be improved and made more efficient through this investment. Without the help of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, it will be difficult to achieve these standards.
The public health system in the United States is underfunded and often stretched thin. Additionally, state budget cuts have further eroded public health system capacity. In the last two years alone, these budget cuts have led to the loss of more than 52,000 jobs at state and local health agencies, this equates to 17 percent of the state public health workforce, and 22 percent of the local public health workforce.
The continued availability of this funding is vital to support state and community efforts to end chronic illness, save lives, and save billions of dollars in long-term healthcare spending. As a nation we spend $2.35 trillion, or 17.3 percent of GDP, on healthcare. If we don't get healthcare treatment costs under control, our nation's economic stability will be in serious jeopardy. We must not delay in getting control of our nation's poor health.
State-specific stories: Please discuss how cuts to or the elimination of the Fund would affect specific programs in your state.
Contacting a Congressional Office
- The U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 can connect you with your Representative. It is best to call the Washington Office, not the local district or state office. To look up your Representatives, go online to www.house.gov and search by State, or use your ASTHO Congressional Directory.
- Ask to speak with the staff person who handles education or healthcare issues for the office.
- When you reach the staffer, very briefly identify your professional affiliation and work related to public health and the Prevention and Public Health Fund using the talking points provided and state-specific information to bring home the message that this investment benefits their constituents.
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About ASTHO |
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The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is the national nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice. | |