ASTHO Comments on the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act

March 29, 2023

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) is pleased to provide comments in response to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions request for information in their deliberations to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). As the national nonprofit organization representing state and territorial public health officials, ASTHO recognizes the need for strong federal support for state and territorial public health preparedness to maintain and advance public health emergency response capacity.

A collaborative national preparedness effort requires a clear understanding of roles, responsibilities, and resource support across federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal (SLTT) health agencies. SLTT health agencies are critical to our nation's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies and threats. Principally, they ensure their jurisdictions’ health through their inherent—and often legal—authority to protect and promote the populations' health, safety, and general welfare. SLTT public health departments have repeatedly demonstrated their robust ability to protect the health and safety of their populations from the effects of natural and people-made disasters. Yet these capacities can degrade rapidly without the support of federal grants, policies, and community and business practices that foster coordinated planning and response activities.

Please download the PDF for ASTHO's full comments on the specific questions included in the Request for Information.