ASTHO Statement on House FY20 Appropriations Bill

May 02, 2019

ARLINGTON, VA—Michael Fraser, chief executive officer of ASTHO, issued the following statement applauding the House FY20 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.

“This bill sends a clear message to the American people—now is the time to invest in the agencies and programs designed to protect and promote the health of the entire population. We are encouraged by the proposed funding increases for HRSA, CDC, ASPR, SAMHSA, and other federal agencies that work directly with governmental public health. We applaud commitment to increase CDC topline funding level $921 million above FY19. This funding level is in line with ASTHO and over eighty national organizations to increase CDC’s topline funding level 22 percent by FY22. Increased investments in public health are sorely needed and the FY20 House LHHS bill will provide support for state, territorial, and local public health departments to address the ongoing opioid crisis, reduce the rates of HIV transmission, improve our data infrastructure, and provide the necessary resources to continue to address chronic disease prevention and health promotion.”

“We are deeply grateful for the efforts of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, however the promise of this bill will not realized unless Congress addresses the looming sequestration cuts. We therefore strongly urge Congress to develop a bipartisan budget deal to raise the caps for non-defense discretionary spending.”

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.