ASPPH Statement on the Senate Labor Health and Human Services & Education Appropriations Bill

August 2, 2024 -The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) is pleased by the Senate's approval of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations bill, which increases investment in federal public health programs. ASPPH has long advocated for enhanced funding for public health agencies, and despite the budget constraints set two years ago, the current funding levels are substantial. This Senate bill contrasts sharply with the House version, which proposed a $1.7 billion cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget-a 22% reduction for the nation's leading public health agency. We particularly commend the Committee's support for initiatives that are important to advancing the mission of academic public health and ASPPH members.

We are glad to see increased funding for key public health agencies including:

• $9.198 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is an increase of $173 million over FY 2024, including $31.9 million for the Prevention Research Centers (PRCs), which is an increase of $3 million, $9.2 million for the Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness, and $70 million for the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics
• $50.224 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $2.05 billion above the FY 2024 enacted level, and $1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
• $8.9 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), including $10.2 million for both Preventative Medicine Residencies (PMR) and Public Health Training Centers (PHTCs), which is the same as the FY 2024 enacted level
• $376 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a $7 million increase to the FY 2024 enacted level, along with an additional $126 million in mandatory funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund

The funding increase for the NIH budget, is particularly welcome. The agency serves as the primary federal funder of important research at our nation's schools and programs of public health. This includes population-based research, disease interventions, and public health evaluation. Funding for the NIH base budget is essential to ensure ongoing work at the Institutes and Centers. As a leading advocate for the Fogarty International Center (FIC), we are pleased to see approximately $95.2 million for the center, which is slightly above the FY 2024 level. ASPPH is also encouraged by the support proposed for ARPA-H. We urge collaborations between ARPA-H and academic public health partners to better catalyze research linked to public health needs.

ASPPH is very pleased with the Senate bill's investment of $365 million, an increase of $15 million, for Public Health Infrastructure and Capacity to bolster the nation's public health infrastructure and workforce. This funding is necessary to ensure proper readiness and response to the next public health crisis. However, we are disappointed once again that funding the Senate bill did not include funding was not included in the President's Budget request or the House or Senate bills for the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program. This program was reauthorized by Congress two years ago and is vital to make it possible for more public health graduates to work in governmental public health jobs. State, local, tribal and territorial health departments struggle to recruit a workforce with the education, training, and technical skills that our graduates bring to meet the challenges of current public health threats and challenges. We strongly urge that this important loan repayment program be funded in the future, and we will continue to advocate for full funding of $100 million that would help recruit thousands of skilled public health workers. We are also pleased with the language in the bill that the Committee "supports efforts to increase access to diagnostic testing, including rapid diagnostics; expand the availability of treatment; and bolster public health strategies to prevent hepatitis C."

We are grateful to the Senate for expanding funding for critical public health agencies in the FY 2025 Labor-HHS-ED spending bill but are disappointed with the House bill, which drastically reduces funding for key programs within HHS. We support the Senate's higher funding level of proper preparedness for public health emergencies.

As this critical spending bill moves to conference negotiations between the House and Senate, we hope additional resources can be identified to expand several programs above the Senate level to support expanded academic public health partnerships in support of key federal activities, including forecasting and outbreak analytics, preparedness centers, prevention research centers, and workforce development. Fully engaging the capacity, knowledge, and expertise of schools and programs of public health will make our nation healthier and safer.