All attention in Washington has turned to the November elections and the current financial crisis. Nevertheless, public health continues to be a topic of discussion spurred by events like the recent hurricanes and salmonella outbreak in peppers.
Public Health Funding Update
Congress is likely to pass a continuing resolution at least through October or November in order to keep government programs running. None of the thirteen appropriations bills for FY09 have been completed thus far. Details of a continuing resolution have not yet been made public but NACCHO will provide more information as it becomes available.
Public Health Surveillance Bill Introduced
On September 16 the National Integrated Public Health Surveillance Systems and Reportable Conditions Act was introduced by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) (S.3476) and Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Lee Terry (R-NE) (HR 6905). A coalition of groups including NACCHO, the American Public Health Association, Association of Public Health Laboratories, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Infectious Diseases Society of America endorsed the bill.
The legislation enhances existing programs at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to help public health institutions identify and monitor the occurrence of infectious diseases, track the effects of contaminated food and water, and address other public health issues. It will also improve the detection of new and emerging infectious disease threats, including laboratory capacity to detect anti-microbial resistant infections, identify and respond to disease outbreaks, and hire and train necessary professional staff.
The bill will improve electronic disease reporting by state and local health departments and public health laboratories, as well as provide for advanced training for key members of the public health workforce. The bill also calls on the CDC to develop a process for determining a list of diseases and conditions that must be reported to federal, state, or local health officials.
Public Health Bills Advance
The Sewage Overflow Right to Know Act (S. 2080) was passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on September 17. This bill requires that sewage treatment plants notify the public after an overflow that could affect the public’s health and ensures dissemination of information about sewage spills into local stream, rivers, and playgrounds. NACCHO has joined a coalition of groups led by American Rivers to advocate for the passage of this bill.
The Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act (HR 1532) on September 18. The bill would give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the authority to respond to international outbreaks of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and increase funds for the CDC’s National Program for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. The bill would also expand TB research at CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) into effective public health interventions; new diagnostic and treatment tools; testing the safety and efficacy of new drugs and vaccines. Research would also be focused on at-risk populations and the relationship between TB and HIV/AIDS. This legislation also increases training and education for health professionals and the public. NACCHO has endorsed HR 1532.
NACCHO Raises Awareness of Need for HIV Prevention
NACCHO supplied written testimony to the House Oversight Committee in response to their September 16 hearing on HIV Prevention and Incidence Estimates. At this hearing, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health and testified about the current state of HIV prevention efforts and the recently released estimate by the CDC of 56,000 new cases of HIV per year. NACCHO’s testimony calls attention to the local public health role in HIV prevention and the need to redouble efforts to fight the spread of HIV. Specifically, NACCHO advocates for:
- Increased support to CDC and other federal agencies for HIV prevention and care programs;
- Increased investment to support the nation’s public health infrastructure;
- Federal, state, and local policies that allow flexibility to meet identified needs through evidence-based prevention messages, strategies, and programs;
- The use of CDC recommendations that call for making HIV testing a part of routine medical care, and putting into practice new models for diagnosing HIV infection outside the medical setting; and
- Development and adequate funding of a comprehensive HIV surveillance system that will allow LHDs to use the limited resources available for prevention and public education as effectively as possible, to evaluate the results, and to project the future course of the epidemic.
The full statement submitted by NACCHO can be found here.
Prevention Resolution Gains Support
Representatives Roybal-Allard (D-CA), McGovern (D-WA), Granger (R-TX), Moran (D-VA), DeGette (D-CO) and Castle (R-DE) have introduced H.Res. 1381, a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be an increased Federal commitment to prioritizing prevention and public health for all Americans. The purpose of the resolution is to begin building support for strong prevention and public health provisions in health reform bills expected to be crafted next year. In the resolution, the House pledges to helping the United States be the healthiest nation by supporting an increased investment in Federal public health programs to at least 1 percent of total Federal spending within 5 years of the passage of this resolution. The resolution has gained more than 100 co-sponsors in the House. Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Clinton (D-NY) have sponsored a similar resolution in the Senate (S.Res. 640).
