Safe States and Partners Oppose Proposed Cuts to Health Funding

ATLANTA, July 8, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Safe States and 164 medical, public health, non-profit, and research organizations representing the Injury and Violence Prevention Network and allied organizations strongly oppose the proposed $1.8 billion in cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including zeroing out of funding for the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), and call upon Congress to prioritize health by rejecting the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations proposed funding bill for fiscal year 2025.

Injuries and violence remain critical public health threats facing the United States. According to the CDC, in the first half of life, more Americans die from violence and injuries — such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, suicides, homicides, or opioid overdoses — than from any other cause, including cancer, HIV, or the flu. Yet, with support, injuries and violence are predictable and preventable.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS FY 2025 proposed funding measure calls for drastic cuts and restructuring of major health agencies, including a 22 percent cut to the CDC. The proposal would eliminate the CDC’s NCIPC, cutting $761 million in critical programs such as firearm injury and mortality research, suicide prevention, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) prevention, opioid overdose prevention, and so much more, will devastate communities.

According to Safe States Executive Director Richard Hamburg, “Investing in public health prevention programs is an essential role of government. While unintentional injuries alone are the leading cause of death for 1-44 year olds, the financial toll of injuries and violence in the US is $4.2 trillion. The return on investment for programs like traumatic brain injury screenings, youth suicide prevention programs, elder fall prevention, and transportation safety is significant.”

Now is the time to build upon current investments rather than erase progress through deep funding cuts to programs fundamental to creating healthier lives and communities. Robust investment in the CDC and its diverse array of programming is vital to America’s health and well-being. The Injury Center provides distinct primary prevention programming, research, and evaluation that is not duplicative to programs across other agencies, and the proposed cuts would effectively undo decades of progress toward a safe and healthy future. “The proposed evisceration of the CDC’s Injury Center is short-sighted, with real-life consequences,” said Hamburg.

Formed in 1993, the Safe States Alliance is the only national non-profit organization and professional association comprised of public health injury and violence prevention professionals representing all U.S. states and territories. Safe States' mission is to strengthen the practice of injury and violence prevention and be the recognized leader and driving force in understanding and preventing injuries and violence, a leading cause of death for ages 1-64 in the U.S.

Source: Safe States Alliance