NYSPHA Current Federal Policy and Advocacy Actions and Alerts

07/09/2024 - NYSPHA joined over 1400 national, state and local organizations to urge the House and Senate to develop a Farm Bill that ensures that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps) is protected and strengthened and that benefit adequacy, equitable access, and program administration remain core tenets of the program.  Click <here> to read the letter. 

06/25/24 - NYSPHA cosigned a letter with over 1100 other national organizations to the Senate and House leadership urging them to reject arbitrary and damaging funding levels for the Fiscal Year 2025 federal budget and, at the very least, to fully appropriate the necessary non-defense discretionary (NDD) funds to keep pace with rising costs and demand.  Click <here> to read the letter.

06/03/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter to House and Senate Appropriations committees’ leadership urging they provide $35 million for CDC, $25 million for NIH, and $1 million for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention. Click <here> to read the letter.

05/14/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter to House and Senate Appropriations committees’ leadership urging that the Social Determinants of Health program at CDC be funded for at least $100 million.  Click <here> to read the letter. 

4/30/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter to the House and Senate and House Appropriations  committees’ leadership urging $340 million annually for Public Health Data Modernization program budget at CDC. . Click <here> to read the letter.

04/15/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the CDC Coalition to House Appropriations committee leadership in support for increased funding for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health in the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.  Click <here> to read the letter.

04/15/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the CDC Coalition to House and Senate Appropriations committee leadership in support for increased funding for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in the FY 2025 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. Click <here> to read the letter. 

03/26.2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the CDC Coalition to the leadership of the House Appropriations subcommittee for Labor and HHS urging inclusion of $11.581 billion for CDC’s programs in the FY 2025 budget. Click <here> to read the letter. 

02/26/24 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by, co-signed by over 300 other organizations, to the Senate leaders Schumer and McConnell, cc’ing all Senate members, asking them to support the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 and the Child Tax Credit provision it includes. Click <here> to read the letter.

02/22/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the American Cancer Society and other New York-based organizations to House Democratic leader Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) urging that they strongly support the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s proposed rules to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Click <here> and <here> to read the letters.

02/05/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by APHA and Trust for America’s Health to the House leadership urging that they not use the Prevention and Public Health Fund (Prevention Fund) as an offset for H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023. Click <here> to read the letter.

02/02/2024 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter to the EPA sponsored by the Action Network in support of proposed regulations to remove lead pipes from drinking water supplies. Click <here> to read the letter.

01/08/2024 - NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the Coalition on Human Needs urging the Congressional leadership to assure that Congress passes a final FY2024 budget and not a Continuing Resolution that would result in drastic funding cuts for non-defense discretionary funding. Click here to read the letter.

01/03/2024 - NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by Action on Smoking and Health urging United Nations member states to include anti-tobacco provisions in the next UN Pact for the Future. Click here to read the letter.

12/20/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the CDC Coalitions to the Congressional Leadership urging that they pass a FY 2024 federal budget including $11.581 billion for CDC. Click here to read the letter.

12/13/2023 - NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the Friends of HRSA to the Congressional Leadership urging that they pass a FY 2024 federal budget including $10.5 billion for HRSA. Click here to read the letter.

12/11/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter to Congress sponsored by the Coalition For Human Needs sign urging them to expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC), focusing on low-income children. This is one of the most effective ways to combat child poverty. Click here to read the letter.

12/06/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the National Consumer Law Center urging the Director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to not delay Fair Credit Reporting Act rule-making including banning the reporting of medical debt on credit reports. Click here to read the letter.

11/13/2023 – NYSPHA sent an APHA Alert to the entire NYSPHA membership allowing members to email their U.S. Representative urging that the U.S. House of Representatives not pass a continuing budget resolution with cuts to public health programs. 

11/10/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter urging Congress to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep essential government services running, including emergency funding to address urgent domestic funding needs including nutrition services such as WIC, child care, energy assistance, and the substance use crisis. Click here to read the letter.

10/23/2023 - NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by the New York Immigration Coalition to Senator Schumer urging him to ensure that the US Department of Health and Human Services finalized a proposed rule to expand health coverage for DACA recipients, crime victims, and immigrant children. Click here to read the letter.  

9/20/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter coordinated by the Trust for America’s Health to U.S. Senate committee chairs urging them not to cut funding to the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Click here to read the letter.

9/12/2023 – NYSPHA signed onto a letter coordinated by the Coalition on Human Needs to urge members of Congress to fulfill its  most basic duty to keep the government running. Click to read the letter.

8/8/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), a UN human rights body, containing comments on their draft general recommendation on racism and the right to health. This incorporates tobacco control the work of CERD and a way to hold countries accountable for tobacco control through human rights mechanisms. Click here to read the letter.

8/8/2023 – NYSPHA signed on to a letter sponsored by APHA and other national and state health orgs to the US EPA in support of its proposed rule to cut carbon emissions from the power sector and also urging EPA to strengthen certain parts of the rule and to ensure that communities located nearest to the power plants are not negatively impacted with increased air pollution as the result of any final rule. Click here to read the letter.

To read past Federal Policy, Advocacy Actions and Alerts, click here.