Coalition for Health Funding: Group Letter to Congressional Leadership on FY 2004 Budget Resolution Conference



Home Members Board of Directors Testimony Correspondence Public Health Continuum Public Health 101: The leading Challenges for the U.S. in the Coming Decade	Correspondence March 27, 2003 The Honorable Dennis Hastert Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Urgent Budget Resolution Conference Issue Dear Speaker Hastert: The undersigned organizations urge you to support the Senate Budget Resolution's higher allocation for discretionary spending within Function 550 which supports federal public health programs and activities. The House Budget Resolution, by contrast, is exceedingly disappointing and the undersigned organizations urge you to reject its much lower allocation for public health. While there have been reports that the House Budget Resolution contains a 1 percent across-the-board cut in discretionary spending for FY 2004, for health discretionary programs - those agencies and programs comprising the U.S. Public Health Service - the cut is $1.4 billion, or fully 2.8 percent below the FY 2003 funding level. The Senate Budget Resolution, by contrast, boosts Function 550 by nearly $3 billion over FY 2003 and is $4.3 billion higher than Function 550 in the House Budget Resolution. Cuts of the magnitude in the House Budget Resolution will devastate critical safety net programs at a time when the nation continues to experience increasing numbers of uninsured, unacceptable disparities in health and serious shortages in a range of health professions. These safety net programs are even more essential now that states are facing their worst fiscal crises since World War II. These cuts will damage both infectious and chronic disease prevention activities when serious threats like antimicrobial resistance, West Nile Virus and pandemic flu are growing; hamper on-going efforts to address costly chronic diseases and disabilities that have reached epidemic proportions like diabetes and asthma and those that continue to rob millions of Americans of life and function such as heart disease and cancer; harm those who suffer from serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders and who depend on public systems for care; impede the efforts of the National Institutes of Health, a renowned research enterprise that is envied by the world; and weaken other federal health research endeavors that address health services, health statistics, and disease prevention and health promotion. In summary, this budget is harmful to the health of the American people. The undersigned organizations, in the strongest terms, urge you to support the higher allocation for these critical public health programs in the Senate Budget Resolution and reject the House's devastating treatment of vital health programs. To respond to this letter, please contact Dr. Marcia Mabee, Executive Director, Coalition for Health Funding: 703-709-3001; mmabee@ix.netcom.com; 11479 Waterview, Suite 200, Reston, VA 20190. Sincerely, Academy of General Dentistry AIDS Action Council Alliance for Aging Research Alpha-1 Foundation Ambulatory Pediatric Association American Academy of Neurology American Academy of Nurse Practitioners American Academy of Pediatrics American Academy of Physician Assistants American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases American Association of Colleges of Nursing American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy American Association of Pastoral Counselors American College of Clinical Pharmacy American College of Dentists American College of Nurse-Midwives American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians American College of Physicians - American Society of Internal Medicine American College of Preventive Medicine American College of Rheumatology American Dental Association American Dental Education Association American Diabetes Association American Dietetic Association American Foundation for AIDS Research American Gastroenterological Association American Heart Association American Lung Association American Mental Health Counselors Association American Nurses Association American Occupational Therapy Association American Osteopathic Associations American Pediatric Society American Physiological Society American Podiatric Medical Association American Psychiatric Association American Psychiatric Nurses Association American Psychological Association American Psychological Society American Public Health Association American School Health Association American Society for Microbiology American Society of Hematology American Society of Nephrology American Thoracic Society America's Blood Centers Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare Association for the Advancement of Psychology Association of Academic Health Centers Association of Air Medical Services Association of American Medical Colleges Association of Departments of Family Medicine Association of Family Practice Residency Directors Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs Association of Minority Health Professions Schools Association of Population Centers Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Association of Public Health Laboratories Association of Reproductive Health Professionals Association of Schools of Public Health Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine Association of University Centers on Disabilities Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Child Welfare League of America Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation Coalition for American Trauma Care Coalition for Children's Health Coalition for Health Funding Consortium of Social Science Associations Cooley's Anemia Foundation Coriell Institute for Medical Research Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Developmental Disabilities Research Centers Association Digestive Disease National Coalition Dystonia Medical Research Foundation Every Child By Two Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health Hepatitis Foundation International Human Rights Campaign Immune Deficiency Foundation International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders International Pemphigus Foundation International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Jeffrey Modell Foundation Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Legal Action Center March of Dimes NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals National AHEC Organization National Alliance for the Mentally Ill National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors National Association of Children's Hospitals National Association of County and City Health Officials National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors National Association of Local Boards of Health National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems National Association of Social Workers National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors National Caucus of Basic Biomedical Science Chairs National Coalition of STD Directors National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence National Health Council National Marfan Foundation National Mental Health Association National Minority AIDS Council National Multiple Sclerosis Society National Stroke Association NephCure Foundation North American Primary Care Research Group Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Population Association of America Pulmonary Hypertension Association Research!America Society for Adolescent Medicine Society for Investigative Dermatology Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Society for Neuroscience Society for Pediatric Research Society for Public Health Education Society for Research in Child Development Society of General Internal Medicine Society of Teachers of Family Medicine State Associations of Addiction Services Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Association Suicide Prevention Action Network USA The Genome Action Coalition The Gerontological Society of America The Protein Society Trust For America's Health Cc: Rep. C.W. (Bill) Young Rep. David Obey Rep. Ralph Regula
©2008 Coalition for Health Funding

Correspondence

March 27, 2003