November 2015

This week, the ATS joined a letter to the chairs of the Senate and House Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittees in support of increased CDC funding for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The letter, drafted by the CDC Coalition, points out that the agency's budget remains lower than it was in FY2010 and that FY2016 spending bills proposed earlier this year proposed significant funding cuts to a number of CDC programs, including the tobacco control program.

 "In addition to ensuring a strong public health infrastructure and protecting Americans from public health threats and emergencies, CDC programs are crucial to reducing health care costs and improving health," the letter states. "Despite the progress CDC has made to meet these needs, the agency's programs have been woefully underfunded to confront the myriad public health issues facing the nation."

Congressional appropriators are now working to finalize an omnibus spending measure to finalize government spending for FY2016 with a deadline of Dec. 11, 2015, when the current spending measure expires. If Congress does not finalize spending by this time, the federal government will shut down.