Dear Chairmen Blunt and Cole and Ranking Members Murray and DeLauro:
On behalf of the undersigned 86 organizations, we are writing to thank you for your continued
support for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the FY 2018 appropriations
process, specifically the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
We strongly urge your continued support through the conference by providing the higher program
levels from either the House or Senate bills.
Our nation’s leading causes of death and disability – heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, arthritis,
epilepsy and others – place a disproportionate burden on American families and employers. These
diseases are largely preventable and the associated complications from these chronic diseases are
largely controllable, yet they remain the leading causes of death and disability. We need a sizeable
investment in chronic disease prevention and control programs to bend the cost curve in healthcare
spending.
As we look to FY 2019 funding decisions, we will continue to support sustained categorical funding
for Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention, Million
Heart, and tobacco control programs operated through state health agencies in partnership with
communities across America. We also encourage sustained funding for key cancer programs within
the Center including breast & cervical, colorectal, prostate, ovarian, and skin cancer, registries, and
cancer survivorship, along with Prevention Research Centers, Healthy Schools, REACH, Arthritis,
Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, lupus, and other health promotion programs.
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