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Campaign News
Kelly Leads Effort to Protect Federal Aid for Preventive Health Services in Hudson Valley March 15, 2006 Congresswoman, Coalition of House Members Seek to Restore Funds in Budget Federal Funding Helps Local Health Departments Fight Lyme Disease WASHINGTON – U.S. Congresswoman Sue Kelly is co-leading an effort in the House of Representatives to protect federal funding for the Center for Disease Control’s Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant program, which provides state and local health departments with critical federal funds to address community health issues. For the second consecutive year, the Administration’s federal budget proposal has called for the elimination of PHHS block grants. Last year, Kelly and other members of Congress successfully restored funding for the grants that help state and local health departments implement preventive health measures in their communities. The Dutchess County Department of Health, for example, uses PHHS block grants toward prevention efforts for Lyme disease and other health concerns in the Hudson Valley. Kelly and U.S. Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) have organized the effort again this year to restore the preventive health services funding in the budget. More than 80 other House members have joined them this week in writing to Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies in support of PHHS Block Grants. “There are few grants, other than the PHHS Block Grant, that states may use to address their own unique health challenges,” Kelly and the lawmakers wrote. “Many states have documented that investing block grant dollars results in improved health care outcomes and significant cost savings.” Kelly, Udall, and the coalition of House members noted that state and local health departments have used PHHS Block Grants to address such wide-ranging public health issues as heart disease, diabetes, child car seat safety, suicide prevention, and foodborne infections. “Block grant funding is used to address important health issues for which there is no other federal support, for underfunded public health priorities, and to respond to unanticipated public health emergencies,” they wrote. “We strongly believe that the PHHS Block Grant program is a wise use of federal funds,” stressed Kelly and the other lawmakers. “Eliminating the program will force state and local health departments to eliminate or drastically reduce some of their most important public health activities.” Dutchess County Health Commissioner Michael Caldwell, immediate past president of the National Association of County & City Health Officials, said PHHS Block Grants are critical to Dutchess County’s efforts to fight Lyme disease and address other local health concerns. “Dutchess County depends on this source of flexible support to augment local and state funds for prevention,” Dr. Caldwell said. “They particularly help us control Lyme disease, a problem in our area for which there is no other federal assistance.” Caldwell added, “Local health departments across the country, who all work on the front lines to protect and promote the health of their communities, join me in thanking Congresswoman Kelly for her extraordinary leadership in public health.” Kelly also is involved in budget-related efforts to preserve Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for Hudson Valley counties – which are critical to local economic development needs – and Clean Water State Revolving Funds that are critical to helping local towns and villages maintain their water treatment systems. “Fiscal responsibility is imperative in the federal budget and we need to set priorities,” Kelly said. “But the funding provided to our local area for health services and disease prevention must remain among those priorities. We can’t be cutting the federal assistance that is in fact successful and making a difference in our communities.” |
LINKS TO KEY WASHINGTON NEWS SOURCES
PO Box 599 Katonah, NY 10536 sue@suekellyforcongress.com