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Contact: Media Relations
Funding increases outlined in the President Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget proposal would bolster the public health system’s ability to combat the many urgent challenges facing the nation, according to the American Public Health Association.
The president’s proposed budget provides $131.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, representing a 23.5% increase from 2021. In addition, the proposal allocates $8.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a $1.6 billion increase over fiscal year 2021.
“I believe that this budget represents an overdue investment in the health of all Americans,” said APHA Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD. “We appreciate its renewed focus on a number of public health priorities that have been overlooked for some time.”
The president’s proposed budget provides significantly increased funding for a number of critical public health issues, including:
- doubling funding for gun violence prevention research at CDC and the National Institutes of Health;
- a $100 million increase in funding for CDC’s climate and health program (currently funded at $10 million);
- $153 million for CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program to support states and territories in improving health equity and data collection for racial and ethnic populations;
- $10.7 billion to help end the opioid crisis (an increase of $3.9 billion over the 2021 enacted level);
- more than $200 million to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates nationwide;
- $670 million to support the critical effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States (an increase of $267 million over the 2021 enacted level);
- A 21.3% increase for Environmental Protection Agency discretionary funding over the 2021 enacted level – including funding to strength the agency’s staff and to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
- $936 million for a new Accelerating Environmental and Economic Justice initiative through the EPA to improve racial equity and promote environmental justice in historically neglected communities.
“We strongly welcome the proposed funding increases as outlined, and we look forward working with the administration and Congress to enact the strongest possible funding for public health,” Benjamin said. “This budget proposal is a strong step in the right direction that will need to continue for years to come in order for us to bolster and sustain critical public health programs, combat ongoing health inequities and achieve our goal of achieving a healthier nation in one generation.”
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The American Public Health Association champions the health of all people and all communities. We are the only organization that combines a nearly 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence federal policy to improve the public’s health. Learn more at www.apha.org.