Legal Actions APHA Has Been Part Of:

Coalition Sues Trump EPA for Failure to Implement Life-Saving National Soot Standard

APHA and leading health organizations sue EPA over proposal to allow power plants to release more mercury and other toxic pollutants

APHA and several organizations sue EPA over illegal repeal of climate protections

Leading Public Health Groups Seek Expedited Injunctive Relief Against Immunization Schedule Changes, Upcoming ACIP Meeting; Hearing Scheduled Friday, February 13

APHA Joins Others to Sue HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Unlawful, Unilateral Vaccine Changes

Massive Coalition of Unions, Non-Profit Groups, and Local Governments File Omnibus Challenge to Unconstitutional Reorganization of Federal Government

Researchers Challenge NIH's Politically Driven Grant Cancellations

Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order on OMB Freeze

Lawsuit filed challenging the DOGE’s secret operations

The Latest on How APHA Is Protecting Public Health (as of May 1, 2026)

APHA joins comments opposing HUD rule that would deny housing assistance to U.S. citizens and lawfully-present immigrants

On April 21, APHA joined the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition in submitting comments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development opposing the agency’s proposed rule targeting lawfully-present immigrants and U.S. citizens in immigrant families. 

The proposed rule singles out “mixed families,” which the proposal defines as families “whose members include those with citizenship or eligible immigration status, and those without citizenship or eligible immigration status.” In so doing, the proposal punishes U.S. citizens, while doing nothing to increase the availability of affordable housing and help all families live in safe and stable housing, regardless of immigration status. It also forces millions of citizens to go through an unproven and flawed system to prove their status.

The proposed rule ignores federal law and would change this longstanding policy by denying housing assistance to eligible individuals — including U.S. citizens and lawfully-present immigrants — just because someone else in their family has not claimed having citizenship or eligible immigration status.

APHA urges Congress to support strong funding for public health data system modernization efforts

On April 21, APHA joined other leading health organizations in sending a letter to House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education appropriations subcommittee leaders thanking them for their continued commitment to modernize the nation’s public health data systems. The organizations encouraged the subcommittee to advance a Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that supports the modernization and long-term sustainability of public health data infrastructure. The groups are asking Congress to provide $340 million for public health data modernization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in FY 2027. Additionally, the groups are requesting $55 million in support of response-ready enterprise data integration and $100 million for the CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics. 

In the letter, the health organizations noted that public health data modernization funding is critical to support state, Tribal, local and territorial health departments in detecting and responding to disease threats. The need for modernized public health data systems extends beyond emergency response and is applicable to monitoring chronic disease, environmental hazards and emerging infections alike. Without reliable, interoperable systems, agencies are forced to rely on fragmented, manual processes that slow responses and create gaps in critical information, leaving communities exposed.

APHA urges House to reject anti-environment Farm Bill

On April 24, APHA and 232 other organizations sent a letter to Congress opposing the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The letter urges Congress to reject the bill and instead, work on crafting bipartisan legislation that invests in public health and the environment. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Farm Bill, H.R. 7567, on Apr. 28 by a partisan vote of 224-200. The passed bill fails to restore a $187 billion cut to SNAP funding made last year that would impact the over 41 million Americans who depend on the program for reliable nutrition. The bill also includes anti-environment and anti-conservation provisions, such as a $1 billion cut to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) that helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands.

As the bill now waits for Senate consideration, APHA will urge Senators to include the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity Farm Bill 2026 priorities, which include stronger SNAP benefits, investment in food and nutrition security research, and making nutrition safety net programs more accessible. 

APHA endorses the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act

On April 27, APHA endorsed H.R. 8400, the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act, legislation introduced by Congressional Vision Caucus co-chairs Marc Veasey (D-TX) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). The bill would establish grants through the Health Resources and Services Administration to be awarded for programs that provide vision screenings, eye exams and follow-up vision treatment, as well as grants for state-based data collection and guidance. 

Evidence shows that problems with children’s vision have been shown to preclude or limit their lifelong academic, extracurricular and social success. Despite that, there is currently no federal program supporting diagnosis and treatment for children’s vision problems. The Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act would fill that gap and support existing state and community vision programs. “Strong public health investments into programs that identify and address vision problems in children are an essential building block for raising a generation of children with clear, healthy, functional vision,” APHA CEO Georges C. Benjamin, MD, said in a statement.

Watch: Making sense of the buzzwords and protecting public health

You’ve probably heard the buzzwords — "Big Beautiful Bill," "Reconciliation," "FY 2025," "FY 2026," "Rescission Package." What do these terms mean, and how could they impact public health funding in your community?

Watch: When Cutting Costs, Costs Health: What You Need to Know about Federal Policy Changes

In June and July, the U.S. Congress passed two large bills that formally upend decades of public health work in the U.S. and abroad. To pay for tax cuts, Congress - with pressure from the President - changed eligibility criteria for Medicaid, SNAP, and codified funding cuts for global health and democracy programs and public broadcasting.