How APHA Is Protecting Public Health (Updated October 7, 2025)

APHA has been part of successful litigation and action challenging some of the biggest threats to public health. Read the latest testimony, comments and briefs and read all public letters to congress and federal agencies from APHA, including:

Government shutdown kicks in as House and Senate partisan standoff continues over FY 2026 spending and expiring health tax credits

At 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, many of the federal government's operations came to a halt as Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open as the fiscal year ended. With House and Senate Republicans and Democrats failing to negotiate a bipartisan compromise to fund the federal government beyond the end of the 2025 fiscal year on Sept. 30, the parties remain in a standoff with an unclear outlook on how long a government shutdown might last.

APHA issued a statement urging Congress to work in a bipartisan effort to reopen the government and ensure all critical public health activities are adequately funded in any final FY 2026 funding bill. 

The House passed its version of a FY 2026 continuing resolution that would keep the government funded through Nov. 21 by a narrow margin on Sept. 19 and subsequently recessed with no plans to return before the inevitable shutdown. Before the House vote, APHA sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them to pass a bipartisan, short-term continuing resolution that at a minimum fully funds all critical public health agencies and programs, holds the administration accountable for spending both FY 2025 and FY 2026 funds as directed by Congress and includes provisions to permanently extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. 

On Sept. 30, the Senate voted to reject both the House-passed bill and a Democratic alternative that included a short-term funding extension as well as a permanent extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and other health policy and budgetary provisions.

APHA members can contact their members of Congress and urge them to prioritize public health funding as they work to finalize the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill by visiting APHA’s action alert site.

APHA urges the U.S. EPA to maintain and uphold its climate change and health endangerment finding

In late September, APHA joined with other leading health organizations and climate and health experts in submitting comments to the EPA on the agency’s proposal to rescind its 2009 endangerment finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten public health. 

This finding is the legal foundation of EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate climate pollution from vehicles, power plants and other major sources. Rolling back this authority would ignore decades of scientific evidence, violate EPA’s core mission and have devastating consequences for public health — especially for communities already overburdened by pollution and the effects of climate change. T

his proposal would also repeal EPA's greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks, neglecting the fact that the transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.  

Climate change is already endangering lives. In 2024, the U.S. experienced 27 separate billion-dollar extreme weather disasters, according to NOAA, resulting in hundreds of deaths and billions in damages. The health impacts — from wildfire smoke and ozone smog to heat illness and flood-related contamination — are becoming more frequent and more severe. These burdens fall hardest on low-income communities and communities of color. 

APHA joins nutrition and agriculture groups in advocating for farm bill passage

On Sept. 22, APHA joined 581 other national, state and local organizations in sending a letter to House and Senate leadership urging passage of a bipartisan, strong and fair farm bill that supports nutrition programs and access to healthy food. 

The letter explains that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act included devastating impacts to SNAP, which millions of Americans rely on for healthy and affordable food, and explains that passage of a farm bill must correct the damage done by the reconciliation legislation to prevent millions from going hungry. 

The letter urges Congressional leaders to craft a farm bill that restores adequate and accessible SNAP benefits to individuals and families, makes sure that food meets nutrition standards and is free of toxins, supports fair and competitive agricultural markets, and guarantees a living wage and protection from harm and harassment for food and farm workers. The letter also points out the harm done by the Trump administration’s ongoing reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including mass firings, office closures, funding freezes and award terminations, all which have a dire impact on the Department’s ability to serve farmers, rural small businesses and food-insecure communities.

Congress has not actually passed a full farm bill in nearly seven years, instead just extending the 2018 farm bill twice. In the absence of passage of a new farm bill, it’s likely the 2018 farm bill will have to be extended a third time. These extensions ignore much-needed updates, do harm to farm communities and exacerbate food insecurity across the nation.

APHA continues to work with the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and other groups on pressing Congress for a strong farm bill, strengthening the SNAP program for the millions of people who depend on it and other food assistance programs, and fighting against food insecurity in America

Get involved in the Speak for Health campaign 

Contact your elected officials about taking action on public health. Here are some things you can do to get involved:

• Familiarize yourself with APHA’s 2025 advocacy priorities.
• APHA members have sent over 10,000 action alerts this year — keep that momentum going and send a message to your member of Congress on public health funding or environmental protections.
• Check your representatives’ websites to find when their next town hall is so that you can attend and ask about their commitment to public health.
• Write an op-ed to submit to your local paper on the topic of public health in your community. You can request an op-ed template from us by emailing [email protected].

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.