Talking Points for May 2007 Hill Visits

APHA

1. The American Public Health Association (APHA), is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world, dedicated to protecting all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and assuring community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States.

Public Health Funding

1. Both the President’s FY 2006 budget - and the FY 2006 appropriations process – which cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and other critical public health programs, terminating 10 programs all together – dramatically underscores the need to educate the Administration and the public at large about the vital role of public health programs in the United States.
2. America’s public health system has historically used federal funding in a cost efficient manner to serve the greater good and, if given the necessary funding, is poised to make significant additional progress.
3. At a time when the nation’s state and local health departments are already severely understaffed and being asked to do more, funding should be added, not excluded, to protect the lives of Americans. Continued underfunding undermines the progress we have made to date and will have future consequences that will leave us unprepared for a terror attack, infectious disease outbreak, or other public health emergency.
4. I recognize the difficult budget choices Congress needs to make this year, and I look forward to working with you to address these critical priorities for the protection of the public’s health.

Built Environment & the Healthy Places Act

1. What is the built environment? The built environment is any infrastructure with which children come in contact on a daily basis including homes, schools, parks, roads, walkways and businesses. Health challenges include access to medical and preventive health services, quality of and access to schools and housing, economic opportunities, social capital, air and water quality and opportunities for physical activity.
2. The impact of the built environment has a greater impact on minorities and low-income communities. Without access to quality housing, disadvantaged populations are disproportionately exposed to lead, pest, air pollutants, contaminates and great social risk.
3. Access to primary and preventive health care vitally important for a child's health. This care includes regular contact with a medical professional, and allows developmental and other health problems to be identified and treated early in a child’s life. Primary care providers are able to provide family-centered, comprehensive, coordinated care, including a more complete medical assessment when a screening indicates a child is at risk for a developmental problem.
4. Chronic illnesses associated with lack of physical activity include obesity, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, depression, heart disease, several types of cancer, and high blood pressure. Only about half of children aged 12-21 engage in regular physical activity, and children spend an average of at least one hour each day in cars.

Researchers estimate that smog from traffic congestion can cause more than 6 million asthma attacks, causing 159,000 asthma-related emergency-room visits, and 53,000 asthma-related hospitalizations in a single year.