APHA vote tally scores Congress on public health

As a new Congress begins, APHA has published an important new advocacy tool for holding our elected leaders accountable.

APHA’s voting record annually scores members of Congress on how they support public health. This year’s report tracks votes on important legislation in 2018.

“We reviewed hundreds of individual votes taken during the year and spotlighted six votes in the House and six in the Senate that reflect key priorities,” said Don Hoppert, APHA’s director of government relations.

Featured votes include actions to weaken menu labeling rules, fund federal health agencies, rescind funding for children’s health insurance, restrict abortion access and support nutrition programs through the farm bill. The report includes a description of each measure, the bill number, APHA’s position and how each member of Congress voted.

“We urge APHA members to use this as one measure to help evaluate their elected officials and to hold them accountable for their positions,” said Hoppert. “Building support in Congress is critically important to securing adequate funding for public health programs and ensuring policies that help improve the health of our communities.”

The congressional record was published in the February/March 2019 issue of The Nation’s Health. APHA members and subscribers of the newspaper can download a copy by visiting the newspaper online.

Learn how you can take action, including contacting your members of Congress, through APHA’s Speak for Health campaign.