Public Witness Testimony – Fiscal Year 2024 LHHS Appropriations Submitted by:

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) May 18, 2023 Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) is pleased to submit testimony on the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill. [...] The cooperative agreement supports 62 state, local, and territorial recipients to develop and strengthen core preparedness capabilities and is the main federal program that supports the work of health departments in preparing for and responding to all types of disasters, including bioterrorism, natural disasters, and infectious disease outbreaks. [...] The Healthcare Readiness and Recovery Portfolio, including the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP), administered by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at HHS, provides critical funding and technical assistance to health care coalitions (HCCs) across the country to meet the disaster healthcare needs of communities. [...] CDC has recognized the association between ACEs, suicides, and substance use disorders, and that the prevention of ACEs could reduce cases of depression in adults by an estimated 44 percent.5 To help address these issues, CDC has worked to build the evidence base by funding innovative research and evaluation, supporting surveillance and data innovation, and identifying strategies and building capa. [...] TFAH recommends funding for a CDC Healthy Aging unit to promote the health and well-being of older adults, advance health equity and reduce healthcare costs by developing Age-Friendly Public Health Systems (AFPHS) at state, local, territorial, and tribal health departments.