[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2099-S2100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Schatz, Mr.

[[Page S2100]]

        Casey, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Smith, Ms. Baldwin, 
        Ms. Warren, Mr. Reed, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. 
        Duckworth, and Mr. Brown):
  S. 1995. A bill to support public health infrastructure; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, they say an ounce of prevention is 
worth a pound of cure, and the COVID pandemic showed us just how 
painfully true that is when it comes to public health.
  Our public health system is our frontline defense--not only against 
deadly diseases and pandemics; it also aids in addressing the opioid 
and fentanyl crisis, preventing chronic conditions like diabetes and 
heart disease, protecting our food and water supply, and a lot more.
  But despite our public health system's central role in protecting our 
communities, keeping our families safe and healthy, and preventing 
major disruptions in our lives, our public health system was sorely 
underfunded before COVID struck, and it has been seriously overwhelmed 
ever since. We have--thank goodness--gotten a much better grasp on 
COVID, but who in their right mind would look at the last few years and 
think funding public health is probably something we can put on the 
back burner?
  We have to do better. We have to apply the lessons we learned and 
start thinking ahead now so we are never caught unprepared again. We 
have to end this cycle of crisis and complacency when it comes to 
building and maintaining strong public health infrastructure because 
the simple fact of the matter is public health infrastructure saves 
lives, and the better funded and prepared our public health system is 
before a crisis, the more lives we will save during one.
  And make no mistake, the question is not whether there will be a new 
threat; it is: When is the next crisis going to strike? Will we be 
ready next time?
  We cannot afford to treat public health like a one-and-done issue, 
which is why I am here today reintroducing my bill to provide $4.5 
billion in dedicated annual funding to support core public health 
capabilities at every level so we can protect our public health system 
from complacency and hostage-taking and drastic cuts.
  The Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act would make much-
needed investments at the CDC, and, crucially, it would establish a 
grant program to support health departments all across our country. 
This funding would meet a wide variety of needs in communities across 
America. Health departments could use it to make sure they do robust 
contact tracing and stop outbreaks in their tracks, have adequate lab 
capacity to address public health threats, and have a surge workforce 
available in an emergency to save lives.
  This funding would empower our public health departments to make sure 
lifesaving information reaches everyone: people who don't speak 
English, people with disabilities, or people who don't have access to 
the internet. It would help officials conduct public awareness 
campaigns and fight misinformation and get really basic but essential 
information out, like when and where to find a vaccine clinic.
  Public health departments could also use this funding as they update 
their IT and data systems to help them more quickly identify threats 
before they become full-blown outbreaks. And it would help us collect 
more consistent, comprehensive demographic data so we can see and 
address gaps in our responses and get the resources where they are 
needed the most.
  It would also help our departments hire and train and retain the 
people they need. That is really important. A recent survey actually 
showed that nearly half of all our State and local public health 
workers left their jobs between 2017 and 2020, citing harassment or 
retirement. Post COVID, public health workers are more burnt out than 
ever and in dire need of reinforcements. This funding will help provide 
that and a lot more.
  And, critically, this would be dedicated annual funding. That would 
do so much to help take the possibility of cuts and chaos off the table 
and put us on track to build the kind of world-class public health 
system that our communities deserve, the kind our families need to keep 
them safe.
  And here is the thing: Every dollar that we invest now saves us much 
more in the long run. When we tackle public health threats now--staving 
off major outbreaks, major disruption--we save in a really big way down 
the line. We should all know by now we can't take public health for 
granted. We have seen real momentum and support for this from 
communities who understand all too well we need a strong public health 
system at every level.
  It is time for Congress to show we get it too. It is time for us to 
invest in prevention, invest in public health in a serious way, because 
when we say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we 
are talking about stopping the next global pandemic and the next global 
economic crisis in its tracks, which will save lives and livelihoods.
  So let's not make public health funding partisan. I urge my 
Republican colleagues to support this legislation. If you are 
skeptical, talk to me. A nominal investment in public health is a major 
payoff in terms of economic security and keeping our families safe and 
healthy. It seems like a pretty good deal to me.
  I hope we can all work together and pass the Public Health 
Infrastructure Saves Lives Act.

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