Stand Together

Public Health Threatened by Budget Cuts

We need your help. Right now, there is a major budget battle in Washington, DC and the health of our lungs and the air we breathe are at risk.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill, called HR 1, which, if agreed to by the Senate, would result in massive budget cuts for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies that help protect our lungs and general public health.

Although the American Lung Association acknowledges that the federal government has some really difficult decisions to make in trying to reduce spending, we also believe public health cannot be jeopardized. These budget cuts will have dire health consequences for all Americans, especially people with lung diseases, including lung cancer, asthma and emphysema.

HR 1 contains several cuts and provisions detrimental to public health:

• EPA's budget will be slashed by approximately one-third and the agency's ability to protect the public health from life-threatening air pollution will be severely limited.

• The CDC's budget will be reduced by 25 percent, limiting its ability to protect children from tobacco and severely hampering its ability to address diseases like asthma.

• The NIH budget will be cut by $1 billion—which means less research to find cures and treatments for diseases such as lung cancer, emphysema and asthma.

• Implementation of the Affordable Care Act will be blocked, meaning pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid will no longer be guaranteed help in quitting smoking; seniors will once again face the Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole"; and children with asthma will again be denied coverage because of their pre-existing condition.

The Senate is expected to consider this funding bill when they return to Washington next week. We need your help. Send a strong message to your Senators that they must protect public health by restoring funding for these critical agencies, please send an email to your Senators now.

Please take a stand now!!