III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 632 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Public Health Week. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mr. LUJA ́N submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Public Health 

Week. 

Whereas the week of April 1, 2024, is National Public Health 

Week; 

Whereas the theme for National Public Health Week in 2024 

is ‘‘Protecting, Connecting and Thriving: We Are All 

Public Health’’; 

Whereas the goal of National Public Health Week in 2024 

is to recognize the contributions of public health in— 

(1) improving the health of the people of the United 

States; and 

(2) achieving health equity; 

Whereas, as of the date of introduction of this resolution, the 

United States and the global community are continuing 


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•SRES 632 IS 

to recover from the COVID–19 pandemic, which requires 

support for— 

(1) a robust public health infrastructure and workforce; 

(2) State, territorial, local, and Tribal health departments, health care workers, public health laboratories, 

and first responders; 

(3) activities related to epidemiology and public 

health data; 

(4) relieving financial burdens for individuals in the 

United States hurt by the COVID–19 pandemic, including through public health emergency leave; 

(5) State Medicaid programs and community health 

centers to ensure care for vulnerable populations; 

(6) collaboration among the Federal Government, 

State and local governments, Tribal health organizations, 

schools, businesses, and employers to support public 

health measures; 

(7) investments in the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention, which support infectious disease outbreak preparedness and critical public health infrastructure for State and local health departments and public 

health laboratories; 

(8) a comprehensive effort to ensure successful vaccination campaigns that boost access to vaccines for vulnerable populations and trust in vaccine safety and effectiveness; and 

(9) efforts to address racism as a public health crisis 

and reduce racial and ethnic health disparities related to 

COVID–19 deaths, vaccine access and testing, and important health outcomes outside of the pandemic such as 

maternal mortality; 


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•SRES 632 IS 

Whereas many of the leading causes of death for individuals 

in the United States result from chronic conditions, 

which are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health challenges; 

Whereas there are significant differences in the health status 

of individuals living in the healthiest States and those living in the least healthy States, including differences in 

obesity rates, the prevalence of chronic diseases, and the 

prevalence of infectious diseases; 

Whereas racial and ethnic minority populations in the United 

States continue to experience disparities in the burdens 

of illness and death, as compared to the entire population 

of the United States; 

Whereas violence is a leading cause of premature death, and 

it is estimated that more than 7 individuals per hour die 

a violent death in the United States; 

Whereas deaths from homicides cost the economy of the 

United States billions of dollars, and the violence of 

homicides can cause social and emotional distress, community trauma, injury, disability, depression, anxiety, 

and post-traumatic stress disorder; 

Whereas 49,449 people died by suicide in 2022, with firearms 

being used in over 50 percent of suicides; 

Whereas an estimated 1 in 7 children in the United States 

experienced child abuse and neglect in the past year, with 

1,750 children dying of abuse and neglect in 2020; 

Whereas significant progress has been made in reducing the 

infant mortality rate in the United States to a historic 

low of 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022; 

Whereas there are still stark disparities in infant mortality by 

race, ethnicity, geography, and income, as evidenced by 


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the fact that Black infants experience infant mortality at 

a rate twice that of White infants; 

Whereas women die from pregnancy-related complications in 

the United States at a higher rate than in many other 

developed countries, with the rate of maternal mortality 

being 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021; 

Whereas an estimated 84 percent of maternal deaths in the 

United States are preventable; 

Whereas, from 2017 to 2019, American Indian or Alaskan 

Native mothers experienced maternal mortality at a rate 

twice that of White mothers, and Black mothers experienced maternal mortality at a rate almost 3 times that 

of White mothers; 

Whereas there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose 

deaths in 2021, an increase of nearly 15 percent from 

2020; 

Whereas cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable 

disease and death in the United States, accounting for 

more than 480,000 deaths every year; 

Whereas the percentage of adults in the United States who 

smoke cigarettes has decreased from 20.9 percent of the 

population in 2005, to 11.5 percent of the population in 

2021; 

Whereas e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among youth since 2014, with 10.0 percent 

of high school students reporting e-cigarette use in 2023; 

Whereas, in 2020, there were approximately 32,000 deaths in 

the United States due to exposure to particulate matter, 

37 percent of which were directly related to fossil fuel 

burning; 


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•SRES 632 IS 

Whereas heat-related mortality for people over 65 is estimated to have increased by approximately 74 percent 

from 2000 through 2004 compared to 2017 through 

2021; 

Whereas voting helps shape the conditions in which people 

can be healthy, and good health is consistently associated 

positively with higher likelihood of voter participation, 

but only 52.2 percent of eligible adults reported voting in 

the November 2022 elections; 

Whereas public health organizations use National Public 

Health Week to educate public policymakers and public 

health professionals on issues that are important to improving the health of the people of the United States; 

Whereas studies show that small strategic investments in disease prevention can result in significant savings in health 

care costs; 

Whereas the vaccination of the public is one of the most significant public health achievements in history and has resulted in substantial decreases in— 

(1) the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths 

associated with vaccine-preventable diseases; and 

(2) health care costs associated with vaccine-preventable diseases; 

Whereas each 10-percent increase in local public health 

spending contributes to a— 

(1) 6.9-percent decrease in infant deaths; 

(2) 3.2-percent decrease in deaths related to cardiovascular disease; 

(3) 1.4-percent decrease in deaths due to diabetes; 

and 

(4) 1.1-percent decrease in cancer-related deaths; 


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Whereas public health professionals help communities prevent, prepare for, mitigate, and recover from the impact 

of a full range of health threats, including— 

(1) disease outbreaks, such as the COVID–19 pandemic; 

(2) natural disasters, such as wildfires, flooding, and 

severe storms; and 

(3) other disasters, including disasters caused by 

human activity and public health emergencies; 

Whereas public health professionals collaborate with partners 

outside of the health sector, including city planners, 

transportation officials, education officials, and private 

sector businesses, recognizing that other sectors can influence health outcomes; 

Whereas, in communities across the United States, individuals are changing the way they care for their health by 

avoiding tobacco use, eating healthier, increasing physical 

activity, and preventing unintentional injuries at home 

and in the workplace; and 

Whereas efforts to adequately support public health and the 

prevention of disease and injury can continue to transform a health system focused on treating illness into a 

health system focused on preventing disease and injury 

and promoting wellness: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of National 

3 Public Health Week; 

4 (2) recognizes the efforts of public health pro5 fessionals, the Federal Government, States, Tribes, 


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1 municipalities, local communities, and individuals in 

2 preventing disease and injury; 

3 (3) recognizes the role of public health in— 

4 (A) preventing and responding to infec5 tious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID–19 

6 pandemic; 

7 (B) mitigating short-term and long-term 

8 impacts of infectious disease outbreaks on the 

9 health and wellness of individuals in the United 

10 States; 

11 (C) addressing social and other deter12 minants of health, including health disparities 

13 experienced by minority populations; and 

14 (D) improving the overall health of individ15 uals and communities in the United States; 

16 (4) encourages increased efforts and resources 

17 to— 

18 (A) improve the health of individuals in the 

19 United States; and 

20 (B) make the United States, in 1 genera21 tion, the healthiest Nation in the world by— 

22 (i) providing greater opportunities to 

23 improve community health and prevent dis24 ease and injury; and 


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1 (ii) strengthening the public health 

2 system and workforce in the United States; 

3 and 

4 (5) encourages the people of the United States 

5 to learn about the role of the public health system 

6 in improving health across the United States. 

Æ 


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