III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 175 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Public Health Week. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 22, 2021 

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 5, 2021, is National Public Health 

Week; 

Whereas the theme for National Public Health Week in 2021 

is ‘‘Building Bridges to Better Health’’; 

Whereas the goal of National Public Health Week in 2021 

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 responding 

to the COVID–19 pandemic, which requires support 

for— 


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(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) diagnostic testing of new and potential COVID– 

19 cases and activities related to epidemiology and public 

health data; 

(4) complying with appropriate social distancing and 

quarantine recommendations; 

(5) relieving financial burdens for individuals in the 

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

(6) State Medicaid programs and community health 

centers to ensure care for vulnerable populations; 

(7) collaboration among the Federal Government, 

State and local governments, schools, businesses, and employers to support public health measures to decrease 

community spread of COVID–19; 

(8) 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; 

(9) a comprehensive effort to ensure a successful 

COVID–19 vaccination campaign that boosts access to 

vaccines for vulnerable populations and trust in vaccine 

safety and effectiveness; and 

(10) 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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Whereas, in 2020, the life expectancy for the population of 

the United States dropped a full year, which is the largest drop in life expectancy since 1943; 

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 most healthy States and those 

living in the least healthy States, including differences in 

obesity rates, the prevalence of chronic disease, and the 

prevalence of infectious disease; 

Whereas racial and ethnic minority populations in the United 

States continue to experience disparities in the burden of 

illness and death, as compared with 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 posttraumatic stress disorder; 

Whereas emergency department visits for suicidal thoughts or 

self-harm increased 25.5 percent between January 2017 

and December 2018, with substantial increases occurring 

in younger age groups; 

Whereas an estimated 1 in 7 children in the United States 

experiences child abuse and neglect, which imposes an 

annual lifetime economic burden of approximately 


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$428,000,000,000 on the population of the United 

States; 

Whereas, despite significant progress in reducing the infant 

mortality rate in the United States to a historic low of 

5.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, in 2017 the infant mortality rate in the United States greatly varies 

among States; 

Whereas women die from pregnancy-related complications in 

the United States at a higher rate than in many other 

developed countries and an estimated 60 percent of maternal deaths in the United States are preventable; 

Whereas Black mothers experience a maternal mortality rate 

3 to 4 times higher than White mothers; 

Whereas 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United 

States during the 12-month period ending May 2020, the 

highest level ever recorded during a 12-month period; 

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, including more 

than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke; 

Whereas the percentage of adults in the United States who 

smoke cigarettes has decreased from 20.9 percent of the 

population in 2005 to 13.7 percent of the population in 

2018; 

Whereas, in 2020, according to data from the National Youth 

Tobacco Survey 19.6 percent of high school students 

(3,020,000 students) and 4.7 percent of middle school 

students (550,000 students) reported current e-cigarette 

use; 

Whereas data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey 

showed that in 2020 almost 40 percent of high school eVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:38 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR175.IS SR175

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cigarette users were using an e-cigarette on 20 or more 

days out of the month and almost a quarter of high 

school e-cigarette users were using e-cigarettes every day, 

indicating a strong dependence on nicotine among youth; 

Whereas in the past 2 decades heat-related mortality for 

older persons has almost doubled, reaching a record high 

19,000 deaths in 2018; 

Whereas, from 2018 to 2019, the United States spent nearly 

$13 per person on climate change adaptation in the 

health sector, far less than what is needed to prevent the 

growing health impacts of climate change; 

Whereas, in 2016, fine particulate air pollution led to more 

than 64,000 premature deaths in the United States and 

Black and Hispanic individuals in the United States were 

disproportionately impacted; 

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 vaccination 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— 


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(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; 

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— 


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1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of National 

2 Public Health Week; 

3 (2) recognizes the efforts of public health pro4 fessionals, the Federal Government, States, Tribes, 

5 municipalities, local communities, and individuals in 

6 preventing disease and injury; 

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

8 (A) preventing and responding to infec9 tious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID–19 

10 pandemic; 

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

12 impacts of infectious disease outbreaks on the 

13 health and wellness of individuals in the United 

14 States; 

15 (C) addressing social and other deter16 minants of health, including health disparities 

17 experienced by minority populations; and 

18 (D) improving the overall health of individ19 uals and communities in the United States; 

20 (4) encourages increased efforts and resources 

21 to— 

22 (A) improve the health of individuals in the 

23 United States; and 

24 (B) make the United States, in 1 genera25 tion, the healthiest Nation in the world by— 


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1 (i) providing greater opportunities to 

2 improve community health and prevent dis3 ease and injury; and 

4 (ii) strengthening the public health 

5 system and workforce in the United States; 

6 and 

7 (5) encourages the people of the United States 

8 to learn about the role of the public health system 

9 in improving health across the United States. 

Æ 


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