III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 576 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Public Health Week. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4 (legislative day, MARCH 31), 2022 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. SMITH, and 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN) 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 4, 2022, is designated as National 

Public Health Week by the American Public Health Association; 

Whereas the theme for National Public Health Week in 2022 

is ‘‘Public Health is Where You Are’’; 

Whereas the goal of National Public Health Week in 2022 

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 


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•SRES 576 IS 

to 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) 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) the Medicaid programs and community health 

centers of States 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 that 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 


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

maternal mortality; 

Whereas, in 2020, the life expectancy at birth for the population of the United States declined by 1.5 years, 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 healthiest 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 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 more than 47,500 lives were lost due to suicide in 

2019, and in May 2020, during the COVID–19 pandemic, emergency department visits for suspected suicide 


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•SRES 576 IS 

attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12 to 

17 years, especially among girls; 

Whereas an estimated 1 in 7 children in the United States 

experience child abuse and neglect, and 1,840 children 

died of abuse and neglect in 2019; 

Whereas, despite significant progress 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 2019, the infant mortality rate in the United States still 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 there were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose 

deaths in the United States during the 12-month period 

ending in April 2021, the highest level ever recorded during a 12-month period and an increase of 28.5 percent 

from the 78,056 deaths during the same period the prior 

year; 

Whereas cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable 

disease and death in the United States, accounting for 

more than 480,000 deaths each 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 in 

2005 to 13.7 percent in 2018; 

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

Tobacco Survey, 19.6 percent of high school students 


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•SRES 576 IS 

(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 approximately 40 percent of high 

school e-cigarette users were using an e-cigarette on 20 

or more days of the month, and approximately 1⁄4 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 individuals has almost doubled, reaching a record 

high of approximately 19,000 deaths in 2018; 

Whereas, from 2018 to 2019, the United States spent approximately $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 voting helps shape the conditions in which people 

can be healthy, and good health is consistently positively 

associated with higher likelihood of voter participation; 

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; 


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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— 

(1) a 6.9-percent decrease in infant deaths; 

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

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

and 

(4) a 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 


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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, 

6 municipalities, local communities, and individuals in 

7 preventing disease and injury; 

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

9 (A) preventing and responding to infec10 tious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID–19 

11 pandemic; 

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

13 impacts of infectious disease outbreaks on the 

14 health and wellness of individuals in the United 

15 States; 

16 (C) addressing social and other deter17 minants of health, including health disparities 

18 experienced by minority populations; and 

19 (D) improving the overall health of individ20 uals and communities in the United States; 


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1 (4) encourages increased efforts and re2 sources— 

3 (A) to improve the health of individuals in 

4 the United States; and 

5 (B) to make the United States, in 1 gen6 eration, the healthiest country in the world 

7 by— 

8 (i) providing greater opportunities to 

9 improve community health and prevent dis10 ease and injury; and 

11 (ii) strengthening the public health 

12 system and workforce in the United States; 

13 and 

14 (5) encourages the people of the United States 

15 to learn about the role of the public health system 

16 in improving health across the United States. 

Æ 


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