IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 78 
Expressing the sense of Congress that public health professionals should 
be commended for their dedication and service to the United States 
on Public Health Thank You Day, November 20, 2023. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2023 
Mr. WITTMAN (for himself and Ms. UNDERWOOD) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that public health profes-
sionals should be commended for their dedication and 
service to the United States on Public Health Thank 
You Day, November 20, 2023. 
Whereas the health, security, and well-being of people in the 
United States is integral to a functioning democracy and 
strong economy; 
Whereas public health research and practice advances each of 
such core attributes of a thriving Nation; 
Whereas emerging and reemerging infectious and zoonotic 
diseases are an ongoing threat to the health of people in 
the United States and globally; 
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•HCON 78 IH 
Whereas the dedicated individuals who work to advance the 
public health play an instrumental role in lessening the 
burden of disease through research, surveillance and 
monitoring, education, and prevention by developing 
strategies, tools, policies, and programs, and in so doing 
are essential to improving quality of life and extending 
life expectancy; 
Whereas public health professionals have continuously shown 
their value in reducing and abating health and environ-
mental threats such as influenza, tracing and addressing 
foodborne illnesses and other disease outbreaks, and pro-
moting wellness by encouraging healthy behaviors; 
Whereas public health workers play a critical role in improv-
ing the quality of maternal and infant care and address-
ing the maternal mortality crisis; 
Whereas the maternal mortality crisis has been exacerbated 
in the wake of the COVID–19 pandemic and public 
health workers play a critical role in addressing the cri-
sis; 
Whereas poor air quality, poor water quality, inadequate 
sanitation, social determinants, and behavioral factors ex-
acerbate disease; 
Whereas, in 2022, approximately 1,300,000 people died of tu-
berculosis and 630,000 people died of HIV/AIDS, and a 
projected 619,000 people died of malaria; 
Whereas first responders who put themselves in harm’s way 
to protect and defend the public health are an imperative 
resource to the United States and its citizens; 
Whereas public health professionals are devoted to preventing 
other infectious diseases from spreading and to reducing 
the impact of the spectrum of longstanding and emerging 
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global health threats in order to forestall and minimize 
the damage of future outbreaks; 
Whereas public health professionals play a key role in ad-
dressing the growing mental health crisis in the United 
States with approximately 50,000,000 people in the 
United States in 2022 having experiences mental illness, 
and more than 49,500 having committed suicide; 
Whereas public health professionals play a critical role in 
combating opioid addiction and opioid-related overdose 
deaths, which are devastating communities across the 
Nation; 
Whereas public health professionals are pivotal to combating 
antimicrobial resistance, which affects 2,800,000 people 
in the United States and leads to the deaths of at least 
35,000 Americans and 1,700,000 individuals globally 
each year; 
Whereas public health professionals play a central role in re-
ducing racial, ethnic, and geographical disparities in 
health and health care that erode the Nation’s strength, 
prosperity, and productivity; 
Whereas COVID–19 has intensified health disparities, dis-
proportionately affecting communities of color and cre-
ating acute health care challenges in rural areas of the 
Nation; and 
Whereas public health professionals are among the heroic 
first responders who confront and work to prevent nat-
ural disasters and environmental hazards that present a 
persistent threat to the life, health, and safety of all indi-
viduals in the United States: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that public 
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health professionals are to be applauded, extolled, and 
thanked on Public Health Thank You Day for their wide-
spread and meaningful contributions to the Nation and 
global community. 
Æ 
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