Title: 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 21, 2022.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that public health professionals are to be commended and thanked on Public Health Thank You Day for their important contributions to the nation.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 117 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 117

   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 21, 2022.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2022

Mr. Wittman (for himself and Ms. Roybal-Allard) 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 professionals 
  should be commended for their dedication and service to the United 
     States on ``Public Health Thank You Day'', November 21, 2022.

Whereas the health, security, and well-being of all people in the United States 
        is integral to a functioning democracy and strong economy;
Whereas public health research and practice advances each of these 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;
Whereas COVID-19 has affirmed the dedication of public health professionals, 
        including public health nurses, epidemiologists, mental health 
        professionals, microbiologists, environmental health professionals, 
        health educators, and many other critical professionals;
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 environmental threats such as influenza, 
        tracing and addressing food-borne illnesses and other disease outbreaks, 
        and promoting wellness by encouraging healthy behaviors;
Whereas almost half a million Americans die each year from smoking, and more 
        than 2,800 cases of acute vaping-related disease have been documented 
        across the country since February 2020;
Whereas poor air quality, poor water quality, inadequate sanitation, social 
        determinants, and behavioral factors exacerbate disease;
Whereas, as of November 1, 2022, COVID-19, a global pandemic, has claimed the 
        lives of more than 1,070,000 Americans and 6,600,000 individuals across 
        the globe;
Whereas 1 in 13 adults in the United States have ``long COVID'' symptoms;
Whereas there have been 77,092 confirmed Monkeypox cases in 2022, with 36 total 
        deaths being reported as of October 31, 2022;
Whereas Ebola will claim the lives of 50 percent of those who contract it, on 
        average;
Whereas Respiratory Syncytial Virus has been detected 27,594 times in the United 
        States in October 2022 alone;
Whereas, in 2021, approximately 1,600,000 people died of Tuberculosis, 650,000 
        people died of HIV/AIDS, and a projected 627,000 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 infectious 
        diseases from spreading and to reducing the impact of the spectrum of 
        longstanding and emerging global health threats, in order to forestall 
        and minimize the damage of future outbreaks;
Whereas public health professionals play a critical role in combating opioid 
        addiction and opioid-related overdose deaths, which are devastating 
        communities across the Nation, an epidemic concurrent with the COVID-19 
        pandemic;
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 reducing 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, disproportionately 
        affecting communities of color and creating 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 natural disasters and environmental hazards 
        that present a persistent threat to the life, health, and safety of all 
        individuals 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 health professionals are 
to be applauded, extolled, and thanked on ``Public Health Thank You 
Day'' for their widespread and meaningful contributions to the Nation 
and global community.
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