IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 78 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 professionals 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; 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 foodborne illnesses and other disease outbreaks, and promoting wellness by encouraging healthy behaviors; Whereas public health workers play a critical role in improving the quality of maternal and infant care and addressing 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 crisis; Whereas poor air quality, poor water quality, inadequate sanitation, social determinants, and behavioral factors exacerbate disease; Whereas, in 2022, approximately 1,300,000 people died of tuberculosis 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 global health threats in order to forestall and minimize the damage of future outbreaks; Whereas public health professionals play a key role in addressing 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 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

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.