Proposed Current Year PHEP Cuts

Recently, the Trump Administration released more detail on the proposed cuts offered in their recent Skinny Budget release. The above linked chart presents a variety of Federal Fiscal Year 2017 “reduction options.” Included in these recommendations, is a proposed current year cut to the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grants of $49 million (page 10) with the justification indicating “There is overlap across HHS preparedness programs (PHEP and HPP) and the Federal Government has provided more than $18 billion to States since 2002 to improve preparedness capacity.”

As we understand it, these proposed cuts, if enacted, are unlikely to impact your FY 2017/18 funding (as it’s funded out of the previous federal fiscal year); however, these cuts are of tremendous concern. NACCHO is encouraging local health departments to contact their members of Congress to reinforce the importance of robust funding for PHEP. You can find more information on NACCHO’s Take Action webpage.