- The Honorable Patrick Leahy
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510 - The Honorable Richard Shelby
Vice Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510 - The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 - The Honorable Kay Granger
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chair DeLauro, and Ranking Member Granger:
As you consider appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the undersigned 288 national, state, and local medical, public health, and research organizations write to ask you to provide $35 million for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and $25 million for
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention. We also encourage Congress to explore opportunities for building out and further supporting this research at all other appropriate agencies, to ensure that federally funded research can explore the full scope of this public health issue. A recent, rigorous report estimated that the federal government will need to spend approximately $100 million per year to fully fund a comprehensive research agenda on reducing gun violence.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, communities across the U.S. continue to suffer from the public health crisis of firearm-related injuries and deaths. In 2020, the most recent year for which we have data, firearm-related injuries led to 45,222 fatalities, 2 an increase of nearly 15% over the previous year. A public health approach is urgently needed to promote health equity and address the disproportionate burden of firearm injuries on communities of color and to understand the strategies that can be most effective in preventing suicides, unintentional injuries, and interpersonal violence. The foundation of this approach is rigorous research that can accurately quantify and describe the facets of an issue and identify opportunities for reducing its related morbidity and mortality.
Click here to read the full Neurosurgery Urges Funding for Firearms Injury Prevention Research.
