Dear Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chair Murray, and Ranking Member Blunt:
As you consider appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, the undersigned 202 national, state,
and local medical, public health, and research organizations write to ask you to provide $50
million in funding shared evenly between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health
research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention.
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 2019, the most recent year for
which we have data, firearm-related injuries led to 39,707 fatalities.
A public health approach to firearm violence prevention is urgently needed to promote health equity and address the
disproportionate burden of this epidemic on communities of color. 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.
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