The Honorable Susan Collins
United States Senate
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
June 27, 2025
Dear Senator Collins,
We, the undersigned 60 organizations representing thousands of public health professionals, medical providers, educators, business leaders, child health and community advocates across Maine and the United States, write to express our grave concern over the potential impact that recent and proposed federal funding cuts will have on the health and stability of our communities. We urge your leadership in ensuring robust and sustained funding for the programs that directly protect the health and well-being of people across Maine and the other states that have signed on to this letter.
FY25: Restore Stability and Prevent Public Health Disruptions
Withholding millions in already-appropriated federal public health funding has caused serious harm to local communities in Maine and other states. These disruptions have led to: • Workforce reductions and service interruptions
- Cancellations of essential health programs
- Increased risks to community health
We respectfully request that you ensure all funds allocated in the FY25 budget are fully disbursed, as Congress intended. Without this certainty, public health organizations face growing instability at a time when communities can least afford it.
Public Health at Immediate Risk: Delays in accessing FY25 funding needed to contain the measles outbreak hampered the response across the U.S., driving up infection rates. As of June 24, 2025, the CDC reported 1,227 confirmed measles cases across 37 jurisdictions – compared to just 285 in 2024. Preventable outbreaks, like this, jeopardize the health of families across the country. Since 1993, routine childhood vaccinations have saved over 1,000,000 lives and $2.7 trillion in societal costs (Zhou et al., 2024). Withdrawing support for vaccination, including outreach, undermines decades of progress in Maine and other states.
FY26: Protect Constituents from Deep and Irreversible Harm
The proposed FY26 budget includes sweeping cuts that would severely impact the health and economic stability of people in Maine and across the country. These cuts eliminate critical public health protections, reduce safety net programs, and dismantle programs that ensure clean environments, support rural health systems, and prepare future healthcare professionals.
1. Chronic Disease Prevention Must Be Preserved
Chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are the leading causes of death in Maine. Yet, the budget proposal:
- Eliminates the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
- Ends funding for prevention of cancer, stroke, arthritis, epilepsy, lupus, dementia, and more
- Defunds school health, maternal and infant care, and tribal wellness initiatives • Eliminates the Office on Smoking and Health, threatening the viability of tobacco prevention and treatment programs in Maine and across the country
In 2024, Maine received $1.2 million in federal funds for tobacco prevention and treatment. Eliminating OSH would reverse significant progress in reducing youth and adult tobacco use. Every $1 invested in chronic disease prevention returns $5.65 in healthcare savings – and in Maine, it yields $7.52 in economic output (Trust for America’s Health 2009). Programs like asthma control return $70 for every dollar spent (CDC 2013). Cutting these funds endangers public health and burdens the healthcare system in Maine and other states.
- Environmental Health Protections Are Essential
The FY26 proposal eliminates:
- National Center for Environmental Health
- National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Global Health Center
- Public Health Preparedness and Response
- Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant
These cuts directly impact air and water safety. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund helps keep tap water safe – without it, communities could face contamination and waterborne disease. Air quality surveillance systems would disappear, increasing risks from pollutants and carbon monoxide exposure in Maine and other states. The Global Health Center actively monitors more than 40 threats daily, serving as a frontline defense and protecting national security.
- Rural Communities and Local Economies Will Suffer
Rural Mainers depend on programs like:
- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for heating during winter • Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) for emergency and transportation infrastructure
- Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and Public Health Training Centers (PHTCs) to build the rural health workforce
These programs are lifelines for rural workforce and economic development. Eliminating them widens health disparities, reduces safety nets, and weakens our capacity to respond to medical and environmental emergencies in rural Maine and other states.
Constituent Impact and Public Value
These funding cuts pose direct threats to the health, safety, and economic security of constituents in Maine and other states. Their elimination:
- Reduces government effectiveness by increasing emergency spending • Harms the
economy by raising healthcare costs for employers and shrinking the health workforce • Compromises the environment through lack of oversight and pollution control • Stifles innovation in training and preparedness
- Erodes societal well-being through increased chronic illness and preventable deaths
Constituents rely on these programs to live healthy, productive lives. We urge you to take immediate action to restore and disperse FY25 funds and reject deep FY26 cuts. Protecting public health funding is not just a fiscal decision – it is a decision that affects the daily lives of families in every corner of Maine and across the country.
Thank you for your continued leadership and commitment to the well-being of our communities. Sincerely,
Rebecca Boulos, PhD, MPH – Maine Public Health Association
Jess Maurer, Esq. – Maine Council on Aging
Neil Kiely – Androscoggin Bank
Shanna Cox – Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
David Harder, Ph.D. – University of Maine Institute of Medicine
Darcy Shargo, MFA – Maine Primary Care Association
Ann Woloson – Consumers for Affordable Health Care
Heather Paquette – Good Shepherd Food Bank
Rev. Scott Linscott, M.Th – First Baptist Church of Westbrook
Jennifer Gunderman, MPH – City of Bangor
Anne Sedlack, Esq., MSW – Maine Medical Association
Becca Matusovich, MPPM – Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine
Justin Strasburger – Full Plates Full Potential
Ed Molleo, IV – HealthReach Community Health Centers
Elsie Flemings – Healthy Acadia
Maria Donohue, MPH, MSW – Eastern Maine AHEC
Renee Page, MPH, PS-C, CLC – Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
Kevin Lewis, MPP – Maine Community Health Options
Tina Pettingill, MPH – Groups Recover Together, Maine
Barbara Crowley, MD – The Peter Alfond Prevention and Healthy Living Center at MaineGeneral Medical Center
Delvina Miremadi-Baldino, PhD – Maine Youth Thriving
Madeleine DesFosses – Maine Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Sandy Nesin, Esq. – Community Care Partnership of Maine
Patrick Madden, MBA – Market Decisions Research
Jodie Hermann, DO – Maine Osteopathic Association
Michelle Mitchell, MSocSc – Partnerships For Health
Liz Blackwell-Moore, MPH – Cumberland County Public Health
Sally Manninen, CPS – Community Health at York Hospital
Rev. Jane Field, MPA, MDiv – Maine Council of Churches
Sharon McDonnell, MD, MPH – Yarmouth Public Health Council
Megan Moore, MPH – Washington State Public Health Association
Julie Peterson – Foundation for Healthy Generations, Washington
Sandra Melstad, PhD, MPH – South Dakota Public Health Association
Patrick Brown, PharmD – Georgia Public Health
Jimmie H. Smith, Jr., MD, MPH – North Carolina Public Health Association
Kimberly Harrell – Tennessee Public Health Association
Carrie Butler, MPH, MPP – Utah Public Health Association
Teresa Garrett, DNP RN – PHNA-BC Utah Action Coalition
Maryann Martindale – Utah Academy Of Family Physicians
Kelbe Goupil, MPH, MPP – Utah Clean Energy
Moe Hickey – Voices for Utah Children
Emmie Gardner, MSW, LCSW – Holy Cross Ministries
Karen Maloughney, BSN, RN – Butte-Silver Bow Health Department, Montana
Lisa Dworak, MPH, MPA – Montana Public Health Association, Montana Environmental Health Association, Association of Montana Public Health Officials
Laureen Murphree – Dawson County Health Department, Montana
McKenzie Cowlbeck, MPH, CPH Oklahoma Public Health Association
Jamie Michael, CHES – Wisconsin Public Health Association
Randy Bowman – Kansas Association of Local Health Departments
Nisha Beharie, MPH, DrPH – New York Public Health Association
Conny Moody, MBA – Illinois Public Health Association
Merry Grande, MPH – Minnesota Public Health Association
Kristine Gonnella, MPH – Pennsylvania Public Health Association
Daniel Olson – Vermont Public Health Association
Tory Jennison, PhD, RN – New Hampshire Public Health Association
Carlene Pavlos, MTS – Massachusetts Public Health Association
Will Humble, MPH – Arizona Public Health Association
Marc McAleavey, MSW – Indiana Public Health Association
Lina Tucker Reinders, MPH – Iowa Public Health Association
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