Support Healthy Communities & Local Economies
The Honorable Susan Collins
United States Senate
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Collins,
We, the undersigned organizations representing thousands of public health professionals, medical providers, educators, business leaders, and child health advocates across Maine and the United States, write to respectfully request the Senate Appropriations Committee maintain at least the FY26 funding levels for public health programs and agencies in the FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. We were grateful for your bipartisan leadership in advancing a federal budget for FY26 that protects public health programs that our local communities here in Maine and across the country rely on.
While some pieces of the President’s proposed budget appear to invest in important public health initiatives like nutrition, cancer prevention, and behavioral healthcare, we have grave concern about the vast funding cuts included in it. Such widespread cuts would negatively impact the health and stability of our communities, specifically provisions related to chronic disease prevention (e.g., SNAP, WIC, SNAP-Ed), environmental health (including emergency preparedness), and workforce training programs (Public Health Training Centers and Area Health Education Centers under HRSA).
We urge your continued bipartisan 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.
FY26: Protect Stability and Prevent Public Health Disruptions
The continued withholding of 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 please continue to include provisions in the FY27 bill that will help to ensure all appropriated funds are fully disbursed, as Congress intended.
Without this certainty, public health organizations face growing instability at a time when communities can least afford it. We also urge you to maintain provisions in the bill that require HHS agencies to maintain staffing to meet the agency’s statutory requirements, and to reject controversial policy riders that negatively impact public health.
Public Health at Immediate Risk: There have been delays in contracting, unscientific policymaking (e.g., vaccine policy, flavored tobacco product approval), and workforce reductions in the tens of thousands across federal agencies. These changes are causing direct harm to local public health efforts in Maine and across the country. Ensuring the timely release of funds and rehiring of qualified federal staff are essential for ensuring the safety of communities across the U.S.
FY27: Protect Constituents from Deep and Irreversible Harm
The President’s proposed FY27 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.
- Chronic Disease Prevention Must Be Preserved
Chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are the leading causes of death in Maine and in many other states. Yet, the budget proposal:
Eliminates the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC)
Ends funding for prevention of stroke, diabetes, arthritis, epilepsy, lupus, and dementia (HHS)
Ends funding for Prevention and Public Health Fund (CDC)
Defunds school health, maternal and infant care, and tribal wellness initiatives (CDC)
Reduces funding for Public Health Infrastructure and Capacity (CDC)
Defunds SNAP-Ed (USDA)
Eliminates Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant (CDC)
Eliminates the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), threatening the viability of tobacco prevention and treatment programs in Maine and across the country
In 2026, Maine received $1.2 million in federal funds for tobacco prevention and treatment. Other states also rely heavily on these federal funds.
Eliminating OSH would reverse significant progress in reducing youth and adult tobacco use. 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 President’s FY27 budget proposal eliminates funding for numerous CDC environmental health programs, including:
Asthma Control Program
Climate and Health Program
Environmental and Health Outcome Tracking Network
These cuts directly impact air and water safety. Air quality surveillance systems would disappear, increasing risks from pollutants and carbon monoxide exposure in Maine and other states. Proposed cuts also include those to international health institutions that we rely on for infectious disease monitoring and surveillance partnership, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO).
- Rural Communities and Local Economies Will Suffer
Rural Mainers depend on programs like:
Medical Reserve Corps (ASPR)
Hospital Preparedness Program (ASPR)
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for heating during winter (HHS)
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) for emergency and transportation infrastructure (HHS)
Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and Public Health Training Centers (PHTCs)
to build the rural healthcare workforce (HRSA)
These programs are lifelines for rural workforce and economic development, especially in the face of extreme weather events. The workforce training initiatives are particularly critical to the success of the Rural Health Transformation Program, which we earnestly supported. Eliminating these programs 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 individuals and 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 preventable chronic illness and premature deaths
Constituents rely on these programs to live healthy, productive lives. We urge you to take immediate action to restore and disperse FY26 funds and reject deep FY27 cuts and large scale reorganizations included in the President’s Budget. 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 bipartisan leadership and commitment to the well-being of our communities.