Last month, CSTE’s leadership and two CSTE Board Members traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in an educational congressional briefing titled “Public Health Academy: The Power of Public Health Data.” This event is a popular series with congressional staff and is co-hosted by the Coalition for Health Funding, CDC Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CSTE is a member of the Coalition for Health Funding—an 86-member organization representing patients, consumers, health providers, professionals, and researchers. Through this membership, CSTE was provided the lead opportunity to educate members of Congress and their staff on the critical role public health data plays in addressing the nation’s most pressing health challenges.

Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Appropriations, opened the event with remarks recognizing CSTE for being at the forefront of public health data modernization and for spearheading the initial recognition of the need and call to action to address the root causes. Representative DeLauro expressed her strong support for public health funding, highlighting its importance in ensuring the nation’s preparedness for health threats.

Theresa Sokol, Louisiana State Epidemiologist and CSTE Board Member, was a notable panelist at the event. She provided first-hand experience of how data modernization in public health directly improves the public health response to acute and emerging threats at the state level, including how electronic case reporting and syndromic surveillance (two key pillars of data modernization efforts) enable more rapid detection and shorten the time to take immediate actions that ultimately save lives.

Other distinguished speakers at the event included Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the CDC; Judy Faulkner, Founder and CEO of Epic Systems; Dr. Jennifer Layden, Director of CDC’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology; and Dr. Dylan George, Director of CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics. Their insights underscored the critical role of data modernization in advancing public health capabilities.

The briefing highlighted the need for sustained funding for data modernization with an emphasis on the progress that has been made to date from current investments. The importance of electronic case reporting was a central theme as timely, high-quality data forms the foundation for public health response. Another key area was focused on educating attendees about how critical CDC’s funding is to state, Tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments and how cuts to CDC’s budget directly impact STLT, as approximately 80% of CDC’s funding goes to STLT agencies. The event featured an engaging trivia game, where staffers and panelists interacted and tested their knowledge on facts about public health data, fostering a collaborative, educational, and fun atmosphere.

The following day, CSTE leadership and CSTE Board Members Teresa Sokol and Dr. Sarah Lyon-Callo had the opportunity to meet with members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, where they discussed  why Public Health Data Modernization is so important to STLT health departments: It is a long-term commitment to building and maintaining world class public health data systems and a workforce that meets the nation’s ongoing need to safeguard health. Additionally, they provided education on how data modernization dollars are being used to help people and communities to thrive by rapidly detecting, identifying, tracking, and responding to daily public health threats of all types.  Simply put, data modernization is improving how STLT health departments can make informed decisions and know if the decisions made are making a difference to slow or prevent the spread.

The CSTE National Office has asked Congress to endorse the budget allocation in the FY 2025 Senate Labor-HHS appropriations bill of at least $195 million for Public Health Data Modernization, and at least $70 million for the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics and the Response Ready Enterprise Data Integration platform. To address the unmet needs of health departments, CSTE also asked Congress to increase ELC’s base funding line to $120 million, which supports nimble response ready epidemiologists in STLT. The CDC funding is especially important for applied epidemiology work in STLT public health jurisdictions, most of which receive more than 80% of funding for epidemiology personnel and activities through federal funding.

Of note, since CSTE’s visit to Washington, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 20, 2024. This temporary measure ensures that federal agencies, including those critical to public health, continue to operate while budget negotiations are ongoing for final FY 2025 numbers. The CR has not only prevented a government shutdown, but now allows more time for Congress to finalize appropriations for the FY25, including the crucial funding for Public Health Data Modernization, the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, and the ELC program. Congress is now in a six-week recess to focus on campaigning before the November 5th election.

The congressional briefing and subsequent meetings highlighted the critical importance of public health data modernization and the need for sustained investment in public health infrastructure — and the critical role of applied epidemiologists. CSTE’s efforts highlighted the essential role of timely, high-quality data in protecting public health and responding to emerging threats.

Victoria Barahona is Senior Policy Associate at CRD Associates, LLC, which represents CSTE’s interests on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.