Public health helps prevent disease and improve the health of communities—primarily through efforts outside of traditional medical care, such as tracking and predicting emerging and persistent threats, responding to health risks and events, and promoting health through education and policymaking. Public health organizations promote cleaner air and water, better sanitation, food safety, safer environments with less violence and injury, disease prevention, and access to vaccines, among other priorities.
The Center for American Progress advocates and supports efforts to strengthen the public health system’s basic infrastructure to accomplish these essential functions.
CAP’s Comments on FDA Draft Guidance for Lead Levels in Foods Marketed to Babies and Young Children
The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to the agency’s proposed draft guidance intended to reduce lead in foods marketed for infants and young children.
Advancing Access to Contraception in States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling
The fourth and final report in this Center for American Progress series highlighting best practices to improve and expand access to contraception at the state level focuses on the importance of contraceptive quality measures.
CAP’s Comment on the EPA’s Proposed Soot Pollution Standards
The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the agency’s proposed rule on soot pollution standards.
Improving Safety, Accident Response, and Public Health in the Wake of Recent Train Derailments
A comprehensive response to the East Palestine derailment must include safety reforms that will reduce the frequency and severity of future derailments; improve long-term health monitoring and access to health services; and reduce or eliminate toxic chemicals, including petrochemicals, from the U.S. economy.
The Biden administration must take a tougher stance on soot pollution
Sarah Millender, Auburn Bell, and Jill Rosenthal have published a new op-ed in The Hill urging the Biden administration to strengthen standards on soot pollution.
Nonprofit Hospitals Can Improve Community Health Through Housing Investments
Nonprofit hospitals have an obligation to provide community benefit; as part of this, they should do more to support the housing needs of the communities they serve.
Empowering State Attorneys General To Fight Health Care Consolidation
To address hospital consolidation, improve competition, and protect consumers from higher health care costs, state legislatures should act to strengthen and support state attorneys general antitrust enforcement authority.
Rep. Wendy E.N Thomas: Infrastructure Bill will help mitigate ‘forever chemicals’
In an op-ed, New Hampshire state Rep. Wendy E.N. Thomas (D) describes how contaminated drinking water contributed to deteriorating public health in her community. Thomas explains how federal grants from the Biden administration’s infrastructure policies are delivering long-awaited relief to affected communities.
Revolutionizing the Workplace: Why Long COVID and the Increase of Disabled Workers Require a New Approach
Using new data from the U.S. Census Bureau to examine the impacts of long COVID on the labor market, this report recommends that employers, unions, and policymakers create better workplaces for disabled workers and all workers.
The Biden Administration’s First 2 Years: Stories of Americans Who Benefit From a Government Invested in Their Future
This collection features stories from Americans across the country whose lives and communities have benefited from the legislative and executive actions passed under the Biden administration.
