Update on Advocacy

SAVIR is working hard to elevate and represent injury science. Actions items include participation in meetings with lawmakers and advocacy partners, active engagement in coalition work, speaking directly with the press or connecting our members with the press, and creating an Advocacy Hub with resources and actions you should take this summer!

After several meetings with Congressional offices to discuss the FY2026 Congressional appropriations process and the needs of Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs), it’s increasingly clear that House appropriators are prepared to draft appropriation bills that will mirror the president’s budget request while Senate appropriators will draft bills that reflect the chamber’s bipartisan priorities.

As a result, SAVIR, in concert with its partner organizations, is training its advocacy efforts towards Senate appropriators who will craft bills that provide more generous funding levels than their House counterparts. In the months ahead, SAVIR will work with its members to influence the contours of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill that carriers funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC).

Summer Action Items

The charge throughout the summer is to keep injury and violence prevention issues, including ICRCs, front and center for members of Congress as they work to advance appropriation bills through their respective chambers. While the focus is on Senate appropriators, it’s also important for House appropriators to hear about the importance of IVP issues from their constituents.

The FY26 Budget eliminates the CDC Injury Center, along with other funding cuts. Act now to have your voice heard.

Call your Congressperson. If they are supportive of IVP and your work, thank them for their support. If they are not, tell them why your work matters in their district, to their constituents.
Visit your Congressperson or their staff in their home district.
Invite your lawmaker or their staff to a site visit and show them what you do.
Write op eds and letters to the editor to your local news outlet.
Host a press conference.
Make it local. You can do steps 1 through 3 with your state and local lawmakers. They are working hard to understand the issues and how their constituents will be impacted. They can help elevate your work.
Join the weekly SAVIR’s Summer Writing Series to write your op ed. Every Tuesday from 11am – 1pm ET, June 24 through August 26. Register here, and feel free to invite colleagues to join you.