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Last month, a 64-page copy of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) fiscal year 2026 (FY26) proposed budget was leaked. The document includes a reorganization chart and outline that would fundamentally change HHS and America’s public health infrastructure. One of the major casualties of this reorganization would be the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). Aside from suicide prevention, opioid overdose prevention and surveillance, the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), funding for all NCIPC programs would be eliminated, including the Injury Control Research Center (ICRC) program. As lawmakers turn their attention to FY26, House and Senate appropriators will eventually need to weigh in on these proposed changes.

To help combat the proposed reductions to NCIPC programs, SAVIR and the Safe States Alliance are supporting a FY 2026 House “Dear Colleague” letter aimed at protecting the NCIPC from any effort to reduce or eliminate its budget. The letter is being circulated by Reps. Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) and the more Representatives that sign the letter in support of NCIPC, the greater the chance that the proposed cuts will not materialize. With hundreds of such letters currently circulating in Congress, lawmakers rely on their constituents to point them to letters that deserve their consideration. Please reach out to your Representative today using Safe States’ Advocacy Action Center and urge them to sign on the letter. We anticipate that it will close in mid-late May.

Additionally, the Keep America Safe Coalition, led by Safe States, is hosting a May 6^th webinar at 1 PM ET for individuals interested in learning more about how to directly engage in the campaign’s advocacy and communications efforts.  During the webinar, attendees will hear about the coalition’s communications and advocacy strategy and receive state-specific tools and talking points for engaging with Congressional offices. Please use this link to register and learn more about the webinar.

Now more than ever, the IVP community must engage in the policy making process. If members of Congress don’t hear from the injury and violence prevention experts they represent, they have no reason to step in to protect NCIPC-funded programs.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Brandon Neath, Government Relations Manager, at brandon.neath@safestates.org.