NEHA Letters and Sign-Ons

Letters from NEHA

• February 2022: Incorporating Environmental Health within the PREVENT Pandemics Act

  NEHA sent a letter to Senator Patty Murray, WA, Chair Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and Senator Richard Burr, NC, Minority Chair Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about the inclusion of environmental health in the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act)
• June 2021: NEHA Letter to the White House
  NEHA sent a letter to the Biden/Harris White House regarding the inclusion of environmental health in the American Rescue Plan.
• May 2021: Support Environmental Health Workforce Act HR 2611
  Sign on to NEHA's letter supporting the Environmental Health Workforce Act. 

Letters from the NEHA President

• February 2022: Incorporating Environmental Health within the PREVENT Pandemics Act

  NEHA sent a letter to Senator Patty Murray, WA, Chair Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and Senator Richard Burr, NC, Minority Chair Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about the inclusion of environmental health in the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act)
• January 2021: NEHA Presidential Declaration on COVID-19 Vaccination
  NEHA President Sandra Long encouraging NEHA members and the entire environmental health community to get vaccinated for COVID-19 at the first opportunity and to actively promote vaccination among the communities they serve.
• September 2020: NEHA Presidential Declaration on Food Safety and National Food Safety Education Month
  NEHA President Sandra Long supports National Food Safety Education Month and is dedicated to reducing the burden of disease caused by foodborne illness and supporting food safety education through training, credentialing, and partnership.
• September 2020: 2020 World Environmental Health Day Declaration
  NEHA has joined with 37 environmental health organizations from across the globe to issue a declaration in support for World Environmental Health Day and the environmental health workforce. Together we are unified in our applause of the character, dedication, and service of our colleagues.
• June 2020: NEHA President Dr. Priscilla Oliver Letter on BLM Movement 
  NEHA President Dr. Priscilla Oliver on the environmental health's response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Letters from the NEHA Executive Director

• June 2020: NEHA and IFEH letter to UN’s Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)  regarding their Science and Technology for DRR in the Context of COVID-19, R-Stag Document 
  NEHA joined with the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) to draft a joint letter in response to the UN’s Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) document on Science and Technology in the context of COVID-19 highlighting the importance of the environmental health profession’s response to the pandemic.

• June 2020: NEHA's Position Statement on FEMA's Proposal to Identify Non-traditional PPE Consumers 
  NEHA encourages the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to consider the need for identifying non-traditional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) consumers, such as environmental health practitioners, to maximize the effectiveness in the distribution of critical medical resources.

Sign-Ons

"Sign-on" is a term used to characterize certain policy positions. Often one or more organizations, like NEHA, will seek to develop a policy position or position on a particular piece of legislation. To increase the impact and effectiveness of that position, once developed, it is circulated among other organizations and groups having a similar interest in that given policy area. A consensus position is developed among these various groups, allowing them to sign-on to a policy or legislative position. That letter or policy statement is then sent to Congress and it becomes a more effective way to communicate a position because of the combined effect of all groups that join in that stand. NEHA uses this mechanism as means of gaining greater attention for a policy or legislative position.

NEHA has joined organizations in communicating the following positions:

• Sept 2021: NEHA Supports CDC Resolution

• June 2021:  NEHA Support Public Health Infrastructure Act S 674. View the document.

• June 2021: Comments to EPA on Rescinding the Rule on Costs and Benefits regarding the CAA. View the document.

• June 2021: NEHA Letter to the Department of Transportation. View the document.

• June 2021: NEHA Letter to EPA on National Air Toxics Assessment. View the document.

• May 2021: NEHA support the Climate Change & Health Promotion Act. View the document.

• April 2021: NEHA joins Declaration on Climate Change and Health. View the document.

• April 2021: NEHA joins Declaration to support EPA’s Private Well Funding Request. View the document.

• April 2021: NEHA joins CDC Coalition in supporting the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). View the document.

• April 2021: NEHA joins CDC Coalition in supporting CDC Social Determinants of Health program. View the document.

• April 2021: NEHA joins the CDC Coalition to support the CDC Data Modernization Initiative. View the document.

• March 2021: NEHA joins the CDC Coalition to support the CDC National Center for Environmental Health funding at $322 million for FY 2022. View the document.

• March 2021: NEHA joined with the decentralized water coalition in supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Decentralized Water Systems Grant program to be fully funded at $20 million for FY 2022. View the document.
• March 2021: NEHA joined with the Vector-Borne Disease Network to support vector-borne disease programs at CDC at $82.603 million for CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Disease and $30 million for the Kay Hagan Tick Act. View the document.
• March 2021: NEHA joined several public and environmental health organizations to support the CDC Climate and Health Program at $50 million for FY 2022. View the document.
• February 2021: NEHA joined the CDC Coalition in supporting CDC funding at $10 billion for FY 2022. View the document.
• January 2021: NEHA and environmental health partners outline priorities for the incoming Biden administration. View the document.
• January 2021: Letter to Congress and Administration on Climate Change and Health. View the letter.
• January 2021: Letter to U.S. Senator Ed Markey on the Environmental Justice Mapping and Data Collection Act. View the letter.  
• January 2021: NEHA support of the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2021 (H.R. 379) Supporting Organizations (347). View the fact sheet. 
• June 2020: Letter to Andrew Wheeler, EPA Administrator, regarding proposed standards for the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). NEHA joined several health organizations to comment on the EPA's proposed ambient air standard for particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) as not being as health protective as possible. View the letter.
• May 2020: Joint Health Organizations letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). View the letter.
• May 2020: Joint Letter on EPA efforts to Censor Science. View the letter.
• ​​​May 2020: Joint Sign-on Letter to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Speaker McCarthy on the Public Health Workforce Repayment Act. View the letter.
• April 2020:  NEHA joins public health and medical organizations to support $4.5 billion in additional annual funding for CDC, state, local, tribal and territorial core public health infrastructure to pay for such essential activities as disease surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, all-hazards preparedness and response; policy development and support; communications; community partnership development; and organizational competencies. View the letter.

• April 2020:  NEHA joins health care providers, patient organizations and public health professionals write to ask that the Administration take immediate action to alleviate the critical shortage across the nation of ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, face shields and gowns, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. View the letter.

• March 2020: NEHA joins public health and medical organizations to request a minimum 60-day extension of the deadline to comment on the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPR), letter to Andrew Wheeler, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. View the letter.
• March 2020: NEHA joins public health and medical organizations to support increased funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Climate and Health Program, letter to Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. View the letter.
• March 2020: NEHA joins public health and medical organizations to support funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at a minimum of $677.4 million, letter to Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, U.S. House of Representatives. View the letter.
• March 2020: NEHA joins charitable nonprofits to request $60 billion in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) relief aid and stimulus package. View the letter.
   

View Archived Sign-Ons