Let’s get CHW Funding in the next Federal Budget!
Our friends/allies at Families USA have flagged a time-sensitive (but optional) advocacy opportunity over the next few weeks to help advance CHW funding in the federal budget.
Senator Gillibrand is leading a Dear Colleague Letter in the United States Senate (attached) urging support for CHW funding in the FY 2027 federal appropriations process. The deadline for Senators to sign on is Thursday, April 16, so now is a key time to reach out and ask your Senators to support this effort. With hundreds of similar letters currently circulating in Congress, lawmakers rely on constituents to highlight the ones that matter most.
Take action now (it’s quick):
Please email your Senator’s office through their website or send an email to the staffers that you know with the template email below.
Template email to ask your Senator to support the Dear Colleague Letter
If you choose to email Senate staff directly, feel free to personalize the message with examples of CHW work in your state — but that is not required. Be sure to include the Quill link, as that is how Senate offices sign onto the letter (note: the link only works for Congressional staff).
Subject line: Dear Colleague Letter for CHW Funding
Hello (staffer’s name),
I’m reaching out as both your constituent and as a Community Health Worker (CHW) [ally] in [CITY, STATE], to ask the Senator to sign a dear colleague letter requesting funding for CHWs in the FY 2027 LHHS appropriations bill.
CHWs are frontline public health workers who have strong connections to the communities they serve. These trusted relationships enable CHWs to effectively address health issues through outreach, education, informal counseling, social support—in a way that works best for individuals, families, and communities. More than 60 years of research demonstrates that CHWs are effective at improving health outcomes while reducing costs by supporting people to manage and improve their chronic health conditions, particularly in rural communities and areas impacted by health workforce shortages.
Congress has passed bipartisan legislation to authorize $50 million for a CDC grant program for CHWs to promote positive healthy behaviors and outcomes for populations in rural and medically underserved communities. However, this program has not yet been funded. Congress should build on this bipartisan support for CHWs by appropriating $50 million in the FY 2027 LHHS bill.
Senator Gillibrand is leading a dear colleague letter requesting robust funding for CHWs to promote healthier communities. Please use this Quill link to sign onto the letter. The deadline for signatures is April 16.
Quill link: https://quill.senate.gov/letters/letter/35028/opt-in/view/842d4b1f-3531-46a3-98ab-d3a3a4169a6b/
If you have any questions, please contact Charlene Kuo at: Charlene_Kuo@aging.senate.gov.
[Optional if your Senator sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, feel free to add:]
I understand that you may not sign onto Dear Colleague letters for appropriations, but I wanted to share this request to emphasize that this is a priority for me as your constituent.
Sincerely,
Need more context? Check out the info below, which answers:
· What is the annual federal appropriations process?
· What is a Dear Colleague Letter and why do they matter for influencing the federal budget?
· What is the CDC grant program for CHWs mentioned in this Dear Colleague Letter?
You can also view Ali and Lucas’s appropriations explainer slides from last year here: view slides 6-12.
Have questions?
Please reach out to Kenzie at mmarshall@familiesusa.org.
Additional background information
What is “appropriations”?
Every year, Congress considers several appropriations bills, which provide funding for federal programs and priorities. An “appropriation” allows a government agency to spend a specified amount of money on a program or service. We can use our power and our voices to ask Congress to include CHWs in the budget! Certain members of Congress sit on the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate and have more influence in how these funding bills are put together, but other members are also able to push for their funding priorities.
What is a Dear Colleague Letter?
A “Dear Colleague Letter” is a letter sent by members of Congress to other members of Congress. In the appropriations context, a Dear Colleague Letter is most commonly a letter from a group of members of Congress to the Appropriations Committee, asking the Committee to support a particular program. Therefore, members of Congress on the appropriations committees do not usually join appropriations dear colleague letters (since this would be like joining a letter to yourself). As advocates, these letters are a chance to ask as many members of Congress as possible to go on record supporting a program.
What is this CDC grant program for CHWs mentioned in this Dear Colleague Letter?
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act recognized CHWs and created a CDC grant program to fund CHWs to “promote health in underserved communities.” However, Congress never appropriated the funds for this grant program to offer any awards, meaning this pot was never filled with money. At the end of 2022, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that reauthorized (or, updated) this grant program at a recommended funding level of $50 million. However, Congress still needs to appropriate funds for the CDC to have authority to make awards to CHW programs. While other CDC funding, including grants for specific diseases, do fund CHW work, this grant program is explicitly for CHWs. This means that while the reauthorized grant program passed with a recommended funding level, $0 have been appropriated. In other words, there is now an empty cup for CHWs written into the federal budget with an opportunity to “fill” it to $50 million, but it has yet to be filled. More information on this program is in U.S. law here.