CDC Announces $60 Million to WA State Health Departments From Funds Murray Secured to Strengthen Public Health

Local health departments will be able to use grants awarded to WA state to hire workers, update data systems, address inequities, and more

Murray has introduced legislation to ensure public health infrastructure investments like these are maintained so communities remain ready for public health threats

Senator Murray: “This pandemic has made it painfully clear these are exactly the kind of investments we need to be making every year.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcing it is awarding Washington state public health departments over $60 million in grants to strengthen the state’s public health workforce, infrastructure, and capacity. The grants come from $3 billion in public health funding Senator Murray fought to include in the American Rescue Plan, and $200 million she secured to establish a new Public Health Infrastructure program in the FY22 spending bill.

“People in Washington state want to know our public health departments have what they need to protect families and save lives—which is why I fought so hard for this funding, and continue to fight for more. Thanks to these grants, public health departments across Washington state will be able to hire and train staff, modernize data systems, strengthen local partnerships, address inequities, improve communication to fight misinformation, and make sure they have whatever they need to serve our communities.

“This pandemic has made it painfully clear these are exactly the kind of investments we need to be making every year. We cannot afford to slip back into the cycle of crisis and complacency when it comes to public health funding. That’s why I’m pushing to triple CDC’s new public health infrastructure program in our FY23 spending bill and build on this progress with my Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act which will ensure we maintain bold, annual investments in this critical work for years to come.”

CDC announced it is awarding $44.04 million dollars to the Washington State Department of Health to support public health infrastructure and local health departments across the state, and that it is awarding $19.15 million dollars to King County Public Health Department.

Senator Murray has been a steadfast champion for investments to strengthen the nation’s public health infrastructure—from securing the funds behind the CDC grants announced today, to pushing for her Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act, which would build off the announcement today by making annual investments in building the nation’s public health infrastructure at every level.

She is also continuing to work to pass her bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act which would improve the nation’s public health preparedness and response systems, as well continuing to fight to include critical COVID funding in the end of year funding package.

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