NCHH Statement on CDC RIFs: Mass Layoffs Risk Death and Injury from Environmental Hazards
Media Contact: Christopher Bloom, cbloom@nchh.org
COLUMBIA, MD (April 1, 2025) — This morning, we received word that the staff for the entire Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice within the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control has been laid off as part of a reduction in force (RIF) across CDC and HHS. This division includes the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, the National Asthma Control Program, the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, and other key programs that protect public and environmental health. This unprecedented move is deeply troubling. Eliminating these programs will cause harm to everyday Americans, and, instead of increasing efficiency, will actively undermine the impact of other federal, state, and local programs.
There are over 500,000 children in the U.S. who have blood lead levels at or above the CDC’s reference value. That’s equivalent to nearly 24,000 kindergarten classrooms full of kids with preventable lead exposure that may hinder their ability to learn and thrive. The CDC program is the main way that funding to identify and serve these children gets to state and local health departments. Currently, 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico receive a total of over $37 million a year. These are multiyear awards that started in 2021.
The CDC lead program is statutorily funded by Congress, with a most recent appropriation of $51 million. We have not yet received notice that grants to states or localities have been canceled, but even if the grants are not officially canceled, the program will be decimated by the loss of staff. Every day, CDC staff maintain surveillance systems that track lead poisoning, train public health professionals, provide technical assistance and partnership to states, cities, counties, and laboratories, and provide guidelines for healthcare providers.
About one in 12 Americans have asthma and an average of 10 Americans die from asthma each day, making it one of the most costly and common diseases currently impacting American communities. Most of these deaths are preventable. The CDC asthma program funds 29 states, territories, and localities to improve asthma surveillance, collect and analyze data not available elsewhere, translate asthma guidelines into public health practice, and address indoor and outdoor asthma triggers. The Environmental Public Health Tracking Network funds 33 states and maintains a national public-use data platform with indicators on topics including air quality, birth defects, extreme heat, cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other environmental health hazards. These data are essential to helping the federal government, states, and communities to make smart investments in keeping Americans healthy.
Other programs in the division provide critical services to help communities respond to environmental threats ranging from the safety of the water we drink to the risks of cancer-causing exposures like radon and the aftermath of radiation emergencies and natural disasters.
There is some reporting that some of these functions may shift to a new entity or be combined with other agencies and programs. The exact nature and scope of the intended reorganization, including to what extent, if any, it will address the core services provided by the eliminated CDC programs is unclear. Either way, the immediate impact of these mass layoffs at the only federal program currently providing these services will undermine state and local efforts to protect Americans from environmental exposures.
“Gutting these programs is an attack on public health and means that more children will be unnecessarily and unjustly exposed to lead and other environmental hazards and left without support to recover from the harm they suffer as a result,” said Amanda Reddy, Executive Director of the National Center for Healthy Housing. “We invite other public health leaders and anyone who cares about children to join us in calling on Congress to stop this irresponsible and dangerous move.”
Those who want to join us in taking action against this attempted deconstruction of programs that protect public health can:
- Contact your member of Congress, tell them how this action will affect your work and community, and ask them to speak against this move. Step-by-step instructions and talking points are described below.
- Sign up to participate in the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition’s Hill Day—virtually or in person—on May 19-20, 2025: bit.ly/NSHHC_Hill25.
- Send us your own public statement so we can link it on this page. We will keep this statement updated with further information as we receive it.
“These programs are essential to any plan to make America healthy,” continued Reddy, “and we have decades of evidence about their impact and effectiveness. These programs save money and protect Americans, which is something all of us should be able to get behind. We urge this administration to reconsider this unjust and economically unsound attack on the safety of everyday Americans.”
Congressional Call Instructions and Script
These instructions were created to respond to threats to CDC but can be used for any topic or program—simply substitute the appropriate agency names below. If you’ve never done this before, here are the steps:
- Identify your members of Congress here.
- Call the 202 number listed for each office that will appear at the previous link. Or, you can call the congressional switchboard (202-224-3121 for both the Senate and the House of Representatives) and ask the operator to transfer you to the specific office.
- A staff member will answer the phone, or you may be directed to voicemail. Identify yourself or your organization, where you live or work, and tell the staffer about the work you do and what the impact will be if you stop receiving federal funds.
A script template that you may want to use is below. If you have any questions or need help figuring out who to call or what to say, contact Sarah Goodwin at sarah@nshhcoalition.org or 443-539-4172. Also, if you are okay with us collecting and sharing your story with others as an example of these impacts, please let us know. You can also let us know if you were able to get through to your congressional offices and if you received any feedback. Note that providing information to your elected officials about the work that you do and how this change may impact your community is legal and does not count as lobbying; anyone can do it.
Sample Call Script for Grant Recipients
My name is [your name here], and I work at [your organization here] in [your state community]. One of the things we do is [describe an activity or project here; e.g., fix lead-based paint hazards in homes or help older adults age in place]. We are funded to do this work by [name the CDC program or office from which you receive funding]. We are worried about how the layoffs at CDC will impact us and the people we serve. [Describe how people will be impacted; if you don’t know the details, use information about how your program currently operates; e.g., we fix 15 homes every month or 50 families depend on our services]. Right now, we don’t know when we can count on funding from the federal government to pay for this work, or if we will have to stop helping our community. [OPTIONAL: If you have specific grant payments you are expecting soon, or specific services you will have to stop providing if you stop receiving funds, detail that here.] [OPTIONAL: If you feel comfortable making this ask: I urge your office to make a statement about how the layoffs at CDC are dangerous for public health and will put our community at risk.] If [senator/representative’s name] has any questions about our work, I’m happy to share more and can be reached at [your phone number/email, if you are comfortable sharing].
Sample Call Script for Partners
My name is [your name here], and I work at [your organization here] in [your state community]. One of the things we do is [describe an activity or project here; e.g., fix lead-based paint hazards in homes or help older adults age in place]. As part of this work, we have a strong partnership with [name the CDC office you work with]. The partners we work with at CDC are hardworking public servants who provide valuable support to us and our efforts to protect public health. We are worried about how the layoffs at CDC will impact us and the people we serve. [Describe how people will be impacted; if you don’t know the details, describe an example of the work you do in partnership with CDC.] [OPTIONAL: If you feel comfortable making this ask: I urge your office to make a statement about how the layoffs at CDC are dangerous for public health and will put our community at risk.] If [senator/representative’s name] has any questions about our work, I’m happy to share more and can be reached at [your phone number/email, if you are comfortable sharing].
Sample Call Script for Individuals
My name is [your name here], and I live in [your state community]. I’m calling today because I’m concerned about the layoffs at CDC, particularly the elimination of key environmental programs like [list one or more of the following: lead, asthma, Environmental Public Health Tracking, Climate and Health, disaster response, environmental health services]. I care about these programs because of how they protect everyone’s health. This is personal to me because [if you are comfortable sharing, you can share a personal story; e.g., my child was exposed to lead, I have asthma].
OR: This matters to our state because [share a fact or statement about your state or community; e.g., we have a lot of older housing that has lead paint in New York, climate change has made extreme heat a real threat here in Arizona. If you need ideas for facts, you can use the ones on our state fact sheets].
Our state and local health departments depend on these programs at CDC. I am worried about how the layoffs at CDC will impact my family/community. [If you have details or specific concerns about the CDC impacts, describe how people and/or your community could be impacted.] [OPTIONAL: If you feel comfortable making this ask: I urge your office to make a statement about how the layoffs at CDC are dangerous for public health and will put our community at risk.] Thank you!
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About the National Center for Healthy Housing The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) is a leading national nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives by transforming housing. Since 1992, NCHH has served as a highly regarded and credible change agent, successfully integrating healthy housing advocacy, research, and capacity building under one roof to reduce health disparities nationwide. Follow NCHH on Bluesky (@nchh), Instagram (@nchhorg), Threads (@nchhorg), LinkedIn, or X (@NCHH), become a fan on Facebook, or subscribe to NCHH’s YouTube channel.