MoBikeFed asks Congress to support CDC's Built Environment and Health initiative
Recently the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation joined dozens of organizations across the U.S. to ask Congress to extend funding for the National Center for Environmental Health’s Built Environment and Health Initiative (BEHI). We will be talking with Missouri Senator Blunt and the other Missouri members of Congress about this initiative when we visit Washington, DC, for the National Bike Summit next month.
February 25, 2016
The Honorable Roy Blunt, Chair
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
135 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Patty Murray, Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
156 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20150
The Honorable Tom Cole, Chair
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
2358-B Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Blunt, Ranking Member Murray, Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro:The more than 100 undersigned national, state and local organizations understand the critical impact that transportation and the built environment have on the health of Americans. We respectfully request that you allocate $3 million for FY2017 to the National Center for Environmental Health’s Built Environment and Health Initiative (BEHI).
The choices we make about land use, transportation options and the built environment affect levels of physical activity, air quality and traffic pollution, traffic crashes, access to health care and healthy foods, community violence and much more. Good built environment choices can enable our residents to be healthier and save billions in averted health care costs for asthma, obesity, traffic injuries and more.
While there are many linkages between health and transportation, often federal, state and local departments of transportation and health operate independently, resulting in decision-making about transportation that does not consider the health impacts on people. BEHI has been a leader in changing this pattern—significantly advancing the practice of performing health impact assessments (HIAs) of transportation projects by providing technical assistance and support for public health officials and producing an innovative Transportation and Health Tool that will allow transportation decision-makers to benchmark their progress in creating healthy transportation options. Several of the HIAs that BEHI supported have won awards while also improving the health of residents, including ones in rural Curry County, Oregon and urban Nashville, Tennessee.
Within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and across other government agencies, BEHI staff provide expert assistance, research and consultation about the best program and policy approaches to create healthier built environments. They have also supported the work of organizations that educate practitioners about environmental health, community design and active transportation. With the recent passage of a new five-year transportation bill and the Surgeon General’s focus on walking to improve health, the expertise of BEHI is more in demand than ever.
We greatly appreciate your consideration of our request to provide $3 million in FY2017 to the great work of BEHI. This small investment is critical to help public health officials, organizations and local communities make informed decisions about the built environment to best address the health of their residents. We greatly appreciate your consideration of this request, and would be happy to discuss further with you.
Sincerely,
National Organizations
Active Living By Design
Adventure Cycling Association
Alliance for Biking & Walking
America Walks
American Association on Health and Disability
American Institute of Architects
American Public Health Association
American Society of Landscape Architects
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
ChangeLab Solutions
Children & Nature Network
Commonweal
EVO2GO
Human Impact Partners
Institute for Human Centered Design
Institute of Transportation Engineers
International Mountain Bicycling Association
Lakeshore Foundation
Localeikki
National Association of Counties
National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
National Environmental Health Association
National Interscholastic Cycling Association
National Physical Activity Plan Alliance
National Recreation and Park Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
PeopleForBikes
Prevention Institute
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Raimi + Associates
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Safe States Alliance
The League of American Bicyclists
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Transportation for America
Transportation Public Health Link
Trust for America's Health
Walkable and Livable Communities Institute
State and Local Organizations
Living Streets Alliance, Tucson, AZ
BikeSD, San Diego, CA
California Bicycle Coalition, Sacramento, CA
California Walks, Oakland, CA
O'Neill Sea Odyssey, Santa Cruz, CA
Outdoor Outreach, San Diego, CA
PlaceWorks, Los Angeles, CA
Walk San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
WALKSacramento, Sacramento, CA
Mile High Connects, Denver, CO
Bike Walk Connecticut, West Hartford, CT
Florida Department of Health in Collier County, Naples, FL
Urban Health, Miami, FL
Albany Area YMCA, Albany, GA
Georgia Bikes, Savannah, GA
Healthy Savannah, Savannah, GA
Moultrie YMCA, Moultrie, GA
PEDS, Atlanta, GA
Richmond Hill YMCA, Richmond Hill, GA
RS&H, Inc. , Atlanta, GA
Westside Communities Alliance, Atlanta, GA
YMCA of Coastal GA, Inc., Savannah, GA
Active Transportation Alliance, Chicago, IL
Bike BloNo, Bloomington-Normal, IL
Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Ride Illinois, Aurora, IL
Community Schools of Frankfort, Frankfort, IN
Health by Design, Indianapolis, IN
Healthy Communities of Clinton County, Frankfort, IN
IndyCog, Indianapolis, IN
Bicycling for Louisville, Louisville, KY
Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, Boston, MA
Maryland State Advisory Council on Physical Fitness, Baltimore, MD
Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Portland, ME
Transit for Livable Communities, Saint Paul, MN
BikeWalkKC, Kansas City, MO
Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, Jefferson City, MO
Active Richland County, Sidney, MT
Bike Walk Bitterroot, Hamilton, MT
Bike Walk Montana, Helena, MT
Carrboro Bicycle Coalition, Carrboro, NC
MountainTrue, Asheville, NC
Bike-Walk Alliance of NH, Concord, NH
Granite State Wheelmen Bicycling Club, Salem, NH
Plan New Hampshire, Portsmouth, NH
New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition, Upper Montclair, NJ
Raynolds Addition Neighborhood Association, Albuquerque, NM
Smithtown Youth Bureau, Smithtown, NY
The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY
Transportation Alternatives, New York, NY
Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Portland, OR
Eugene Safe Routes to School, Eugene, OR
Bike Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition, Providence, RI
Palmetto Cycling Coalition, Columbia, SC
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Bike Walk Tennessee, Nashville, TN
Livable Memphis, Memphis, TN
BikeHouston, Houston, TX
The Energy Corridor District, Houston, TX
American Planning Association Virginia Chapter, Richmond, VA
BikeWalk Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA
Greater Richmond Fit4Kids - Richmond City Safe Routes to School, Richmond, VA
Brattleboro Area Bike/Ped, Brattleboro, VT
Local Motion, Burlington, VT
Feet First, Seattle, WA
West Virginia Connecting Communities, Charleston, WV
Wyoming Pathways, Wilson, WY
Working to advocate for more, better, and safer places to walk and bicycle in our communities is a big part of our Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Working with our Missouri members of Congress to ensure that these programs received adequate funding helps us achieve that mission.
Your ongoing membership and generous financial support help turn our Vision into reality!
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