House Federal Spending Plan Ignores Record-High Numbers of Congenital Syphilis Cases in the U.S. 

Proposed funding level ignores overall record-setting rise in STIs and the funding needs of state and local public health programs  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10, 2024 
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, [email protected], (919) 749-7309 

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee released the FY’25 Labor-HHS bill which fails to provide the resources states need to curb rapidly rising sexually transmitted infections and fight congenital syphilis. Proposed funding for STI prevention programs is below FY’24 rates because appropriators eliminated a $10 million program designed to fix administrative burdens placed on states and ensure STI prevention programs’ funding remains stable. Elsewhere in the bill, appropriators eliminated HIV funding that has helped STI prevention programs reach communities heavily impacted by both HIV and STIs. Nationally, STI rates have increased dramatically, and, in November, the CDC released data showing a 32% increase in congenital syphilis cases in just one year.   

David C. Harvey, Executive Director of NCSD, issued the following statement on behalf of the National Coalition of STD Directors: 

“Today’s spending proposal from the Appropriations Committee highlights the House’s ongoing failure to provide leadership in the face of record-high STI numbers. The decision to not fully fund STI prevention continues the frustrating trend of forcing states to meet the demands of an out-of-control STI epidemic without new resources or even with funding to account for two decades of inflation. Adding insult to injury, the House eliminated language that preserved level funding for individual states, cities and the U.S. Territories as they are trying to combat spiking STI rates and protect them from administrative burdens that have been worsened by delays in Congressional appropriations.”   

“We are shocked that this well-documented and well-publicized health crisis has not created alarm in the House. The House Labor-HHS Subcommittee did not mention the word syphilis once, even as babies continue to die of congenital syphilis. Nor did they mention drug-resistant gonorrhea, the shortage of the Bicillin L-A drug to treat syphilis, or any of the other issues the nation’s STI programs have worked tirelessly to help their communities cope with.”  

“We’re calling on the Senate to do better. The Senate must provide essential funding to STI prevention programs so they can protect their communities from explosive rates of STIs like and ensure that states have the resources they need to fight an out-of-control STI epidemic in America,” says David C. Harvey, Executive Director of NCSD. 

Anthony Merriweather, STD Director in the Alabama Department of Health (ADPH), offered comments on the devastating impact of underfunding critical STI prevention initiatives:  

“The situation here in Alabama, like in so many states, is dire. Alabama has been doing all it can with limited resources to address STIs, especially congenital syphilis. The legislature in Alabama has provided some funding to support STI initiatives, but we need more. ADPH encourages Congress to commit to programs to reduce STIs, most importantly, to reduce the devastating consequences of babies born with syphilis. The STI crisis in Alabama will continue to get worse unless we get the funding we need. Please protect our babies and our future!,” says Anthony Merriweather, STD Director in the Alabama Department of Health.   

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