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American Public Health Assn. Scores Members of Congress on Public Health Congressional Record

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 12:00 CST

WASHINGTON, March 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association (APHA) today released its annual congressional record, which measures how members of Congress voted on legislation that is important to public health.

APHA's report was compiled by examining hundreds of individual votes and selecting key public health votes during the First Session of the 109th Congress in 2005.

In the Senate, three out of 100 senators voted in support of APHA's position on all 10 of the key issues for which their votes were recorded, and received a 100 percent rating. Key Senate votes from 2005 included in this year's record focused on issues such as funding for health programs and reproductive health services, restoration of Medicaid funding cuts, transportation and motorcycle safety, and supplemental appropriations for survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

In the House, 148 out of 435 representatives voted in support of APHA's position on all eight of the key issues for which their votes were recorded, and received a 100 percent rating. Key House votes from 2005 focused on issues such as parental consent for abortion, fit testing of respirator masks, emergency supplemental appropriations for survivors of Hurricane Katrina, health appropriations and Medicaid funding cuts.

"Tracking votes is a clear way to measure the support in Congress for public health," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "It also reminds our nation's leaders that APHA and its members are watching to see who's helping protect the public's health."

The APHA congressional voting record only reflects the votes taken on selected pieces of legislation, and does not reflect the number of legislative proposals a member introduces, leadership in committees, influence over other members or level of expertise. In addition, readers of the voting record are advised that votes on particular legislative provisions should be judged in the overall political context that surrounds such provisions as well as in the context of other related and unrelated legislative provisions contained in the same bill, resolution or amendment. Therefore, APHA asks readers not to judge a member of Congress' qualifications for office or overall level of support for public health and APHA's positions solely on the basis of this report.

The congressional record appears in the March 2006 issue of The Nation's Health, the official newspaper of the American Public Health Association. The voting record may be ordered by purchasing a single copy of the March 2006 issue for $5 by phone at 202-777- 2516, fax at 202-777-2532 or e-mail at nation.subscriptions(At)apha.org. The Nation's Health can be found online at http://www.thenationshealth.org.

APHA members may access a PDF version of the vote tally from the APHA Members Only Area at http://www.apha.org by using their member password. Members who need more information should call Brian Williams at 202-777-2514. Members who have forgotten their member password should e-mail membership.mail(At)apha.org or call 202-777- 2400.

Founded in 1872, the APHA is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. The association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community- based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health providers, educators, environmentalists, policy-makers and health officials at all levels working both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions. More information is available at http://www.apha.org.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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