Your action is needed right now because the payroll tax plan passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening slashes the Prevention and Public Health Fund by more than two-thirds!

Most of the debate has centered on an oil pipeline controversy, and we don't want the Senate to focus on that and lose sight of the cuts in prevention.

We need YOU to tell Congress TODAY
that something is very wrong with this picture! 

The Prevention and Public Health Fund was created with bipartisan support as part of the healthcare reform bill in order to begin shifting our focus from spending money on treating sick people to preventing illness in the first place. Now, the Prevention Fund is under attack.

The Prevention Fund should NOT be cut because it is used for strategic investment in community-based prevention programs that have been proven to work.  These programs also save healthcare costs in the long run. In Illinois, the Fund includes the Illinois Department of Public Health's recent award of $24 million for the Community Transformation Grant program.

Cutting the Prevention Fund would be penny wise and pound foolish -- CONGRESS MUST FIND ANOTHER WAY!

Primary Talking Point -- To make this process as easy as possible, consider using the short paragraph below as your primary talking point:

"I urge you to preserve the Prevention and Public Health Fund.  Please, oppose any efforts to reduce, eliminate or divert its funding, including the 68% cut to the Fund in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 that was recently passed in the House of Representatives."

Additional Talking Points -- Funding prevention now means lower medical costs later. It means healthier friends and family, healthier communities, a healthier nation, and a healthier economy.

Click here for even more detailed talking points and background information about the Prevention and Public Health Fund. 

How To Contact Your Elected Officials -- If you need contact information for your elected officials, please click here to use an e-Advocacy tool provided by our partners at the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.  

Warm Regards,

Elissa Bassler

Exec. Dir, Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity

CEO, Illinois Public Health Institute

954 W Washington Blvd

Suite 405 / Mailbox 10

Chicago, IL 60607

(312) 850-4744

Elissa.Bassler@iphionline.org