Fwd: [BikeWalkAdvocates] Sign on letter: Support CDC work on physical activity.

[Jim Baross]

A request from the League that I want you all to act on.

Thanks!

Jim Baross

CABO President

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Caron Whitaker <ca...@bikeleague.org>
Date: Wed, Jul 8, 2026, 1:43 PM
Subject: [BikeWalkAdvocates] Sign on letter: Support CDC work on physical activity.
To: BikeWalkAdvocates <bikewalk...@googlegroups.com>

Hi All, 

We need your help.  The House of Representatives has passed a Health and Human Services budget that basically zeros out funding for almost all the physical activity programs under the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.  We are working with partners to ask the Senate to reinstate those funds in the below sign on letters. 

REACH: https://t9qe9.share.hsforms.com/2fLPxBHu1TYmIPMjqLTx2yQ

DNPAO: https://t9qe9.share.hsforms.com/2mKItijPTQWGevYF9Zk2l-g

Background 

DNPAO funds a number of programs including:

the State Physical Activity and Nutrition program (SPAN)- 17 states get a 5 year grant to work on one or all of these issues.  MN has used the grants to promote the BFC program (through BikeWalkMN), its also been used to help communities access Safe Street for All and TAP grants, as well as to forward complete streets policies. In Many of these cases it has involved working with and funding state and local advocacy organizations. 

 The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program. It  is a CDC-funded program to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities or gaps in physical activity and nutrition. It funds programs to specifically target communities suffering from high levels of obesity.  Some state and local bicycling advocacy organizations have also benefited from these grants. 

High Obesity Program-  This program  funds 16 land grant universities to carry out to supports policy, systems, and environmental changes to address health disparities related to nutrition, physical activity, and obesity. The HOP program is the only program funded by the House (it is a congressionally mandated program with Republican support) 

To help support SPAN and REACH we are asking organizations to sign onto these two letters to Senate Appropriations Committee members.  While the House bill zeroes out SPAN and REACH, the Senate has the opportunity to refund the programs. Our goal is to close the letters in late July and deliver them before Congress goes on its August break.

What about Make America Healthy Again?

We keep hoping the Dept of Health and Human Services will increase their support for physical activity but so far what we've seen is talking points and challenges from the administration that: 1) emphasis on more in the gym/ strength training, 2) set a very high that can feel unattainable and unreachable to people currently inactive—the new getactive.gov promoted a challenge to do 50 pull ups and 100 pushups in under 5 minutes; and 3) don't fund agencies and organizations to meet the unique needs of communities. 

Here are the forms to sign on (Links to letter on the forms)

REACH: https://t9qe9.share.hsforms.com/2fLPxBHu1TYmIPMjqLTx2yQ

DNPAO: https://t9qe9.share.hsforms.com/2mKItijPTQWGevYF9Zk2l-g

CARON WHITAKER, Deputy Executive Director (she/her/hers)
CA...@BIKELEAGUE.ORG | 202-215-3908

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS
WWW.BIKELEAGUE.ORG

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