NACCHO had a busy year advocating on behalf of local public health in Congress and with the Administration amidst a rapidly changing federal landscape. NACCHO focused many of its efforts on securing sustained and reliable federal funding for the public health workforce and core public health capabilities, educating policymakers about how policy and funding changes at the federal level were impacting constituents at home, and supporting NACCHO members’ advocacy efforts across the nation, and serving as the voice of local public health.
Connecting Local Public Health Leaders and Policymakers in Washington, DC
Throughout the year, NACCHO provided opportunities for local public health leaders to engage directly with policymakers to highlight the important work they do to keep their communities healthy and safe. During NACCHO’s annual Local Public Health on the Hill Day in February, NACCHO organized over 100 meetings between local public health leaders and their elected officials. This event provided an opportunity for local health officials to educate Members of Congress on their important work, discuss the challenges their communities face, and explain how federal funding and policy can support them. This was an important opportunity for participants to build meaningful relationships with their elected representatives.
Later in the year, we hosted a second Hill Day with members of NACCHO’s HIV, STI, and Viral Hepatitis (HSH) workgroup. During this event, NACCHO arranged meetings with 26 lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Participants spoke with legislators about how funding for CDC and other public health agencies supports local health department efforts to address HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis, and overdose prevention, as well as how important predictability in federal funding and activities are to supporting their work
NACCHO also worked to raise awareness through Congressional Briefings in 2025. In April, NACCHO supported Jennifer Greene, Director and CEO of the Appalachian District Health Department, who participated in a Congressional briefing on public health preparedness. The event, organized by the Trust for America’s Health, allowed Jennifer to highlight the critical role of local public health in responding to the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina and to share ways that the local health department continues to support recovery efforts.
In November, NACCHO hosted a virtual Congressional Briefing with over 500 attendees, entitled Game Time: Strengthening Public Health Emergency Preparedness for the 2026 World Cup. During the briefing, Dr. Philip Huang of Dallas County Health and Human Services, Dr. Marvia Jones of Kansas City Health Department, and Dr. Hansel Asmar of Bergen County Department of Health Services, discussed the important work their health departments are doing to prepare for the 2026 World Cup. The conversation highlighted the critical role their health departments are playing for the games to occur while protecting the health and safety of players, attendees, and the surrounding communities. Throughout their remarks, the panelists identified several key federal funding streams that help support these planning efforts.
Expanding Grassroots Education and Advocacy Across the Nation
In addition to supporting NACCHO members while in Washington, DC, NACCHO also worked this year to build additional opportunities to make connections with policymakers in their districts. In 2025, NACCHO launched our new Public Health Is Local initiative to support members’ advocacy efforts back home. This new initiative included webinars on how to engage with members of Congress when they are home for extended periods during Congressional recess, a meeting toolkit providing step-by-step instructions on how to secure and conduct an educational meeting, shared messages about the important work of local health departments , and a document to share with policymakers about the importance of federal investments in local public health. These efforts supported multiple connections between local health department leaders and their elected officials without having to leave their community.
To compliment these efforts, NACCHO’s Congressional Action Network mobilized on six different occasions to weigh in on important federal policy actions, including the WIC funding shortfall earlier this year. This year, NACCHO’s Congressional Action Network facilitated over 3,500 engagements between NACCHO members and Congress.
NACCHO also provided opportunities for local public health leaders to speak directly to officials in the Administration and to come together to provide feedback on federal activities via our monthly All-Local Health Official call. This year, NACCHO hosted 11 monthly calls, with a diverse set of speakers and real-time updates and analysis from NACCHO experts on federal policy and funding changes.
With the rapid changes that occurred at the federal level this year, NACCHO also significantly increased the number of briefings we provided to our members, both in-person and virtual, to ensure local public health leaders and staff had the details they needed to continue their important work. In 2025, NACCHO’s Government Affairs team engaged in over 100 presentations, panel discussions, webinars, briefings, and other speaking engagements to provide policy updates to NACCHO members, SACCHOs, members of Congress and the Administration, NACCHO workgroups, and other public health partners and stakeholders. We also developed policy trainings delivered at NACCHO’s largest convenings, the Preparedness Summit and NACCHO360.
To compliment this work, NACCHO’s Government Affairs team published in-depth policy analysis and deep-dive summaries of the President’s Budget Request and federal funding bills, as well as weekly updates through our News from Washington e-newsletter. Additional communications came through 11 blogs on NACCHO’s website covering the changing federal landscape and our monthly podcast, where we discuss policy, advocacy, and other relevant topics.
Serving as the Voice of Local Health Departments
As the national voice for all local health departments, NACCHO works each year to enact key priorities as adopted by the Board of Directors. To do this, NACCHO’s Government Affairs team advocates directly with elected officials on Capitol Hill and key policy makers in the Administration to advance the interests of the field. This included extensive work to raise awareness of the unprecedented claw back of funding that hit many local health departments in March 2025, address federal funding process changes that delayed CDC grants to health departments, and advocate for responsible federal funding levels for FY26. NACCHO worked with members on both sides of the aisle to support the work of our members. In addition, we submitted over 250 formal appropriations requests to Congressional offices and sent 16 letters to Congress and the Administration advocating for robust federal support for local health departments. As a trusted expert, NACCHO was called upon to help advise Congressional offices as they prepared for hearings. NACCHO also provided regulatory comments on policy issues ranging from environmental health to vaccine policy. Notably, this year, NACCHO also worked with the bipartisan authors of the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to push for reauthorization of the program. We are proud to report the continued bipartisan support for this important program, despite the challenging environment in Congress.
In addition to these efforts, NACCHO engaged in robust policy development and communication efforts. Throughout the year, Advisory Workgroups updated 19 policy statements to ensure they reflect current local public health needs.
NACCHO’s commitment to advocating for local health departments extends beyond its direct work with Congress and the Administration. We continue to work in coalition with national partners to address a wide range of public health challenges. By working with a broad range of partners, we leverage collective expertise and resources to advance our shared public health goals, while ensuring the perspective of local public health is included in stakeholder policy efforts.
2025 was a year of great instability in federal policy and funding. Looking ahead, NACCHO will continue its robust advocacy efforts into 2026, building new relationships on Capitol Hill and in the Administration to strengthen support for the critical work of local health departments. By advocating for responsible levels of funding, a stronger workforce, and improved infrastructure, NACCHO is working to ensure that local health departments have the resources they need to protect and promote the health of their communities.