WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today joined 23 of her Senate colleagues in calling on leaders of the Appropriations Committee to include $50 million in funding for gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the letter, the Senators point to the string of mass shootings that have occurred since they last wrote to urge funding for this vital research.
“We should embrace our responsibility to enact evidence-based solutions to the epidemic of gun violence,” write the Senators in their letter. “While limited research exists, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, and researchers lack comprehensive scientific information about the causes and characteristics of gun violence, which could inform the development of strategies to thwart future tragedies. This appropriations request will allow federally-funded public health researchers to revive a dormant field of study.”
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin has long supported funding for gun violence prevention research and has cosponsored legislation to provide $50 million in funding for the CDC to conduct or support research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.
A copy of the letter is available here.
In addition to Baldwin, the letter was led by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and signed by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Angus King (I-ME), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
An online version of this release is available here.
