Protect Health & Climate Data: End Trump’s Data Shutdown

The Trump administration’s decision to halt the collection of vital data on maternal mortality, drug use, and climate change is a reckless attack on public health and national safety. Ending the CDC’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System means losing critical insight into why maternal deaths—especially among Black women—are rising in the United States. Without this data, experts and lawmakers are flying blind (Time, April 2025). At the same time, the EPA has announced it will stop tracking greenhouse gas emissions from thousands of polluters. This data has been central to environmental policy, public health protections, and holding corporations accountable. The Union of Concerned Scientists has called the removal of climate and environmental justice data from federal websites a theft of public knowledge (The Guardian, April 2025). These moves are not just bureaucratic changes—they are deliberate efforts to suppress facts and avoid accountability. Without reliable information, policymakers cannot act effectively. Communities at risk lose the ability to protect themselves. Public trust erodes. Legal and academic experts agree: transparent data is the foundation of a functioning democracy. I urge you to act immediately. Support legislation that protects public data collection and ensures this information remains publicly available. In a democracy, facts matter—and no administration should be allowed to erase them.