Prioritizing Frequent Causes of Child Mortality in the 119th Congress

I am writing to express my deep concern that current legislative priorities focus on statistically rare events while leading causes of child mortality remain unaddressed. Specifically, I am troubled by the prioritization of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 21 / S. 6). CDC data show the scenario this bill addresses is an extreme outlier, often involving fatal anomalies. This focus creates significant opportunity cost and legislative redundancy, as the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 already grants full legal personhood and protection to infants born at any stage. While Congress focuses on settled law regarding rare occurrences, the following escalating causes of child mortality require urgent intervention: 1. Firearm Violence: Firearms are the leading cause of death for U.S. children. Despite this, safety measures like the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act remain stalled, leaving families unprotected. 2. USAID Global Health Funding: The "strategic pause" on USAID contracts is devastating international child survival. Experts estimate these shifts will result in over 160,000 additional preventable child deaths annually due to disrupted medical and nutrition programs. 3. Vaccine-Preventable Disease: Resurgent infectious diseases threaten domestic health security. Hundreds of American children die annually—and tens of thousands are hospitalized—from preventable illnesses like influenza, pertussis, and measles. The 2024–2025 flu season saw a record 289 pediatric deaths, mostly among the unvaccinated. Prioritizing legislative theater over proven immunization programs misallocates vital federal resources. As your constituent, I ask that you: - Oppose H.R. 21/S. 6, which adds unnecessary legal complexity to existing medical standards. - Support the full restoration of USAID global health funding to prevent mass child mortality abroad. - Advocate for a public health approach to firearms, the leading killer of American youth. - Demand HHS accountability regarding vaccine hesitancy. Use your oversight authority to ensure that federal leadership champions evidence-based interventions rather than undermining public trust in life-saving immunizations. I look forward to hearing how the 119th Congress plans to address these documented and preventable causes of death.