Press Releases

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and asked her to consider applications from Wisconsin for the Community Transformation Grants without support from Governor Walker.

The City of Milwaukee Health Department was informed that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will not support the city’s application even though no state matching funds are required.  Without a letter of support from the state, Milwaukee’s application will not be considered.

Congresswoman Moore said, “For whatever reason, Governor Walker and his administration are so willing to deny the return of Wisconsinites’ federal tax dollars.  This funding is available, and we should get a shot at it.  The city can put it to good use to help fight asthma and diabetes.  Yet, apparently in Madison some backward ideology trumps our health.”

This fits with the pattern of Wisconsin returning or jeopardizing federal funding.  Most recently, the Wisconsin State Legislature allowed nearly $90 million in extended unemployment benefits to lapse.  State-level changes to food stamps, Medicaid and collective bargaining could jeopardize tens of millions of dollars to help hungry Wisconsinites eat, ensure maternal and child health, and fund transit systems across the state.  The state has also returned $23 million that would have expanded broadband access in rural schools and $800 million for high-speed rail.  

The full text of Moore’s letter follows:

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201

June 24, 2011

Dear Secretary Sebelius:

I have recently learned that a Community Transformation Grant application from my district, from the City of Milwaukee Health Department, is in jeopardy because Governor Scott Walker’s administration continues to put political ideology above the health and well-being of the people of Wisconsin.

As you know, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that under the newly-implemented Community Transformation Grants (CTG) program, community-based organizations can apply for a share of the more than $100 million available in the program’s first year. The Community Transformation Grants, which will be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are a key element of the Affordable Care Act’s prevention activities. CTGs will help improve health outcomes and reduce overall costs for our health system. These CTGs will allow communities to set up evidence-based projects to reduce chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, affecting local populations. Communities could use these funds to address a range of disease prevention and health promotion areas, including environmental health, HIV, cancer, and maternal, infant, and child health. The goal of this program is to improve the health of local communities, particularly among groups experiencing poor health and low access to quality, affordable health care.

The residents of the City of Milwaukee, with its severe health disparities and high burden of chronic disease, would benefit greatly from such a program. This city is, unfortunately, known for its surprising and appalling health statistics. For example, Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate is higher than in all but six of the country’s 53 largest cities—and black babies in Milwaukee die at about 2.5 times the rate of white babies. Our incidence of asthma is second in the nation; an estimated 30,000 children in Milwaukee County have asthma. Milwaukee’s Community Transformation Grant proposal includes multi-pronged strategies for addressing these issues, as well as several of the City’s other pressing health problems.

Given the dire need for CTG funding, the City of Milwaukee’s Health Department has spent over a year laying the groundwork for its application. The Health Department has prepared extensively for the application process by bringing together stakeholders, developing a detailed plan of action, amassing relevant data, and much more. They have formed a strong coalition with buy-in from all necessary partners. In sum, they are well-positioned to apply for, obtain, and administer a Community Transformation Grant. The City of Milwaukee’s application is one of just two anticipated from the State of Wisconsin.

Unfortunately, this week the City of Milwaukee Health Department learned that their application will be stopped in its tracks because they will be denied the final step needed to complete the process: the letter of support from the state’s Department of Health Services. Despite the fact that no state matching funds are required, Governor Walker’s administration has indicated that it will not support such grant applications. This is not the first time that the Walker administration has turned away federal funds to make a political point, at the expense of Wisconsinites—and, in this case, it is at the expense of our health.

The CDC has stipulated that without a letter of support from the state, community-based organizations’ applications for CTGs will not be considered. Considering the great need in Wisconsin, and the fact that the Governor will deny the return of federal tax dollars to the state to make an ideological point, I request that the CDC consider applications originating in Wisconsin without requiring a state letter of support. In fact, I would go one step further and urge you to reconsider this requirement altogether. We must allow access to critical Community Transformation Grant funding for all states, regardless of the political ambitions of their governors.  

Sincerely,