March 5, 2026 Page Two
Congress recognized the importance of this issue when it asked CDC to develop and submit a plan outlining how PRIs can be improved in the fiscal year 2020 budget. In 2021, the agency addressed the issue in the Department of Health and Human Services congressional justification to Congress. CDC stated they have the infrastructure in place to achieve this objective. The agency is proposing to: • collect clinical samples through its National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which has the organization and expertise to collect the specimens from healthy children; and • utilize its Environmental Health Laboratory (EHL) to generate reference intervals for children and disseminate the information to clinical laboratories. EHL has developed reference intervals in the past through industry standards. The House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations committees included report language in the Fiscal Year 2026 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, & Related Agencies appropriations bills encouraging CDC to begin work on this initiative. However, the agency needs an additional $10 million to initiate and advance this vital work. The undersigned organizations support the CDC’s approach and urge Congress to provide the funding needed to improve PRIs and ensure quality and equitable care for our country’s children. We are asking Congress to appropriate an additional $10 million to CDC’s FY 2027 budget for the Environmental Health Laboratory to fund this important initiative. We appreciate your consideration on this matter.
Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists American Academy of Pediatrics American Association of Nurse Practitioners American Clinical Laboratory Association American College of Clinical Pharmacy American Medical Technologists American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science American Society for Clinical Pathology American Society of Andrology American Society of Hematology American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology American Urological Association Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Arkansas Children's Hospital ARUP Laboratories Association for Academic Pathology Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Association of Public Health Laboratories Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health Avalon Healthcare Solutions Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
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