The AAMC joined a letter requesting $35 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), $25 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and $1 million for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for firearm morbidity and mortality prevention research (PDF) as part of FY 2025 appropriations. The letter also encourages Congress to explore opportunities for supporting this research at all other appropriate agencies.
The letter detailed how this research is critical in supporting evidence-based strategies to reduce firearm-related violence, including suicides, violent crime, and accidental shootings. “Continued and expanded funding could support the creation of additional, large, multi-year studies and accelerate the rebuilding of a research community that shrank in the decades before Congress restored this federal funding. Robust and sustained research on motor vehicle crashes and subsequent legislation has helped save hundreds of thousands of lives through public health interventions, including seat belts and other safety features. The same approach can help reduce firearm-related injuries in our communities, including ensuring that the CDC, NIH, and NIJ are able to adequately fund non-biased, evidence-based research into this public health priority.”