Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 2884
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Health
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-04-10: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Last Updated
- 2025-12-05T06:31:21Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2025 aims to address structural racism and police violence as public health issues by funding research, data collection, and interventions through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It seeks to promote racial equity in health outcomes by treating racism as a preventable threat to well-being.
Key Provisions
- Short Title and Definitions (Sections 1-2): The bill is titled the "Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2025." It defines "antiracism" as policies and ideas that create racial equity (equal outcomes across racial groups) and "antiracist" as measures that achieve or maintain this equity.
- National Center on Antiracism and Health (Section 3): Establishes a new center within the CDC, led by a director with experience in racial and ethnic minority communities. The center's mission includes:
- Declaring racism a public health crisis and studying its historical and ongoing effects on physical, mental, and social health.
- Conducting research on how racism affects healthcare and related systems (e.g., housing, employment, environment).
- Developing and testing interventions to replace racist structures with equitable ones.
- Contributing to national and global discussions on racism's health impacts.
General duties involve:
- Researching topics like policies harming communities of color, implicit bias (unconscious prejudices), white supremacy, discrimination, social determinants of health (factors like poverty influencing health), and intersections with other oppressions (e.g., based on gender identity or disability).
- Awarding grants to public and nonprofit entities for data collection and analysis.
- Creating at least three regional centers of excellence in minority communities to study racism in health and successful antiracist efforts.
- Building a data clearinghouse for comprehensive, disaggregated data (broken down by race, ethnicity, etc.) that is publicly available while protecting privacy under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules.
- Providing public education on racism's health effects and antiracist solutions.
- Consulting with CDC offices, establishing advisory committees, training public health workers on racism, and setting data standards.
- Coordinating with Tribal authorities to respect data sovereignty (Tribal control over their information).
- Issuing biennial reports on antiracist activities.
Authorizes necessary funding for implementation.
- Law Enforcement Violence Prevention Program (Section 4): Creates a program within the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to:
- Research the health effects of police use of force, including brutality, deaths, injuries, trauma, and mental health impacts.
- Develop public health strategies to prevent harm from police interactions.
- Collect and analyze data on police violence and misconduct, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and independent researchers.
Specific functions include:
- Tracking statistics on police-related deaths, injuries, and brutality, including contributing factors like discrimination or socioeconomic issues.
- Producing public information, studies, and a strategic research plan to understand and reduce police violence.
- Studying international best practices and alternatives to police responses (e.g., non-law enforcement interventions).
- Awarding grants for epidemiologic research (studies of health patterns in populations) and interventions to reduce police violence.
- Standardizing data collection with federal, state, and local agencies.
- Submitting annual reports to Congress with recommendations to improve data and address racism in policing.
Authorizes necessary funding.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
This bill amends Part B of Title III of the Public Health Service Act (which covers general CDC functions) by adding a new section (320C) for the National Center on Antiracism and Health. It also adds a new program to the CDC's injury prevention framework, expanding the agency's role beyond traditional disease and injury focus to explicitly include structural racism and police violence as public health priorities. No existing programs are altered or repealed; instead, it introduces dedicated structures, funding, and mandates for equity-focused research, which were not previously required.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: The CDC and HHS will gain new responsibilities for research, data management, grant administration, and reporting, potentially requiring additional staff and resources. Coordination with DOJ, Tribal entities, and state/local agencies could improve inter-agency data sharing but may strain budgets without specified funding amounts. Tribal consultation strengthens respect for sovereignty but adds procedural steps.
- On Citizens: Racial and ethnic minorities may benefit from targeted research and interventions addressing health disparities caused by racism and police interactions, leading to better policies on housing, employment, and community safety. The public gains access to educational resources and disaggregated data, fostering awareness and equity. However, privacy protections ensure individual data security.
- On International Relations: The bill promotes global dialogue on racism's health effects and shares U.S. findings (e.g., via reports and best practices), potentially influencing international public health collaborations. It has no direct foreign policy mandates but could enhance U.S. leadership in equity-focused health initiatives.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities: Primary beneficiaries through research on disparities, regional centers in their areas, and interventions targeting racism's health effects.
- Public Health Professionals and Researchers: Gain training, funding, and data tools; required to incorporate racism measures in surveys and programs.
- Government Entities: CDC, HHS, DOJ, state/local/Tribal health agencies, and Tribal organizations, which must collaborate on data and consultations.
- Nonprofits and Community Groups: Eligible for grants to conduct research and interventions.
- Law Enforcement and Broader Society: Indirectly affected via studies on police violence, potential reforms, and public education on alternatives to policing.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Formally recognizes racism as a public health crisis, which could support future lawsuits or policies treating it like other epidemics (e.g., requiring data-driven responses). Mandates HIPAA-compliant data handling and federal data standards (from the Affordable Care Act), ensuring legal protections for privacy and equity reporting.
- Constitutional: Emphasizes government-to-government consultation with Tribes, aligning with constitutional obligations to respect Tribal sovereignty (under treaties and federal law), promoting meaningful inclusion without overriding local authority.
- Political: The explicit focus on "structural racism," "white supremacy," and police brutality as health threats may spark debate over government roles in social issues, potentially polarizing views on equity vs. neutrality in public health. It advances progressive goals of racial justice but requires congressional appropriations, leaving implementation vulnerable to funding decisions and political shifts.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
Cosponsors (23)
Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3], Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11], Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7], Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [D-FL-20], Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3], Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4], Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4], Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12], Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large], Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14], Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5], Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2], Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3], Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9], Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7], Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9], Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1], Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-39], Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2], Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15], Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25], Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12], Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7]
Recent Actions
- 2025-04-10: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- 2025-04-10: Introduced in House
- 2025-04-10: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2025 — issued 2025-04-10 — PDF (12 pages)