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The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito Chair Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Washington, D.C. 20510	The Honorable Robert Aderholt Chair Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Tammy Baldwin Ranking Member Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Washington, D.C. 20510	The Honorable Rosa DeLauro Ranking Member Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairs Capito and Aderholdt and Ranking Members Baldwin and DeLauro,

The undersigned organizations representing public health, environmental, and clinical stakeholders respectfully request that you provide at least $120 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) within CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. 

Wastewater surveillance is a powerful and cost-effective public health tool that provides early warning of infectious disease outbreaks—without requiring individuals to be symptomatic or tested for infection. Currently, NWSS supports wastewater surveillance data collection and reporting in all 50 states, 7 territories and several Tribal communities. Continued investment is vital to sustain and strengthen this program and ensure it can effectively inform U.S. biosurveillance and health security efforts. 

NWSS has been solely supported with supplemental funds. CDC has invested more than $500 million in supplemental funding to state health agencies to build wastewater surveillance capacity, including laboratory testing, data infrastructure and a trained workforce capable of translating data into actionable public health insights. However, CDC has exhausted all available supplemental funding to support wastewater at the agency and will have no funding to sustain the national program beyond Sept. 30, 2026. Without additional funding, the U.S. could lose this vital and cost-effective early warning system at a time of increasing public health threats. 

Data collected through NWSS provides timely, community-level insight into disease trends, allowing public health officials to detect increases or declines in infection earlier than traditional clinical surveillance. This enables faster, more targeted responses, including resource allocation, public communication and mitigation efforts. For example, in August 2025, public health officials in Mesa County, Colorado detected wild-type measles through wastewater surveillance before clinical cases were widely reported. Public health officials used this early signal to increase staffing and provide timely public guidance on symptoms, treatment and prevention. As measles continued to spread across the U.S. in 2025, CDC expanded their capacity to detect measles to 630 sites across 48 states, covering 26% of the U.S. population. 

NWSS also continues to expand its utility across emerging threats. In collaboration with an academic partner, CDC added highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) to its wastewater surveillance capabilities in May 2024. This testing is now being done at 152 sites spanning 41 states, enabling public health officials to detect potential outbreaks of H5N1 without waiting for patients to seek care. 

Sustained investment in NWSS will protect prior federal investments, preserve critical public health infrastructure, and ensure that state and local partners can continue to respond rapidly to emerging biological threats. To ensure the United States remains prepared to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, we respectfully request that you include $120 million for the NWSS at the CDC in FY 2027. 

Thank you for your ongoing support of public health, and for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

American Society for Microbiology
AdvaMedDx
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Jail Association
American Public Health Association
Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Big Cities Health Coalition
Biophysical Society
Clear Labs
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Infectious Diseases Society of America
National Association of Clean Water Agencies
National Environmental Health Association
National Network of Public Health Institutes
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society for Public Health Education
Trust for America's Health
Wastewater Action Alliance