This month's podcast episode from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), includes discussion on leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the upcoming federal funding deadline, and the House of Representatives' Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations bill. This legislation was approved by the full House Appropriations Committee on September 9. Additional details are available in NACCHO's comprehensive analysis of the bill. For weekly updates, subscribe to NACCHO's News from Washington newsletter: www.naccho.org/advocacy/news.

Later in the program (9:06), NACCHO highlights National Preparedness Month and previews the 2026 Preparedness Summit. The Preparedness Summit, the country's first and longest-running national conference on public health preparedness, is now accepting abstracts. The theme for next year's Summit is "Protecting Our Communities: State and Local Preparedness in Action," focusing on the need for increased self-reliance on state and local partnerships amid a changing federal policy and budget landscape. The Summit will be held April 13-16, 2026, in Baltimore, MD, and registration options are available for in-person or virtual attendance. Abstracts are being accepted for both formats. Learn more at www.preparednesssummit.org.

###

About NACCHO

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the over 3,300 local governmental health departments across the country. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information, visit www.naccho.org.