As a new presidential administration takes office, it is important to reflect on the past four years that brought both key victories and daunting challenges for children’s health.
The Academy served as a leading voice for children in the nation’s capital, advocating across all three branches of government to prioritize the needs of children and advance policies that support their health and well-being.
Following is a snapshot of numerous victories during the Biden-Harris administration made possible by AAP members’ advocacy efforts.
Digital health and social media safety
In September 2022, the Academy secured funding through the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to establish a National Center of Excellence on Social Media and Mental Wellness. Guided by Co-Medical Directors Megan A. Moreno, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.Ed., FAAP, and Jenny Radesky, M.D., FAAP, the center provides education and technical assistance for clinicians, parents and those who support young people as they navigate social media.
Working with a youth advisory panel, the center has produced several educational resources, including a Q&A Portal on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, Glossary of Digital Media Platforms, the 5 Cs of Media Use, a resource guide for pediatricians on school phone policies and several other resources.
Early childhood health
In 2022, Congress passed the AAP-endorsed Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Act (H.R. 8876). This bill reauthorized the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program for five years and doubled its federal funding.
The AAP played a lead role in the campaign to reauthorize MIECHV. An op-ed by then-AAP President Moira A. Szilagyi, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, calling for Congress to reauthorize the program was published in The Hill and was featured on “The Today Show.”
Gun violence prevention
Following the tragic Uvalde Elementary School shooting in May 2022, the Academy collected more than 300 pediatrician testimonies on how gun violence has impacted their lives and their patients’ lives. The testimonies were shared with legislators, on social media and in the news.
The stories and continuous advocacy from the Academy helped pressure Congress to pass the first major federal legislation on gun violence prevention in nearly 30 years; in June 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). Incorporating longstanding AAP priorities, the law provided $750 million to strengthen background checks for buyers under age 21 and support states’ use of red flag laws. These laws allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge to remove a firearm from the environment of a person deemed at risk of harming him/herself or others.
The Academy also had urged the administration to strengthen background checks for firearms and close the loophole allowing guns to be sold by private individuals at gun shows, without background checks. The administration finalized a rule to do so in early 2024, though challenges to the policy continue to move through the courts.
Environmental health
In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376), which included the single largest U.S. investment to address climate change. The Academy has long advocated for investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the child health impacts of climate change. If implemented, these investments will put the country on track to decrease greenhouse gas emissions to approximately 40% below 2005 levels by 2030.
In February 2023, the Academy also joined other health organizations in a press release celebrating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final rule reaffirming regulation of mercury emissions, the subject of an AAP lawsuit.
Later that year, the EPA finalized a rule to reduce methane, a major greenhouse gas, and other harmful air pollution from the oil and natural gas industries. The Academy submitted comments and joined coalition partners in a letter supporting the proposal and will continue to monitor the EPA’s implementation of the rule.
Product safety
In May 2022, the president signed into law the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, which banned the manufacturing and distributing of crib bumpers and inclined sleepers. This had been a longtime priority for the Academy.
Congress also passed the AAP-endorsed Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act in 2023. The act requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to revise the safety standards for freestanding clothing storage units such as dressers, bureaus or chests of drawers. Prior to the bill passing, the Academy had joined a coalition of consumer safety, health and industry groups on a letter calling for Congress to pass the bill.
Emergency medical services
In December, President Biden signed into law the Emergency Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2024, which ensures this program to improve the emergency medical care continuum for children remains authorized for the next five years. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation was the subject of several hundred pediatrician visits on Capitol Hill, including during the 2024 Advocacy Conference. Many pediatricians also called and wrote to their legislators advocating for the bill's passage.
Last year was consequential for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Extensive AAP advocacy helped secure an additional $1 billion to ensure WIC was fully funded and to align the WIC food package with AAP recommendations.
The Academy also worked with Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to make summer electronic benefit transfer for children a permanent program. It offers $120 per eligible school-aged child to buy groceries during the summer.
The Academy’s commitment, along with that of hunger relief organization Share Our Strength, to offer training to members on screening for nutrition insecurity and referring patients to federal and community nutrition resources was featured at the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the first such conference in more than 50 years.
Mental health
In July 2022, HHS launched the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The hotline has taken over 10 million calls, with states reporting significant uptake among young users who also took advantage of the program’s texting capabilities. In addition, georouting will be required for all wireless calls, which the AAP has called for.
The previous year, the AAP along with other leading pediatric health organizations declared a national emergency in youth mental health. The declaration was followed by a new U.S. Surgeon General Advisory Protecting Youth Mental Health.
AAP leadership on the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, helped secure $160 million in new supplemental funding and a reauthorization of the program in the BSCA that paved the way for the Academy to receive a grant to become a technical assistance provider to the program.
