As the stopgap funding bill dominates the congressional calendar, members will be forced to consider tough choices. Issues like the war in Ukraine, disaster aid for ever more frequent weather events, and same-sex marriage rights will be on the table. Even a pipeline project. For these issues, there is no clear answer.

But there is one place where nonpartisanship can prevail, and where we need immediate action now. And that’s the need to protect American lives.

If the last three years have taught us anything, we as a country choose to be prepared for a health crisis. We can either choose to invest early to avoid a crisis, or we can do the bare minimum and hope it’s enough to keep the inevitable at bay. In the past, we would have relied on supplemental funding from Congress to adapt the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS)—created to protect Americans in the event of bioterrorism—to meet the needs of a crisis. But we’ve learned this isn’t a long-term solution.

The SNS is intended to provide the American people protection in the event of a pandemic, public health crisis, or biological attack. During the height of the COVID-19 crisis, we all experienced the challenges that arise when the stockpile isn’t adequately prepared. Vaccines expire and need to be regularly replenished. A decade ago, the stockpile had 20 million doses of one type of smallpox vaccine, which has shown protection against monkeypox. That particular vaccine supply has now dwindled down to 2,400 usable doses– just 0.01% of what we had before.

We should come together around sustainable investment and disciplined decision-making that protects American lives. Now is our chance to end the cycle of crisis and complacency and invest in a healthier, safer future.

Congress can do this by including supplemental monkeypox funding in the upcoming appropriations legislation. Such additional funding would address the public health emergency in front of us as well help protect against much more lethal threats in the future; it would also ensure funding for research and development of medical countermeasures continues. Such an approach will save lives, keep America safe, protect our economy, and keep our schools operating. That is something all Americans agree on.

This approach isn’t just for the benefit of federal programs. Fully funding pandemic preparedness trickles down to the state level, as local partners play a key role in emergency response. Ensuring they’re funded and ready is the essence of preparedness. It’s all about preventing crises and securing protection with the hopes you’ll never need it.

Public health threats and the risk of future health crises don’t go away with one bite at the apple. Over the long-term, Congress can also fix the broken cycle by working to reauthorize a stronger Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) that would allow for sustained and robust investments in manufacturing, workforce development, advanced research and development, and stockpiling critical vaccines and therapeutics.

There’s a range of complex, competing choices when it comes to keeping America healthy, strong, and successful. But there’s one step we can agree will save lives and protects us against future pandemics: fund health preparedness.