FLICKR, RAED MANSOURThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is facing dark days. Not only has the agency been marred by the resignation of Director Brenda Fitzgerald last month, but Congress has also been slowly chipping away at funding for the agency’s public health programs.
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law on December 22, it cut $750 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF), diverting the money to cover costs of CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. CDC relies on PPHF for 12 percent of its budget, with much of that money going toward state and community programs.
And, the PPHF’s bloodletting isn’t at an end. Today (February 9), Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed a bill that would cut $1.35 billion from the PPHF over the next 10 years, leaving the fund up to $1 billion short of its initial goal each year. And, Congress has the power to divert these remaining funds to programs outside the PPHF’s mandate.
With the ...
