Ranking Member Anna G. Eshoo (CA-16) delivered an opening statement at the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It’s an honor to welcome six leaders from the CDC this morning. I believe this is the first time we’ve had all CDC center directors together for a hearing, so thank you for being here.
“Since its founding over 80 years ago, the CDC has become the world’s leading health agency. It is the first responder to dangerous outbreaks globally, a leader in cutting-edge research, and the backbone of our nation’s public health infrastructure.
“The CDC is the largest federal source of funding for state and local public health and prevention programs. Many members may not realize that over 80 percent of the CDC’s funding is distributed directly to state and local public health programs. When the CDC is strong, our communities are strong. However, there is a serious mismatch between our public health investment and our nation’s needs. The U.S. spent more than $4.5 trillion and $14,000 per capita on health care in 2022, but only $19 per person on public health.
“The pandemic worsened this mismatch. Congress provided tens of billions of dollars to the CDC and local public health, but budgets have since been cut. These cycles of overspending during emergencies and underspending to improve basic biosecurity tools leave our data systems and public health workforce fragile and unprepared.
“The current House appropriations bill to fund the CDC for 2025 continues this trend, cutting the agency’s funding by $1.8 billion, a 22 percent reduction from the previous year. The bill also eliminates key CDC programs, including:
The Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which protects women, children, and families from domestic abuse, sexual violence, and gun violence.
The Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, which aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030.
Initiatives to prevent chronic disease and improve children’s health.
“Over 160 medical and public health organizations oppose these cuts because they would severely weaken our public health infrastructure and put millions of Americans at risk. Public health has become a casualty of partisanship. For example, over a year ago, the bipartisan Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness reauthorization bill (PAHPA) fell apart because the Majority chose to ignore the underfunded public health system and key CDC programs. Our nation has a shortage of 80,000 public health workers, and we’re collecting public health data about outbreaks via fax machines and scraps of paper. We’ve set up the CDC and our local public health agencies to fail, and PAHPA has still not been reauthorized. I am the original author of that legislation, and I feel strongly about it.
“Strengthening public health has been my priority throughout my tenure in Congress. I look forward to hearing from the center directors today about how we can move the CDC forward, not backward, because the American people deserve only the best. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.”
