A writer for Scientific American recently pointed out that funding for the Center for Disease Control’s funding for public health preparedness has taken serious hits over the course of the past decade.
According to funding data analyzed by Judy Stone, annual funding for preparedness efforts have fallen by $1 billion between 2002 and 2013.
Stone, an infectious disease specialist, said that this reduction in funding hampered the U.S. in its response to the first Ebola patient in Dallas.
She lamented that politicians who are poorly informed about infectious disease prevention are in charge of resources for such efforts. She said that funding cuts have led to job losses at the local level, impacting local health officials ability to prepare for an outbreak.
“At this rate, what is happening in Dallas is going to be about as effective as the shameful response to Hurricane Katrina was,” she wrote.
Read Judy Stone’s full analysis here.
Stone, an infectious disease specialist, said that this reduction in funding hampered the U.S. in its response to the first Ebola patient in Dallas.
Thanks Republitards!
But it’s Barack Hussein Obola’s fault, because he’s to blame for EVERYTHING!!! Get it RIGHT ya litburds!!! Obola was to blame for Katrina, he was to blame for the 9/11/01 attacks, he was to blame for Saint Reagan being shot and JFK’s assassination! Time to inpeeeech!!!
/s
Bam! She’s talking about you, GOP Conservatards!
BrownieMitchie, your doing a heckuva job!Every time the Rs raise the hue & cry about …well, whatever (I have come to think of it as the shitstorm du jour)…our first reaction should be to look at the history of the funding. The Republican schtick since 2000 has been to scream about government ineptness and then ensure that it is by underfunding.
I’m glad that someone has run the numbers. It is surely a very dismal story, but I don’t think it as simple as blaming the Republicans. It looks like spending hit its peak in 2006, when the Republicans controlled both the WH and the Congress. I don’t know if there were special circumstances that caused this, but it would be important to find out. The Democrats took control of the Congress for the 2007 budget year, and the spending started to come down at that time. Once Obama came into office, the spending stabilized for the “Obama Stimulus Years”, but then started to fall rapidly, as the Republicans took control of the Congress. That slash in funding is worthy of great condemnation, and I agree that the Democrats should use it as a very visible example of what Republican budget making has caused. But, before we take the issue to the public, it would be a good idea to know what Obama proposed during these years? Did Congress cut his appropriations request? Did Obama fight for higher numbers? What about the Democratic Senate vs the Republican House. This is important information to have, too.