DeLauro Calls for Additional Funding to Address the Zika Virus, Opioid Epidemic, and Flint Water Crisis
WASHINGTON, DC (March 23, 2016) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today delivered the following statement at a hearing on the FY 2017 budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
Here are the remarks, as prepared for delivery:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to welcome Dr. Frieden. Thank you for being here this morning to discuss the 2017 budget request for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC is the first line of defense in protecting Americans from public health emergencies. It is vital to the well-being and safety of American families, and it is an essential part of our country’s defense and its security apparatus.
Most of the CDC’s funding supports core public health infrastructure across the country, including state and local health departments, public health laboratories, and nonprofit and community-based organizations. The CDC also plays a primary role in responding to emerging public health threats.
One year ago, we were in the midst of a world-wide response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The CDC ultimately deployed more than 2,000 staff to West Africa to respond to the Ebola threat – protecting American lives as well as those in West Africa.
Right now, we are facing three public health crises on three fronts, and the CDC is critical to confronting each of them to protect American families and children: The Zika virus, the opioid epidemic, and the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan. Unfortunately, Congress is dragging its feet, leaving Americans at risk.
The Zika virus is affecting thousands of pregnant women and causing their babies to be born with severe birth defects. It is infecting travelers returning to the United States, and it is even being transmitted sexually. We are about to send hundreds of American athletes to Rio for the Olympics, and thousands more will attend as spectators. We are sending a blood supply to Puerto Rico. We need to act quickly on the Administration’s request for emergency supplemental appropriations to defend against this serious threat.
Some of my colleagues have expressed a desire to shift unobligated funds that Congress provided for Ebola to respond to Zika. I strongly oppose that idea because of the activities we would have to forgo if we shift funds away from Ebola to Zika and I hope that Dr. Frieden will discuss these today. We need to be able to respond to multiple public health threats at the same time.
That is why this Congress and last Congress, I proposed funding the Public Health Emergency Fund to enable the federal government to immediately respond to public health threats. It is modeled on the Disaster Relief Fund, which enables a rapid federal response following a natural disaster. If we can act quickly to respond to floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, we should be able to act quickly to respond to public health emergencies.
Before I move to the fiscal year 2017 request, I want to take a minute to review the fiscal year 2016 Omnibus.
Last year, we provided an increase of $308 million for the CDC, about 4.5 percent over the 2015 level, including a critical investment of $160 million to address the threat of antibiotic resistance, which has the potential to threaten the entire health care system.
And we provided an increase of $50 million to respond to the opioid and prescription drug crisis. Of the over 47,000 drug overdose deaths in 2014, heroin was a factor in 10,574 deaths, and opioids were involved in 20,808—and sadly, opioid deaths are likely undercounted. Thousands more people are addicted or in recovery.
Responding to this crisis, I was pleased to see the CDC release new prescribing guidelines, helping providers and clinicians to strike a balance between pain management and patient safety. We must work to find alternatives to opioid prescriptions and only use them when appropriate. It is our responsibility to address this need and Congress should support the President’s request for $1.1 billion.
I am concerned we were unable to fund other high-priority areas of public health. The majority of last year’s increase—about 83 percent— was allocated to three programs: antibiotic resistance, opioid abuse prevention, and the strategic national stockpile.
That means only one-sixth of last year’s increase was allocated to support the rest of the CDC’s critical work. Chronic disease prevention was cut by 22 percent, including a 3 percent cut to tobacco prevention. Prevention of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STDs, and Tuberculosis was increased by less than one-half of one percent.
And environmental health was increased by less than $3 million, including an increase of only $1.5 million for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program. Given what we are seeing play out in Flint, Michigan, we need to support this program—I am disappointed that the Administration’s proposal for this year would not fund lead poisoning programs in all 50 states. We can and must do better than this. Do we not understand that children and adults are at risk of lead poisoning all over the country? According to CDC, more than half a million children under age 5 have elevated lead in their blood. It is unconscionable that we would cut back on this program.
That brings us to the 2017 budget request. There are good proposals in this budget. There are modest increases for antibiotic resistance and prescription drug abuse prevention, as well as a request of $10 million for gun violence prevention research. These are important initiatives, and I will support them.
But overall, I am concerned that this proposal cuts CDC’s program level by $194 million below current levels.
I see that once again, the budget includes cuts to cancer screenings, immunizations, minority outreach, occupational health, as well as complete elimination of the preventive health and health services block grant. These programs are too crucial to American families to sacrifice.
That is why the subcommittee allocations that will be released next month will be so important. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join us in urging an increase for Labor-HHS in fiscal year 2017.
When I look at this budget, and I read the mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I cannot help but feel that we are nickel and diming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—an agency whose mission is the defense of the American people. The initiatives you lead have the power to defend American children and families from life-threatening health crises. We need to treat the CDC funding with the level of gravity it deserves.
I thank the chairman and I look forward to your testimony, Dr. Frieden, and today’s discussion. Thank you.
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