Labor-HHS Democrats Call On Full Committee Appropriations Chair to Direct Subcommittee to Hold Hearing Immediately

WASHINGTON, DC--The Democratic members of the House of Representatives Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS)-Education Appropriations Subcommittee today called on Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to direct Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston (R-GA) to immediately hold a hearing on the detrimental effect of cuts to our public health infrastructure. Since October 7, the Democratic members of the subcommittee have twice called on Kingston to hold such a hearing.

The Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee is responsible for funding three critical public health agencies that have been at the forefront of public consciousness due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes for Health (NIH), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

“Our subcommittee has not heard publicly from the CDC or the NIH since March, and we need to independently assess their response to these critical public health crises,” wrote Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey and subcommittee members Lucille Roybal-Allard, Barbara Lee and Mike Honda. “That is our solemn responsibility as members of the Subcommittee…While we may disagree on the merits and the necessity of these cuts, we have a responsibility to ensure that CDC, NIH and the other public health agencies under our jurisdiction have sufficient resources to protect the public health and are taking the appropriate actions today to address it.”

The representatives also pointed out that, although Congress is not in session, the Homeland Security Committee held a field hearing on October 10, and the Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday to discuss this public health crisis.

The letter can be read in its entirety here.


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