Reed, Whitehouse, Magaziner, & Amo say Trump’s short-sighted move will cost RI over $30M, jeopardizes preparedness for future public health emergencies, and needlessly puts lives at risk
WASHINGTON, DC – As the Trump Administration announces that it will claw back $11.4 billion in previously awarded federal funding to state and local health departments, the Rhode Island congressional delegation is teaming up to say that the Trump Administration’s short-sighted approach to public health is leaving local communities more susceptible to preventable outbreaks of dangerous diseases, like measles.
The federal funding being targeting for recoupment by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) include investments that have significantly strengthened local preparedness for public health emergencies, made it easier for people to get safe and effective vaccinations, and supported community health workers on the frontlines of keeping their neighbors safe and healthy. Additionally, portions of the $11.4 billion being pulled back across the nation were being used to address health disparities in high-risk and vulnerable populations, like seniors and low-income families who were most affected by the pandemic.
In Rhode Island, the CDC has cancelled four grants totaling over $30 million that support the state’s post-pandemic initiatives. Despite the CDC’s claim that these funds were being pulled back because the pandemic ended, the claw backs come at a time when lessons learned from the pandemic can be critical in helping states better respond to future public health emergencies.
Much of the funding being pulled back by the Trump Administration had to be expended within the next six months. In many cases, the undisbursed federal funding was being used to help communities address public health issues beyond COVID and strengthen successful programs that helped save lives and kept communities informed and healthy.
“Penny-wise and pound-foolish sums up this latest Trump move. Clearly the Trump Administration has learned no lessons from their botched COVID-19 response during President Trump’s first term nor their current mismanagement of measles outbreaks across the nation. The programs being targeted were critical in helping states respond to and recover from the pandemic and helped to create new public health infrastructure that will be critical to responding to future public health emergencies,” said Senator Reed. “By failing state and local public health departments and allowing us to lapse in our preparedness for future emergencies, the Trump Administration’s CDC claw back is a sure-fire way to ensure we get caught flat-footed for future pandemics.”
“Our delegation supports preparedness and response capacity to keep Rhode Islanders safe from public health threats. This claw back is not helpful to Rhode Island’s medical community,” said Senator Whitehouse.
“Federal public health funding helps keep Rhode Islanders safe, supports frontline health workers, and strengthens Rhode Island’s ability to respond to future health emergencies,” said Representative Seth Magaziner. “It’s outrageous that the Trump Administration is clawing back these vital resources. We should be expanding access to public health—not gutting programs like these to pay for tax breaks to benefit the wealthy.”
“As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By stealing funding dedicated to bolster Rhode Island’s public health infrastructure, the Trump administration is leaving our community less prepared and less safe for future emergencies,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “I join my delegation colleagues in demanding the immediate restoration of critical funds. This decision leaves our state and local health departments without the tools and resources necessary to keep Rhode Islanders healthy and safe.”
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, the disease is still claiming hundreds of lives across the nation each week. The public health emergency declared for COVID ended on May 11, 2023. Additionally, researchers across the nation are still working to better understand and treat long COVID.
The delegation also emphasized that Trump’s CDC claw back of federal public health funding comes as over 300 cases of the dangerously contagious measles virus have been reported in 15 states, including Rhode Island. As the Trump Administration targets federal public health agencies for mass-firings and scientific censorship, disease surveillance is being weakened, research is being halted, irresponsible vaccine skepticism is being touted by top Trump public health officials, and preventable diseases are spreading across America.
