02.14.20

Trump Budget Slashes Programs Central For Combatting Diseases Like Novel Coronavirus

Novel Coronavirus:

Cases – More Than 64,000 – Global Death Toll – 1,383

Trump’s Proposal For:

Center On Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Disease – Slashed By $85 Million

Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund – Slashed By $35 Million

Public Health Preparedness Response Program – Slashed By $25 Million

Pandemic Preparedness Programs – Slashed By $10 Million

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – Devastating Cuts

Est. Unknown Viral Disease Species In Mammalian And Avian Populations – 1.6 Million

We should all be asking whether we – the United States and the international community – are doing enough to combat and prepare for this known and escalating threat.  It seems obvious that we are not.

 

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
Vice Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee