Trump administration isn't backing off proposed cuts to CDC budget

[babylonsister]

Trump administration isn't backing off proposed cuts to CDC budget
In early February, the White House unveiled a budget that called for deep CDC cuts. Yesterday, the administration refused to back down.
March 11, 2020, 9:20 AM EDT
By Steve Benen

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To be sure, this president had called for deep cuts to the CDC budget before, and Congress ignored those requests. But calling for CDC cuts in the midst of a global viral outbreak seemed especially bizarre.

Stranger still, the White House apparently hasn't changed its mind. The Hill reported yesterday:

Russ Vought, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, on Tuesday doubled down on proposed cuts to health services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite the coronavirus outbreak.

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) reminded the White House budget director that the president's blueprint proposed cuts to both the CDC and the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund. The Pennsylvania Democrat asked, "The question is today, as we sit here and we know about coronavirus and the impact it's taking on the people of the world and the economies of the world and the stock market and everything, as you sit here today, are you ready to take that back?"

It would've been easy for Vought to make some comments about "changing conditions" and "unexpected fiscal demands," but instead the White House budget director replied, "If you're asking if I'm sending up a budget amendment, no, I'm not sending up a budget amendment."

In other words, as far as Team Trump is concerned, the proposed cuts to the CDC have not changed.

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https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-administration-isn-t-backing-proposed-cuts-cdc-budget-n1155411?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR0lj5iUg0CaCYYre3LX_HV7kAmWwinRCCF0o2MQw_W9s3ZAab6mSgOLdoE