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October 3, 2014 12:16 pm - NewsBehavingBadly.com

[su_right_ad]Senator Patty Murray asked Anthony Fauchi, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about the effect of sequestration on fight Ebola.

“I have to tell you honestly it’s been a significant impact on us,” said Fauci. “It has both in an acute and a chronic, insidious way eroded our ability to respond in the way that I and my colleagues would like to see us be able to respond to these emerging threats. And in my institute particularly, that’s responsible for responding on the dime to an emerging infectious disease threat, this is particularly damaging.” Sequestration required the NIH to cut its budget by 5 percent, a total of $1.55 billion in 2013. Cuts were applied across all of its programs, affectingevery area of medical research.

Dr. Beth Bell, director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, testified before the committee, making a case for increased funding. Her department, which has led the US intervention in West Africa, was hit with a $13 million budget cut as a result of the cuts in 2013. Though appropriations increased in 2014 and are projected to rise further in 2015, the agency hasn’t yet made up for the deficit—according to Bell, $100 million has already gone toward stopping the Ebola epidemic, and much more is needed. The United Nations estimates it will take over $600 million just to get the crisis under control.[su_csky_ad]

 

D.B. Hirsch
D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

7 responses to Budget Cuts ‘Eroded Our Ability To Respond’ To Ebola

  1. William October 3rd, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    The Lord must be angry with Texas.

    • mea_mark October 3rd, 2014 at 2:00 pm

      If Ebola gets out in Texas and starts to spread many of the poor that can’t get medical help may cause the virus to spread. If Perry had expanded medicaid this wouldn’t be near the problem that it could be. The republicans may actually end up killing some of themselves because of their selfishness and stupidity. Lets get the vote out and get Wendy Davis Elected so we can expand medicaid immediately in Texas. Living is better than dying, vote for Wendy.

  2. tiredoftea October 3rd, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    Yes, the party of fiscal responsibility has proven, once again, that not only are they not scientists, they are not even decent, compassionate human beings.

  3. Red Eye Robot October 3rd, 2014 at 4:18 pm

    A 5% budget cut caused the pandemonium at the NIH? Obama’s tax increases on the wealthiest americans was supposed to bring in $400 billion over the next 10 years. What happened to that $80 billion? Anthony Fauchi says the $1.5 billion cut was “particularly damaging” yet at the same time Obama spent $2 billion on the Obamaphone program and nearly half of the people who were given service were ineligible. Meanwhile in 2010 the Obama admin. dumped Bush-era quarantine regs. the CDC wanted to prevent travelers from spreading infectious diseases

    • William October 4th, 2014 at 8:31 am

      “yet at the same time Obama spent $2 billion on the Obamaphone program and nearly half of the people who were given service were ineligible”.
      You are of course referring to the Reagan-phones.
      Added this to your legacy of Humvees with belt fed machine guns at the Bundy ranch.
      The discounted, sometimes free, wireless services that started to become available to low income households in 2005, under George W. Bush’s administration, is an expanded and updated version of the Lifeline telephone service program that launched in 1985, under Ronald Reagan’s administration.

      The Lifeline program, as explained by the Federal Communications Commission at http://www.fcc.gov/lifeline, is this: Each eligible low-income household can sign up for one phone line. This can be landline or wireless, or in some cases, Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP).

      The money to fund Lifeline and related telecommunications access projects comes from the phone companies.

      Some of the financial support happens through taxes those companies are required to pay to the Universal Service Fund. The Universal Service Administrative Co., which is an independent, not-for-profit corporation, administers the fund.

      http://www.monroenews.com/news/2013/jan/15/theyre-reagan-phones-not-obama-phones/

      The FCC reports that it is aware that some companies do include a line item on customer bills for that fund.
      Troll shoots himself again.

      • FanOfTravel October 7th, 2014 at 9:01 pm

        “Yet at the same time,” the gop flushed $24 billion dollars down the drain with their tea potty led shutdown.

  4. Mike October 3rd, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    If this guy walked into an emergency room with a decent health insurance plan they would have ran more tests. The fact that he had no health coverage is the reason they didnt do anything but hand him some penicillin and sent him on his way. I’m surprised no one is talking about this.