McConnell Allies Who Followed Him on Massive CDC Cuts Are Forced to Backtrack
Washington, D.C. — Under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate has voted repeatedly to eliminate vital funding to prevent epidemic diseases from spreading, as well as public health programs that keep Americans safe.
Mitch McConnell has spent a decade fighting against the Affordable Care Act and the public health resources that came with it, including the CDC’s Prevention and Public Health Fund, which allocates nearly $1 billion to plan for and prevent the outbreak of infectious disease. The Prevention Fund makes up over ten percent of the CDC’s entire budget.
For the past ten years, as scientists have raised the alarm about the potential of global pandemics, Mitch McConnell has been fighting to repeal the Affordable Care Act and take away essential public health resources. From access to testing, from planning to the development of vaccines, the Majority Leader and his allies have advanced an agenda that undermines our ability to protect Americans.
"Mitch McConnell and his allies have fought for years to diminish our nation’s ability to fight pandemic diseases and stop them from becoming national catastrophes. Voting repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would result in draconian cuts to CDC, will go down in history as the height of partisan recklessness. With a snap of his fingers, McConnell could stop this years-long fight to make our nation less prepared for these kinds of crises — and he needs to do so immediately,” said Joshua Karp of Fix Our Senate.
Republican Senators who voted with Mitch McConnell to end the Prevention and Public Health Fund are flipping on CDC cuts fast enough to make your head spin. In recent days, Senators Gardner, Ernst, McSally, and Tillis have all called for more money to fight coronavirus … after voting repeatedly with Majority Leader McConnell to slash funding to the CDC. As coronavirus spreads across the country, with over 100 cases and nine confirmed deaths, look to Mitch McConnell’s broken U.S. Senate for the reason why.
➡ Demand Mitch McConnell stop obstructing bills that will help the American people, defend our democracy, and demand an end to the gridlock in the U.S. Senate at www.fixoursenate.org.