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Our Opinions: Bush Budget Shortchanges CDC"
Atlanta Journal and Constitution (02.20.02)
CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
"National hero one day. Line
item the next.
"In the front line against
bioterrosim, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention stands tall, heralded and
lauded
by President Bush as 'new heroes in America.' Now, three
months
after heaping praise on the Atlanta-based agency, Bush has
slashed the CDC budget for next year. In explanation, the
administration says the stalled economy forced 'tough
decisions.'
But shortchanging the nation's premier disease-fighting agency
is
a bad decision that Congress ought to reverse when it
considers
the president's budget.
"Under the Bush plan, the CDC
would receive $1 billion less
in 2003 than 2002. Most of the additional bioterrorism-fighting
money in the budget bypasses the CDC in favor of other federal
agencies. Of the $5.9 billion Bush seeks to combat
bioterrorism,
only $1.6 billion goes to the CDC. One of the projects that
the
Bush budget will put on hold is a building to house the CDC's
24/7 Emergency Operations Center, now squeezed into an old,
cramped auditorium.
"The Bush budget also undermines
a central mission of the
CDC - combating preventable diseases. Funding for the division
that deals with infectious diseases was decreased by $10
million.
The proposal provides no boost for preventive health efforts
for
the specific divisions working on AIDS, tuberculosis and
sexually
transmitted diseases.
'As terrible as the bioterrorism
attack was, it resulted in
five deaths - whereas we have probably close to 2 million
deaths
a year in the U.S. from chronic diseases and injuries, a
significant proportion of which are preventable,' said CDC
Director Jeffrey Koplan.
"...Touring the CDC in the fall,
Bush described the agency's
scientists as a critical unit in the 'vast army' fighting
terrorism. If so, he ought to march them into battle fully
armed
and equipped to do their job."
Memorandum
To: Members of the Academy for Health Services Research and
Health Policy
From: W. David Helms
Date: February 21, 2002
RE: Health Services Research Funding in Jeopardy
The release of the President's proposed 2003 budget signals
that the field of health services research is facing its
greatest crisis since the attempt to eliminate the Agency for
Health Care Policy and Research in the mid 1990s. If
Congress were to approve the President's budget as proposed, a
total of $94 million would be cut from the 2002 funding levels
for the key federal agencies that fund health services
research. The Agency for Health Care Research and
Quality (AHRQ) would be cut by $48 million, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would be cut by $28.4
million, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
would see the its entire budget of $17.5 million for
extramural prevention research eliminated. For further
details on these cuts in the President's 2003 budget, please
visit the Coalition's website at
www.chsr.org
As you know, the Academy uses its subsidiary organization, the
Coalition for Health Services Research, to carry out the
crucial function of advocating for the field of health
services research. Gail Wilensky currently serves as
chair of the Coalition's Board of Directors and Donald
Steinwachs serves as the chair of the Coalition's Advocacy
Committee. I want to assure you the Coalition Board and
staff are already hard at work to build the support we will
need to get Congress to restore and possibly even increase the
funding for these agencies. The Coalition, utilizing the
expertise of our government relations consulting firm MARC
Associates, is developing a comprehensive strategy to respond
to this challenge. The strategy includes:
o Mobilizing the Friends of AHRQ, a 100 + member organization
of associations and corporations that support AHRQ.
o Organizing briefings for key Congressional staff on how
health services research is needed to address pressing policy
issues and to improve the health care practice.
o Facilitating meetings between our leading research and
policy leaders and members of Congress on the key
appropriation and authorizing committees.
While the Coalition for Health Services Research leadership
and staff will be communicating with Congressional leaders and
their staffs on the key appropriation and authorizing
committees, members of Congress react most favorably to direct
communication from their constituents. Academy members
can help us now by writing to members of your Congressional
delegation to express your concerns about the cuts, how they
will affect the important work you do, and how they will
impact your district or state. If you have questions
about our strategy or your letter to Congress, please contact
Jon Lawniczak, the Coalition's Director of Government
Relations at 202.292.6742 or by sending an email to jlawniczak@ahsrhp.org.
We do ask that you provide Jon Lawniczak with a copy of
letters and supporting materials you send to your
Congressional delegation so that we can compile a complete
record of our member communication with Congress.
We will update you on our advocacy efforts through our monthly
member update emails, our quarterly newsletter, Academy
Reports, and at our Annual Research Meeting. We will
also post updates periodically on the Coalition's website, www.chsr.org,
and I will also contact you directly when I need your
assistance with specific advocacy tasks.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Together we can ensure continued support of the field.
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