Press Release

Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) led members of Congress today in a letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging them not to cut vital pandemic funding. The Trump administration recently proposed slashing allocated, but unspent, funds for a number of programs, including children's health insurance, affordable housing, and emergency pandemic response. Congress is expected to consider the proposal in the coming weeks.

The letter – which can be read below – urges the committee not to follow through with the Trump administration's proposal to cut $252 million reserved for responding to major pandemics like Ebola. Last week, the Democratic Republic of Congo declared they are dealing with several new cases of Ebola. Nineteen people have died and there are 39 confirmed or suspected cases across rural parts of the country. What's more, the White House's top official on global health security, Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, recently left the National Security Council. Admiral Ziemer's departure raised alarms in the global health community and it is now unclear who at the White House would be in charge in a global pandemic outbreak.

"Cutting these vital funds – especially with a new Ebola outbreak on the horizon – is shortsighted and puts American lives in danger. America has a unique ability to address pandemics and Congress has long acted to fund preparedness and response efforts," said Congressman Bera, the Vice Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

As a doctor, Congressman Bera has always been a strong supporter of American leadership in global health. He led efforts by the Foreign Affairs Committee to address the global Zika epidemic and has pushed Congress to do more to stop future outbreaks.

The full text of the letter can be read below:

The Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen The Honorable Nita Lowey

Chairman Ranking Member

House Appropriations Committee House Appropriations Committee
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey,

We urge you to reject the inclusion of $252 million in unspent Ebola supplemental funds in whatever rescissions package you may consider, in light of the declaration of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo this week, which experts suspect has already killed 19 people and has the potential to spread globally because of its location in a town upriver from the densely populated capital of Kinshasa. Should the outbreak spread further, the funds the administration proposes to cut may be needed to fight yet another global epidemic.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 was both a challenge in and of itself, and a wakeup call for the United States, agencies, vulnerable countries, and international health organizations and partnerships, including the World Health Organization. This threat is current and ongoing, and requires vigilance, expertise, and basic health infrastructure that are severely lacking in some of the most vulnerable countries.

However, due to these Ebola supplemental funds and regular appropriations, there have also been tremendous successes. In Cameroon, USAID helped reduce that country's response time to recent outbreaks of cholera and bird flu from 8 weeks to just 24 hours. In Liberia, ground-zero for Ebola, just last year was able to quickly contain an outbreak of an unknown pathogen by mobilizing 14 U.S.-trained disease detectives to identify it. Americans on the ground then helped Liberia limit its outbreak, containing it in a matter of weeks, in contrast to its months-long response to Ebola two years earlier.

But the work is far from over. The DRC's outbreak is its ninth in the countries' history. Local health officials have reported two confirmed cases, and suspect that at least 19 individuals have already died from Ebola. Experts fear that the number will grow in the coming days and weeks. The United States has invested considerable resources into the DRC to build its health infrastructure, but work is still necessary to train local experts to quickly coordinate an effective response to a pandemic.

Congress has recognized that our efforts are not yet over while also making clear that we must have a plan and maintain funding to ensure these countries stand on their own. For instance, the FY18 Omnibus required the administration to submit a strategy to accelerate our work in targeted countries to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. It also used the same funding that the administration now seeks to cut in order to help these countries continue their work detecting and responding to outbreaks.

United States' leadership has made progress in global health security and preparedness possible. These investments have protected the safety of our nation and saved countless lives. Given the emerging Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we urge you to reject the inclusion of $252 million in unspent Ebola supplemental funds in this rescissions package. We need those funds now – more than ever.

Sincerely,

Ami Bera, M.D.
Member of Congress

Rick Larsen
Member of Congress

Gerald E. Connolly
Member of Congress