In addition to the substantial cuts to staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Trump administration has asked three federal officials with knowledge of the issue to cut $2.9 billion in contract spending.
The administration's cost-cutting program, known as the Government's Efficiency Bureau, asked public health agencies about two weeks ago to cut off about 35% of contract spending. Officials said the CDC was told to follow by April 18th.
Cut promises to hamstring more agents who are already caught up in the loss of 2,400 employees, almost a fifth of the workforce.
On Tuesday, the administration fired CDC scientists focusing on environmental health and asthma, injuries, violence prevention, lead poisoning, smoking and climate change.
White House and Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center at Bloomberg School of Public Health, advised the Biden administration during Covid, said:
“It's true that managers can find small savings and improvements, but these types of demands are of the scale and speed that breaks down the organization,” he said. “This is not a way to help the health of the public or the public.”
CDC's biggest contract, roughly $7 billion a year, will go to vaccine programs for children. This buys vaccines for parents who can't buy them.
According to one senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the program is mandatory by law and is not affected by the reductions.
However, other CDC agreements include spending on computers and other technologies, security guards, cleaning services and facility management. Agents also build and maintain data systems and hire people for specific research projects.
Over the past few years, the contract has also supported activities related to Covid-19, one official said.
Separately, HHS suddenly suspended a CDC grant of about $11.4 billion last week to states that tracked infections and used funds to support mental health services, addiction treatment and other emergency health issues.
At least some contracts Doge are now asking agents to make sure that people who oversee the supervision are no longer enacted as the agency currently fired.
This is not the first time Doge has asked its agents to cut funds.
Previously, he asked the CDC to cut grants to Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, saying that these institutions had not taken action against anti-Semitism on campus.
“Funding and contracting are the mechanisms that allow us to get things done,” said the CDC scientist, who asked us to remain anonymous due to the fear of retaliation.
“They're cutting our arms and legs.”
