Published on
Friday, January 15, 2021
byCommon Dreams
Trump Accused of Trying to 'Inflict as Much Harm as Possible' With Billions
in Global Health Funding Cuts During Pandemic
"These rescissions are filled with damaging and irrational cuts to programs
critical in the fight against Covid-19."
byJake Johnson, staff writer
A medical worker collects a swab sample from a mother for Covid-19 tests at
a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on August 16, 2020.
A medical worker collects a swab sample from a mother for Covid-19 tests at
a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on August 16, 2020. (Photo: Michael
Tewelde/Xinhua via Getty Images)
With less than a week left in the White House, President Donald Trump on
Thursday presented Congress with more than $27 billion in proposed funding
cuts to an array of domestic and foreign aid programs, including $4 billion
from an initiative helping to distribute coronavirus vaccine doses in poor
nations that have struggled to inoculate their populations due to hoarding
by rich countries.
The American Prospect's David Dayen reported Friday that the "largest cut"
in Trump's rescission proposal, which Congress is not required to act on,
"would cancel $5.1 billion for Global Health Programs, in the middle of a
pandemic."
"Represents the latest in the Trump administration's attempts to sabotage
the incoming president, in ways large and small, on his way out the door."
-David Dayen, The American Prospect
"The program 'funds activities related to child and maternal health,
HIV/AIDS, and infectious diseases' (emphasis mine)," Dayen noted.
"Specifically, $4 billion in cuts would defund the GAVI program, which
concerns itself with vaccinations in the developing world, including the
Covid vaccine. That's combined with a $2.1 billion cut to the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an enormously successful effort to
curb HIV/AIDS infections and deaths in the developing world."
In a letter to congressional leaders, the Trump administration attempts to
justify the requested cuts on the grounds that assisting international
Covid-19 vaccination campaigns detracts from efforts to inoculate the U.S.
population-an argument critics say presents a "false choice" that needlessly
pits people against each other and undermines the fight against a virus that
has spanned the globe.
Dayen argued that the outgoing president's last-minute proposed rescission
of funding approved in the omnibus spending bill he reluctantly signed into
law last month "represents the latest in the Trump administration's attempts
to sabotage the incoming president, in ways large and small, on his way out
the door."
"This one is easily countermanded, but only if the Biden administration
takes action quickly," Dayen wrote. "Otherwise, $27.4 billion in spending,
including the above-mentioned items, will be held up for the first month and
a half of the Biden presidency."
In total, Trump proposed funding cuts for more than 70 programs, including,
as Politico reported:
$1.5 billion for emergency overseas food aid;
Billions for scientific research, including $2 billion for the research and
development of renewable energy and energy efficient technology;
More than $2 billion for AIDS relief;
More than $1 billion to assist refugees and victims of conflict worldwide;
$291 million to programs that promote democracy worldwide;
$241 million in economic support for countries across the globe;
$500 million in foreign military assistance;
$12.3 million for research on firearm mortality and injury prevention;
$13 million for the National Institutes of Health;
$430 million for cultural exchange programs;
$181 million for climate research programs at NOAA; and
Hundreds of millions in federal student aid.
In a statement Thursday, House Budget Committee Chair Rep. John Yarmuth
(D-Ky.) said that "these out-the-door funding cuts are a clear attempt by
President Trump to inflict as much harm as possible before he leaves the
White House."
"These rescissions are filled with damaging and irrational cuts to programs
critical in the fight against Covid-19, climate change, and strengthening
America's global leadership," said Yarmuth. "They contradict the bipartisan
agreement achieved by Congress and signed into law by President Trump
himself."
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