US Aid Cuts CDC Staff, Funds Israeli Military
One-quarter of CDC staff, nearly 3,500 people, are facing layoff notices, according to reports from The Hill . This comes as Congress, barely breaking a sweat, consistently authorizes billions in military aid to other nations. For instance, the recent $14.5 billion aid package for Israel, passed with bipartisan fervor, ensures a steady supply of weaponry while America’s own public health
infrastructure crumbles. It's almost as if preventing global pandemics is less critical than maintaining geopolitical leverage in a region the U.S. has helped destabilize. While public health experts face unemployment, our elected representatives, many of whom accept significant contributions from organizations like AIPAC (OpenSecrets.org data shows Rep. Steny Hoyer, for example, received over
$550,000 from pro-Israel groups in his career), prioritize foreign military spending. One might wonder if the next pandemic will also be handled by an understaffed, underfunded CDC, or if we’ll simply bomb it into submission. Because nothing says 'public safety' like shuttering health services to fund more bombs.