US Funds Israeli War While CDC Fires Virus Experts
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sheds crucial public health expertise like top measles specialists amid rising outbreaks, the U.S. government consistently prioritizes military aid abroad. For instance, just this year, Congress approved an additional $14.1 billion in aid for Israel (HR 815), which included $5.2 billion for missile defense and $3.5 billion for weapons
procurement, while public health infrastructure crumbles domestically. (Source: Congress.gov, HR 815, 2024) It appears that protecting children from highly preventable diseases like measles is a burden the U.S. can no longer afford, but arming Benjamin Netanyahu’s increasingly brutal military campaign, which has flattened hospitals and displaced millions in Gaza, remains a bipartisan imperative.
One might wonder if the CDC budget cuts could've been averted if the U.S. allocated $14 billion to, say, actual public health, rather than continuing to fund military operations abroad. How many measles experts could $14 billion fund, precisely? Or is herd immunity just less profitable than ethnic cleansing?