Congressional Democrats push Trump to restore $2.5B in public health grants

Florida's Democratic delegation wants the Trump administration to reverse its cuts to public health research fundingGalvanized by the loss of  $2.5 billion in federal public health funding, the eight Democratic members of the Florida Congressional delegation sent a letter to the Trump administration Tuesday calling on it to immediately review and reinstate the grants, including $42 million for HIV research. HIV is the virus that, without treatment, can cause someone to have acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS.

In a letter to President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr, the Democrats said public health shouldn’t be a “casualty of political ideology” and called on the administration to reverse its policies.

“We are especially alarmed by the termination of $42 million in grants for HIV research. Florida has the third-highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the country, and our communities rely on these programs to test, treat and prevent the spread of HIV. During your first term, you pledged your commitment to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States. We hope you will renew this commitment and reinstate these grants.”

U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz , Kathy Castor, Frederica Wilson, Darren Soto, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz signed onto the letter.

“These grants support vital public health initiatives, including childhood immunizations, infectious disease control, mental health programs, and HIV prevention and treatment,” the letter says.