1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I’m sure you know that the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency after an Ebola outbreak caused 350 reported cases and 88 deaths in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is alarming, but more alarming still is that the U.S. is hamstrung in its response by the draconian cuts the Trump administration has made to medical research, foreign aid, and science in general. On top of that Trump has withdrawn us from the WHO, even though the contributions we made to it on a yearly basis were generally less than what Trump wants for his ballroom—or his arch, or his outrageous “Anti-weaponization fund.” As your constituent I’m urging you to push for the US to rejoin the WHO, recommit to funding programs supporting global health and researching infectious diseases, and begin to prioritize science again. Failing this, the danger posed to US citizens by public health emergencies will continue to be heightened— much to our detriment. Push the Trump administration to prioritize and fund public health! Thanks.