1. United States
2. Okla.
3. Letter

The Trump administration's cuts to the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) are deeply concerning and will have grave consequences for public health preparedness and response capabilities in the United States and globally. The EIS is a premier program that trains disease detectives and frontline responders vital for investigating outbreaks and emerging health threats. As respected public health leaders have warned, decimating this program will make Americans and global populations less safe. EIS officers have been crucial in containing outbreaks like cholera, E. coli, and even Ebola from spreading widely. They were among the first responders during the 2001 anthrax attacks. Losing this next generation of highly skilled epidemic investigators will significantly diminish our nation's ability to rapidly identify, trace, and control the spread of infectious diseases. This short-sighted move puts lives at risk. We urge you to take immediate action to reverse these reckless cuts and preserve the integrity of the EIS program. Protecting public health and bolstering outbreak response readiness should be a top priority, not an area for budget slashing. The consequences of crippling this vital disease surveillance and containment capacity could be catastrophic. We cannot afford to compromise the EIS, one of the crown jewels of global public health security. Please act swiftly to safeguard this essential program and the health of all Americans.