Restore Federal Capacity to Stop the Measles Resurgence

I am writing as your constituent to urge immediate action to restore federal public health funding, strengthen vaccination programs, and protect the scientific capacity needed to stop the nation’s measles resurgence. The United States is experiencing its worst measles crisis in decades. In 2025, the country recorded more cases, outbreaks, affected states, and deaths than in any year since 1992. Transmission has continued in 2026, increasingly through domestic chains rather than isolated imported infections. National kindergarten MMR coverage has fallen from 95.2 percent in 2019–2020 to 92.5 percent in 2024–2025, and more than three quarters of states are below the 95 percent level generally needed to prevent sustained spread. Lower vaccination coverage is the immediate cause of vulnerability, but federal cuts have made the response weaker and slower. Reporting has documented substantial reductions in CDC staffing, canceled or frozen grants, fewer federal experts available to advise local health departments, and lost capacity for surveillance and outbreak investigation. During the Texas outbreak, funding disruptions reportedly forced Lubbock officials to pause parts of their response, while Dallas County cut staff and canceled 50 community vaccination clinics. These are not abstract administrative changes. They directly reduce the ability to find cases, trace contacts, vaccinate exposed residents, and communicate clearly with the public. I urge you to support legislation that restores CDC, NIH, FDA, and state and local public health funding to at least 2024 levels; protects immunization grants and no-cost vaccination programs; rebuilds epidemiological and laboratory staffing; and requires timely, transparent reporting of cases, deaths, vaccination coverage, and federal response capacity. Please also hold oversight hearings on whether funding cuts, staffing reductions, disrupted grants, and conflicting federal vaccine messaging have impaired measles control. The public deserves evidence-based guidance delivered by qualified professionals, not political ambiguity. Measles elimination was achieved through sustained vaccination, surveillance, and rapid response. Abandoning that infrastructure now will cost more in illness, hospitalizations, deaths, and lost public trust. Please act urgently to restore the capacity required to protect every community.