Like I Said, No Foresight
Worried about swine flu?
Guess what’s missing from Obama’s stimulus?
With money for pandemic influenza preparedness stripped from a huge economic stimulus bill that appears headed for final congressional approval, public health advocates say they have to look to the regular budgeting process for the next chance to get some pandemic funding.
The House of Representatives had included $900 million in pandemic preparedness funds in its version of the massive stimulus package, but it appeared that all but $50 million was removed by the conference committee that ironed out differences between the House and Senate versions, said Richard Hamburg, government relations director for the nonpartisan, nonprofit group Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).
The House passed the $787 billion compromise bill this afternoon by a vote of 246-183, with no Republican support, the New York Times reported. The story said the Senate was expected to approve the measure this evening.
Hmm. And who had the money removed?
When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year’s emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.
Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse — with workers ordered to remain in their homes, workplaces shuttered to avoid the spread of disease, transportation systems grinding to a halt and demand for emergency services and public health interventions skyrocketing. Indeed, they suggested, pandemic preparation was essential to any responsible plan for renewing the U.S. economy.
But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans — led by Maine Senator Susan Collins — aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.
Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey’s attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.
Indeed, here’s Sue Collins bragging about getting the funding pulled, before she scrubbed this interesting article from her site:
(h/t to turneresq at daily kos)
OOOPS. And in other OOOPS news, noted secessionist, Texas governor Rick Perry finds he has a little love for the US after all:
Gov. Rick Perry Saturday asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 37,430 courses of antiviral medications from the Strategic National Stockpile as a precaution after three cases of swine flu were confirmed in Texas.
Better to keep your mouth shut and be though a fool, etcetera etcetera, eh Goodhair?
As I’ve said, this is another reflection (maybe two) of the conservative republican mind’s inability to think ahead. No foresight. Not even enlightened self-interest.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:30 am
[...] expected to stimulate the struggling economy, and it is widely expected that the plan to ensure Like I Said, No Foresight – brendancalling.com 04/27/2009 Worried about swine flu? Guess what’s missing from Obama’s [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 10:36 am
[...] what originally brought you to Daily Kos? Land of Enchantment: I’m part of the Katrina cohort Like I Said, No Foresight – brendancalling.com 04/27/2009 Worried about swine flu? Guess what’s missing from Obama’s [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
[...] makes a phone call and calls out a Republican for getting pandemic funds pulled from the stimulus package and now [...]