Trump administration cuts $130 million in grants from Washington Health Department

The Washington State Department of Health is losing $130 million in grants as part of cuts to federal agencies budgets, according to multiple news outlets.

“The reality is that, when we take funding away from public health systems, the systems just do not have the capacity, because they’re chronically underfunded over the decades,” said Dr. Umair Shah, former Washington State health secretary, told The New York Times.

The state’s Health Care Authority will also lose $34 million in funding. That money comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a news release that the loss of the funds will cause “immediate harm for millions of real people and communities across America.” Murray said the cuts will make it more difficult for the state to address disease outbreaks.

Health department funds used to monitor diseases

The money being cut was used for disease monitoring, COVID vaccine efforts, and other respiratory viruses.

The nationwide grant cuts include $11.4 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and approximately $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Also on the chopping block? $1 billion in grants to the agency that provides federal funds to run the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline. Most of the 988 line in Washington is funded by a 40-cent state tax on cellphone bills, and local nonprofits operate the call centers. The federal government provides infrastructure and money that help keep the program running.

Washington officials involved with the hotline say the state funding helps insulate the program, but it’s still unclear what will happen next.

But this is not where the cuts end.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will cut 20,000 employees from his department. Half of the employees took federal buyouts, according to the Trump administration. The move reportedly saves the federal government $1.8 billion annually.

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