Warnock, Cassidy Urge Senate Colleagues to Oppose Trump Administration Changes to CDC’s Global Disease Programs

In a new bipartisan letter, Senators Reverend Warnock and Dr. Bill Cassidy led 23 of their Senate colleagues urging Senate Appropriations committee leadership to oppose the Trump Administration's proposed changes to the CDC's work on global H.I.V. prevention and surveillance

The shift would diminish CDC's role, the country's premier experts on global health, in implementing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program credited with saving more than 26 million lives since its inception in 2003

Withholding PEPFAR funding from the CDC jeopardizes decades of trust and collaboration between the CDC and health ministries around the world

Senator Reverend Warnock, colleagues: "No global health program better demonstrates the success of the U.S. global health strategy and the leadership of CDC than PEPFAR"

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Dr. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) led a bipartisan group of 23 Senate colleagues urging Senate Appropriations Committee leadership to oppose the Trump Administration's withholding of funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s global H.I.V. prevention and surveillance responsibilities for PEPFAR. Currently, the Department of State has refused to transfer congressionally appropriated funding to the CDC for these global health programs. This move diminishes the CDC's authority in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program credited with saving more than 26 million lives since its inception in 2003.

"No global health program better demonstrates the success of the U.S. global health strategy and the leadership of CDC than PEPFAR," said Senator Warnock and his colleagues.

Historically, the U.S. has played a pivotal role in the global health space, serving as the main funder and implementer of global health programs. President Trump has moved away from this legacy during his second term in a variety of ways, such as withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and dismantling the robust foreign assistance ecosystem that has cemented American leadership in the global health space. Prior to 2025 and the Trump Administration's dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), global health foreign aid occurred in a triangular fashion, with USAID, the State Department, and the CDC working together to promote global health programs.

PEPFAR is one of the most successful U.S. global health programs that has demonstrated the effectiveness of this interagency coordination. In 2003, President George W. Bush launched PEPFAR to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since its inception, PEPFAR has invested over $100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response and is credited with saving more than 26 million lives, preventing millions of HIV infections, and has positioned the U.S. as the global leader in the HIV epidemic response.

Since the CDC and its employees became a target of this administration, Senator Warnock has led several efforts defending their employment and the crucial role they play in keeping the nation safe. In June, Senator Warnock joined his colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressing the Secretary on how its withdrawal from the WHO and foreign aid cuts could affect the United States' ability to protect Americans from Ebola and hantavirus.

In addition to Senators Warnock and Cassidy, the letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).

A copy of the letter can be found HEREand text is below:

"Dear Chair Graham, Ranking Member Schatz, Chair Capito, and Ranking Member Baldwin:

We write to express our strong concerns regarding recent developments with the U.S. Department of State's ("State") restructuring of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. While the U.S. has been a strong leader in global health for several decades, State's reform of PEPFAR will weaken the role of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in global health operations, which will cost lives and make our country less safe. Therefore, we urge the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee (SFOPS), as well as the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (LHHS), to take steps to safeguard PEPFAR implementation in Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations bills.

No global health program better demonstrates the success of the U.S. global health strategy and the leadership of CDC than PEPFAR, which has saved over 26 million lives, prevented 7.8 million babies from being born with HIV/AIDS, and contributed to a 2.1% higher increase in GDP per capita in countries with PEPFAR funding since 2003. For decades, CDC has played a pivotal role in implementing PEPFAR with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under State's coordination, leading global disease surveillance by maintaining more than 60 country offices, 1,500 overseas staff, and thousands of laboratory facilities worldwide.

Despite the program's demonstrated success, the Trump Administration has undermined PEPFAR over the past year by dismantling USAID, gutting CDC staff, and withholding half of PEPFAR's funding for Fiscal Year 2025. With these actions, the Administration diminished the very same monitoring and lab capabilities that would have been instrumental in responding to current disease threats, like the hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks.

On May 5, 2026, State announced that long-standing interagency transfers of PEPFAR resources in most countries will end by September 30, 2026. Partner countries that decide to continue working with the CDC will have to purchase its services and expertise at set fees. Additionally, countries that receive more than $125 million in annual U.S. foreign assistance will now be required to purchase a minimum package of these services. This policy will endanger PEPFAR's mission, weaken its effectiveness at combatting HIV/AIDS around the world, and undermine the strategic interests of the United States in public health.

Additionally, State is moving from PEPFAR's traditional model to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that requires countries to sign agreements with stipulations such as favorable access to critical mineral deals. According to State's 2022 PEPFAR Annual Report to Congress, the top five recipient countries scored an average Corruption Perception Index of 32.4. Only one of these countries is currently considered "Free." Implementing partners that receive government contracts to disperse foreign assistance funds are required to conduct regular monitoring and reporting to ensure the efficacy of these funds, which is often not the case for government-to-government models. The proposed PEPFAR changes will hamper the United States' ability to conduct oversight and weaken critical safeguards that ensure transparency.

As a result, we respectfully ask the Subcommittees to consider the following options as they develop the FY2027 appropriations bill:

• Directly transfer $2 billion allocated for PEPFAR from the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs account to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies account, specifically to CDC. Allocating the funds to CDC will continue the long-standing transfer that has occurred after the appropriations bill has passed and will preserve the CDC's global health expertise.
• Directly increase funding for CDC's Global Health account, which would reduce CDC's reliance on future transfers from State, while continuing its efforts to support global health surveillance by maintaining relationships with foreign Ministers of Health. CDC has a proven track record of success as an implementing partner in PEPFAR. Its expertise in HIV surveillance and labquality is essential to support any testing, treatment, and prevention work in PEPFAR. Maintaining these specific capacities will protect U.S. government investment in the program. At the same time, increasing the CDC's Global Health appropriation in the LHHS bill will bolster its work to support other disease surveillance efforts built through PEPFAR.

PEPFAR is the crown jewel of the U.S.'s public health legacy. While we must be conscientious stewards of taxpayer dollars spent on foreign assistance, PEPFAR is one of the most cost effective foreign assistance programs, delivering an immense return on investment. Therefore, we urge you to include language in the FY2027 appropriations bill that preserves CDC's role as a core implementing partner of PEPFAR to signal that Congress remains committed to maintaining the United States' global health leadership and stability.

Thank you for your consideration."

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