Senators: Rebuild US global health leadership
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- PEPFAR has saved 26 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections since 2003, and Bipartisan Policy Center research found it improved U.S. standing abroad and reduced political instability in target countries — what the authors call "strategic health diplomacy."
- CDC and USAID have seen substantial global health program cuts over the past year, and the authors say previously supported teams, supply chains, and protocols for early Ebola detection were dismantled during USAID's 2025 restructuring under DOGE.
- The America First Global Health Strategy, released last fall, recognizes global health leadership's value but leaves implementation questions, including whether bilateral agreements could pull support from countries struggling to meet self-sufficiency milestones.
- The House Appropriations Committee's FY 2027 National Security/State bill totals $8.9 billion — nearly 75% above the president's $5.1 billion request but still about $500 million below FY 2026 levels.
- Former Senate majority leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist, with former HHS deputy assistant secretary Anand Parekh, recommend Congress hold oversight hearings on pandemic readiness, refine the administration's global health strategy, and protect appropriations.
- A KFF poll cited by the authors shows the public believes the U.S. spends about 26% of its budget on foreign aid; the actual figure is less than 1%.
Why it matters: Congress faces a concrete FY 2027 funding decision: the House's $8.9 billion global health bill is $500 million below FY 2026 levels despite being 75% above the White House request, and the authors argue the public wildly overestimates foreign aid spending (26% perceived vs. under 1% actual), giving lawmakers political cover to restore funding. The operational stakes are real — late hantavirus communications and dismantled Ebola detection protocols are directly attributed to the cuts.
