Scott Gottlieb focuses on the importance of reforming a key federal health agency.
Should some of the CDC’s current responsibilities be transferred to other public health agencies with more direct regulatory authority? Such a shift could be part of a political compromise, allowing the CDC to secure more substantial resources for expanding a core mission—preventing and controlling communicable diseases. Skepticism of the role of the CDC emerged on Capitol Hill following the CDC’s well-documented shortcomings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given this skepticism, Congress is unlikely to reach a bipartisan compromise that would enact a significant expansion of the CDC’s infectious disease control work or its pandemic preparedness efforts without a wider agency restructuring. Allowing certain activities to be transferred to other agencies in exchange for a strengthened infectious disease control budget could set the stage for a revitalization of CDC.
Aspects of the CDC’s mission already overlap with many efforts in place at other agencies. In 2024, Congress allocated $505 million to the CDC to combat the opioid crisis, with a significant portion dedicated to tracking opioid use and overdose trends and bolstering state and local prevention efforts. However, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, another agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), oversees a $7.5 billion budget and administers many similar community-based programs while maintaining a direct connection to health care professionals and patients. The focus of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration intersects with many areas of the CDC, especially with programs designed to prevent and treat substance use disorders. …
… The CDC’s sprawling mandate may come at the expense of funding its core infectious disease control mission. Despite the growing risk from infectious pathogens with pandemic potential, many of its infectious disease control programs have not seen meaningful increases in support from Congress.