BLOOD TRANSFUSION OVERSIGHT

On 2025-05-01, Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) delivered a floor speech titled "BLOOD TRANSFUSION OVERSIGHT" in the House.

BLOOD TRANSFUSION OVERSIGHT

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 73 (Thursday, May 1, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 73 (Thursday, May 1, 2025)] [House] [Page H1789] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] BLOOD TRANSFUSION OVERSIGHT (Mr. FOSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to yet another decision by the Trump administration that puts Americans' lives at risk. On April 1, 2025, almost the entire Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics, a department of the CDC established to combat blood infections in the wake of the AIDS epidemic, was placed on administrative leave. This decision to eliminate this division was, of course, made by the Elon Musk Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Now, people with blood disorders across the United States will have to worry about contaminated blood transfusions. They will also be left wondering whether critical research to prevent and treat their conditions will be abandoned, and they will have to reckon with the fact that the same government that swore to help them turned its back on them, all so Republicans can find more money to give billionaires new tax breaks. Vital programs like the Division of Blood Disorders should not be subject to political games, and those suffering from blood disorders should not have to fear that a blood transfusion will kill them. Defunding the CDC puts lives at risk, and staff put on administrative leave should be reinstated immediately. ____________________