Public health officials in Alabama concerned about budget cuts

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — With potential cuts to the CDC’s budget next year, the Alabama Department of Public Health said they are concerned about the well-being of the state.

“The reason you can go out to eat and not worry about getting sick, or you can drink the water out of your tap, or you can send your kids to school and not worry about them being exposed to an infectious disease- all those are things that public health does in the background,” said Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer with ADPH.

Dr. Harris said the department works hard to curb illness and stay ready for disasters. But with cuts being made in Congress, he said staying ready for events like tornadoes and extremely cold temperatures could have its challenges.

“We prepare for those things by practicing. By getting people together who are involved in the response. And we work on how we’re gonna respond,” said Dr. Harris. “And a lot of that money is gonna go away, which is gonna leave us in a less prepared state.”

Of all the money in the ADPH budget, Dr. Harris said two-thirds come from the federal government. Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville) said lawmakers are working with every department head to address cuts on the federal level.

“But again, the state funds- you start trying to supplant those kinds of federal dollars, you’re gonna impact other agencies,” said Reynolds. “You’ve heard me say- we’ve gotta prioritize budgeting. And it’s okay for budgets to be smaller.”

Budgets might be smaller, but Reynolds said the state has already planned for the loss of COVID relief money.

“We knew, going into this era of federal dollars, we knew it was for a set amount of time,” he said. “I think the legislature has done a good job on not growing government.”

Rep. Reynolds said it’s time for the state to get back to basic budgeting.