Dem ad blames GOP for CDC budget cuts

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) launched an ad campaign on Monday blaming Republicans for cutting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)  budget to fight diseases like Ebola.

“Republicans voted to cut CDC’s budget to fight Ebola,” the paid online ads state, citing a 2011 budget vote that included cuts to the agency’s spending. At the same time, the ads point to the most recent House GOP budget resolution and argue that “Republicans protect tax breaks for special interests.”

{mosads}In an interview with The Huffington Post published Sunday, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said that a vaccine for Ebola could have been developed by now if not for budget cuts in recent years.

“Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready,” Collins said.

Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who serves as DCCC chairman, accused Republicans of having “dangerous” priorities.

“House Republicans’ priorities aren’t just out-of-touch, they’re dangerous, and in their fervor to protect special interests’ tax breaks, Republicans even used their first budget vote to cut funding for the CDC that protects us from epidemics like Ebola,” Israel said.

Separately, a liberal group released an ad blaming Republicans for Ebola deaths. The ad, released by the Agenda Project, similarly condemns GOP-backed budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health and goes so far as to show images of corpses.