Chuck’s got beef with this proposal.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to block a Republican budget that would cut $1.8 billion from the Centers for Disease Control’s budget amidst a listeria outbreak.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Sunday that the proposal would go nowhere as long as he remains majority leader in the Senate.
“I am here today amid active federal budget negotiations to say that I will not let MAGA cold cuts to the CDC amid this deli meat listeria outbreak pass the Senate,” Schumer said.
Listeria connected to Boar’s Head deli meats has been tracked and traced across the Midwest and East Coast, according to the CDC. Of 43 hospitalizations, at least four were in New York City and at least two more occurred on Long Island. In total, 14 New Yorkers were hospitalized, according to CDC data.
Three people have died from the outbreak, in New Jersey, Illinois and Virginia. A few New Jersey residents have also been hospitalized amid the outbreak.
Listeria is particularly dangerous to people who are pregnant, over age 65 or immunocompromised. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches and tiredness and they can develop anytime within two weeks of contact with the bacteria.
“New York is partially an epicenter of the sickness with the listeria outbreak and so I have asked the CDC to focus a special team here to address the situation and they have and I laud their efforts and praise this grueling work,” Schumer said.
The budget cuts referenced by Schumer were included in a 2025 fiscal year proposal from the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee. The committee approved the bill along party lines back on July 10. It includes a 22% cut to the CDC budget, amounting to about $1.8 billion.
Schumer pointed out that CDC funding allows the agency to track and limit outbreaks such as the ongoing listeria problem. Boar’s Head recalled about 7 million pounds of deli meat on July 30, expanding an initial recall from July 25. The outbreak was first detected in May.
While Congress is currently in the middle of its August recess, budget negotiations are expected to become tense, with Republicans controlling the House while Democrats hold a slim advantage in the Senate. The process will also take place during the hotly contested presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
The CDC was far from the only organization targeted for budget cuts in the Republican proposal, which also focuses on the Social Security Administration and federal student aid programs, among other social agencies.