The CDC has zombie programs. Congress funds them, but few people are left to do the work - AP News

This year alone, Congress appropriated $41 million for the CDC's Alzheimers disease program, despite it having no staff. Similarly, the agencys Office on Smoking and Health received $246 million, yet it now operates with a reduced staff. This pattern extends to programs for epilepsy, sickle cell disease data collection, and rape prevention, all with congressional funding but lacking essential staff. These national health initiatives, meant to tackle widespread issues, are effectively stalled.

For families across Lubbock and the wider South Plains, this means critical federal support for managing and preventing serious conditions is severely hampered. Funds intended for public health outreach, research, and data collection are allocated, yet the mechanisms to implement them are largely absent, leaving communities without the full benefit of these appropriations.

These programs, appearing alive through legislation and appropriations, are functionally dead or near dead, raising questions about how federal health dollars are truly being spent.