CDC Programs Persist Without Staff as Senators Press Leadership on Funding Compliance

The staffing requirements were championed by Senator Tammy Baldwin and other members of Congress who, alarmed by attrition at federal health agencies, wrote new language into the spending bill requiring the agencies to maintain staffing levels sufficient to carry out legally established responsibilities. The bill did not, however, stipulate specific staffing numbers for each individual program, leaving the CDC and sister agencies to determine how best to allocate remaining personnel. That ambiguity has become a central point of contention between the agency and its congressional overseers.

Background: A Spending Bill with Strings Attached

At the hearing, Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, pressed Schwartz directly on whether the CDC would honor the law if Congress appropriates money for the agency's mission. 'This is an office that is established by law, and it is an office that receives appropriations from Congress. Will you follow the law if we appropriate money for this mission and for the CDC?' Kaine asked. Schwartz, who took on her role under President Donald Trump, has previously argued that the agency is grappling with the consequences of sweeping workforce reductions ordered by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of agency practices.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of a broader struggle over the direction of federal public health policy. Kennedy has pushed for restructuring across the Department of Health and Human Services, and several CDC offices have been hollowed out in the process. Republicans and Democrats alike have raised concerns about the agency's capacity to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, workplace hazards, and other core public health threats, but the two parties have framed the problem differently. Democrats have accused the administration of undermining the CDC through indiscriminate cuts, while some Republicans have argued that the agency had grown too large and that consolidation is overdue.

Schwartz's Testimony and the Kaine Exchange

Schwartz told the committee that the CDC is committed to fulfilling every legal obligation, but she warned that some programs are running on the institutional knowledge of a handful of remaining employees rather than full teams. She cited occupational safety surveillance, infectious disease tracking, and laboratory response capabilities as areas where the agency is operating at reduced capacity. The CDC has not publicly released a comprehensive list of which programs lack minimum staffing, though internal documents reviewed by congressional staff suggest the gaps are widespread.

Baldwin's provision requires the Department of Health and Human Services to certify to Congress that staffing levels are adequate to meet statutory duties. If the agency cannot make that certification, the law gives Congress new leverage to demand justification for the gaps. Lawmakers from both parties have indicated they intend to use that leverage in upcoming oversight hearings, particularly as the fiscal year-end approaches and agencies prepare their next budget requests.

What Comes Next for Oversight

Outside experts in public health workforce policy have noted that the CDC's situation mirrors strains at other federal health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, where hiring freezes and early retirement programs have thinned expertise. Several former CDC officials have urged Congress to specify minimum staffing levels in future appropriations bills, arguing that without numerical benchmarks, the requirements in the current law are difficult to enforce. The agency has not indicated whether it will request supplemental funding to backfill positions in the next budget cycle.