NEW REPORT: Rural Texas Faces Perfect Storm as Trump Slashes Health Care and Disaster Preparedness
Rep. Julie Johnson and Former FEMA and CDC Officials Sound Alarm on Trump’s Threat to Rural Hospitals and Disaster Response
TEXAS – This week, Sabotaging Our Safety released a new report exposing how Donald Trump is putting Texas’s rural communities at risk through a dangerous one-two punch: gutting disaster preparedness programs while simultaneously slashing health care funding, cutting coverage, and forcing hospitals to close their doors.
Today, Sabotaging Our Safety and Defend America Action held a press call with Congresswoman Julie Johnson (D-TX), Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director, and Rafael Lemaitre, former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA. Speakers outlined how Trump’s policies are creating a perfect storm of vulnerability in Texas – closing the rural hospitals that serve as lifelines for communities while dismantling the disaster preparedness programs those same communities depend on when the next storm hits.
“Republicans have made a choice to shut the government down to fight for billionaire tax breaks instead of for working families’ health care. They’re playing political games instead of keeping our communities safe and prepared – and Texas deserves better,” said Congresswoman Julie Johnson (D-TX). “Our families shouldn’t have to wonder if their local clinic will stay open. Our hospitals shouldn’t have to beg for resources to keep the lights on, and our emergency responders shouldn’t be left waiting for federal support during storm season. We need to extend the health care tax credits, make coverage affordable, fully fund FEMA, and protect public health and disaster recovery programs. That’s how we make sure Texans and the country are protected, not just in times of crisis, but every single day.”
“As the former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA and a Texan who has been through multiple disasters, I’ve seen firsthand the damage they cause, and every additional day this shutdown goes on, our communities grow more at risk,” said Rafael Lemaitre, Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member and former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA. “Now, my former FEMA colleagues are being treated like punching bags. They’ve been through the trauma of the DOGE initiative, they’re working without pay, and now face more threats of reductions in force. Bad morale at FEMA makes communities weaker. On top of all of this, by shutting down rural health care centers and hospitals, this administration is taking away a vital piece of disaster response, especially for communities in places like East Texas that keep getting flooded over and over again.”
“The experts at CDC are critical for the preparedness of every part of the country, especially rural communities that may require additional support and may not have the resources themselves to be able to implement public health response. What we’re seeing with the dismantling of public health is the idea that if you save parts of the program, then the program will still be able to function and will be able to work well on the ground. And I’m here to tell you, that’s not the case,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director. “One quarter of CDC staff have either been RIF’d or have left due to the administration’s attack on public health, and those cuts won’t just impact DC or Atlanta. These cuts will be felt on the ground in rural Texas as well as all over the country.”
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