HR-8067-119
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Sponsored by Eugene Vindman (D-VA)
What it does
This bill would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the CDC, to run a national data collection program on sickle cell disease by awarding grants to states. The program would track the incidence, prevalence, demographics, and healthcare utilization patterns of people living with sickle cell disease, and would standardize surveillance methods across states. The bill would also require HHS to reinstate any employee of the CDC's Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics who was removed on or after January 1, 2025, as part of any agency action that reduced that division's workforce by 3% or more within a 60-day period. It would authorize $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 ($50 million total) for the data collection program.
Who benefits
The approximately 100,000 Americans living with sickle cell disease, who are disproportionately Black Americans, would benefit from improved data that could guide better treatment and resource allocation. Researchers and public health officials would gain standardized, nationwide surveillance data. State health departments receiving grants would gain funding and infrastructure. Families of sickle cell patients would benefit from improved understanding of the disease's prevalence and healthcare needs. CDC employees who were removed from the Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics on or after January 1, 2025, would be reinstated to their positions.
Who is hurt
Federal taxpayers would bear the cost of the $50 million authorization over five years, plus the cost of reinstating removed employees. Other CDC programs or federal health priorities competing for discretionary funding could be indirectly disadvantaged. The Executive Branch's ability to reorganize federal agencies and manage workforce reductions would be constrained by the mandatory reinstatement provision. Employers or contractors who may have filled roles vacated by removed employees could face disruption.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that sickle cell disease affects roughly 100,000 Americans — predominantly Black Americans — and has historically been underfunded relative to diseases of comparable prevalence, making robust federal surveillance data essential for closing that gap. They contend that the CDC's existing Sickle Cell Data Collection program was already producing critical epidemiological insights, and that dismantling the Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics mid-program disrupts years of standardization work and leaves patients without the data infrastructure needed to improve care outcomes.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that Congress mandating the reinstatement of specific federal employees by name of division and date of removal represents an unusual legislative intrusion into the Executive Branch's constitutional authority to manage and reorganize the federal workforce. They contend that the $50 million authorization, while modest, duplicates functions that existing CDC programs and NIH sickle cell research initiatives already perform, and that directing funds to a single disease-specific surveillance program may not represent the most efficient use of limited public health discretionary spending compared to broader blood disorder or genomics programs.