One is inclined to think of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a health-oriented, no-nonsense agency that operates in a sterile, efficient and productive manner. It’s image is not likely to include visions of fluff or foolish spending.
Yet we get evidence of hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on needless perks that do little or nothing to enhance our chances of coping with and, ideally, avoiding diseases.
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a practicing physician and ranking member of an oversight subcommittee, has issued a scathing 115-page report. It questions, justifiably, the CDC’s spending on such things as an employee fitness center with about $200,000 in equipment including zero-gravity chairs and a mood-enhancing light show, and a $1.7 million effort to have medical care accurately portrayed in movies and television shows.
Further, Coburn finds evidence that there are even more such projects for which millions more in dollars are being sought with little evidence they meet the basic standards of the CDC.
So much for the idea of well-trained, dedicated people moving from place to place in their white coats, masks and rubber gloves working to protect us — even though most of the employees might fit such a mold.
Coburn is quick to emphasize that he thinks the CDC does important work to protect and improve public health. He doesn’t want a few examples of improper spending to hinder and undermine that work. He just wants to see public funding better used.
His concern is quite understandable. His report includes details on a massive construction project at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Costs already have exceeded a billion dollars. Officials say their goal is to provide first-rate facilities for “our first-rate employees.”
Coburn’s report criticizes the $1.7 million the agency has spent since 2001 on a Hollywood liaison office providing expertise for TV shows such as “ER” and “24.”
“ … television producers should have an incentive without federal taxpayer involvement to get their story lines straight,” says the senator. A CDC spokesman calls this “an unusual and effective way to reach people” with messages about their health. Again, why can’t TV producers pay such bills?
How many millions of dollars have been squandered on perks for CDC employees? A health-conscious nation has reason to expect better use of public funds. If something as “sterile” as the CDC operation is this badly operated, consider all the other federal agencies that are even more likely to be showing a disgusting disregard for taxpayer money.
