We cannot ignore the DOGE slashing up funds to services for us as individuals or globally is happening. This has become a severe reality to my family.

My son-in-law is a Doctor who has been treating patients around the world for over six years with tuberculosis (TB). His work has been supported by federal grants to develop successful treatments and decrease the spread of TB on our planet. Why is this important to all of us? Because TB is the deadliest infectious disease on our planet: 1.2 million die from TB every year globally. TB was significantly reduced in the US in the past hundred years through public health, policies, sanitation, and medical care. But unfortunately, our country had 9633 active cases in 2023 and the rate has been increasing by 15% every year. This year we had an outbreak of TB in Kansas City. According to the WHO, 2 million people around the world suffer from TB-that is 30% of the world’s population! We could decrease this number with research and treat that but not today. Today, 10,000 research grants focused on improving the health and well-being of humanity, including the grant funding, my son-in-law’s work, we halted. This abrupt stop wasted the resources that had already been contributed, but most of all left populations in peril. Imagine being a patient that lost access to life-saving medication overnight.

This is more than a personal story. This is a call to action for all of us to consider. Our country is in debt and needs to do something about it. However, chaotic signing of proclamations without forethought is ignorance at its worst. It seems to me that we are all going to be affected by these losses and more to come.

If you have any concerns about what is happening in our country, I urge you to contact our elected leaders. Talk to others about your concerns and present these to our senators and representatives.