Oregon Nurses Association Condemns Trump and Bentz in Scathing Statement

Portland, Oregon- The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) has strongly condemned the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate 10,000 positions from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), calling it a direct attack on the public health infrastructure that healthcare workers and patients across Oregon rely on daily.

“This is not streamlining. This is sabotage,” said Tamie Cline, RN, ONA President. “Slashing the workforce at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the middle of overlapping public health crises will put lives at risk. Healthcare professionals in Oregon and across the country are already stretched thin, and this makes our jobs harder, our communities sicker, and our public institutions weaker.”

The administration’s plan would reduce the CDC’s capacity to respond to disease outbreaks, limit the NIH’s ability to fund medical research, and weaken the FDA’s oversight of food and drug safety. These federal agencies play a central role in supporting state and local public health efforts and ensuring that healthcare workers have the resources and data necessary to care for their communities.

Local Impact on Oregon

ONA outlined several specific consequences for Oregon if the proposed cuts are implemented:

• Emergency Preparedness: Oregon received more than $8.4 million through the CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness program in fiscal year 2023. The funding supports over 100 positions that help the state respond to wildfires, floods, and disease outbreaks. Cuts to CDC staffing could threaten this funding and leave Oregon less prepared for public health emergencies.

• Opioid and Suicide Prevention: The CDC allocated nearly $4 million to Oregon in FY2023 for opioid overdose prevention and nearly $1 million for suicide prevention. These funds support naloxone distribution, peer recovery programs, and crisis intervention services. Loss of federal support could destabilize these critical programs.

• Lead Poisoning Prevention: Oregon’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program received over $500,000 in federal funding to identify and eliminate lead exposure risks, especially for low-income children. Reductions in CDC personnel could undermine these efforts and increase preventable cases of lead poisoning.

• Medical Research: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) received $277 million from the NIH in FY2024 to support research on cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. Cutting NIH staff by over 1,000 positions could delay or reduce future grant opportunities, hindering life-saving research conducted by Oregon scientists.

ONA warned that the most vulnerable populations would face the greatest harm. Reduced access to mental health and addiction services in rural areas, delays in medical research at OHSU, and weakened oversight of food and drug safety could exacerbate existing healthcare disparities across the state.

Political Response

While most of Oregon’s congressional delegation has opposed the proposed cuts, ONA criticized U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz for remaining silent.

“Silence is complicity,” ONA said in a statement. “Oregon cannot afford one more politician sitting on the sidelines while our public health infrastructure is dismantled.”

Cline framed the administration’s plan as a deliberate effort to weaken public health institutions.

“Healthcare workers know what it takes to keep our communities safe,” Cline said. “We are calling this what it is: a dangerous, politically motivated effort to break public health in order to break public trust. And we will not let that happen without a fight.”

Medford Alert has reached out to the office of Representative Cliff Bentz, regarding these accusations. At the time of this publication, we have not received a response.