Maloney Demands Answers on “Banned” Words List at CDC

Washington – After reports surfaced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were banned from using seven terms including “transgender” and “evidence-based” by the Trump Administration, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) sent a letter to the agency asking for clarification on the facts of these reports. The CDC’s director, Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, has suggested that the stories “mischaracterize” the state of affairs at the agency, but has not offered her own version of events.

“The idea that the CDC would ban words like science-based is so crazy I had a hard time taking it seriously” said Rep. Maloney. “But now that they’re refusing to deny or clarify their policies, I’m starting to get concerned that the Trump Administration sees 1984 more as a how-to guide than a cautionary tale.”

Rep. Maloney is leading the letter with Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) Diana DeGette (D-CO), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). As first reported by The Washington Post, CDC guidance directs employees to refrain from using the words “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based” in documents related to the CDC’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal. The letter, which was signed by 88 Members of Congress, requests information regarding the origin, purpose, and scope of the word ban.

A copy of the letter can be found here.