HHS denies that it has banned any words in the budget…

HHS is denying that it has banned any words in any CDC documents. They claim the report by the Washington Post is a complete mischaracterizations of their discussions:

ABC NEWS – Trump administration officials in the Department of Health and Human Services said a report that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading U.S. public health agency, is being barred from using certain words, including “diversity,” “transgender” and “fetus,” is a “complete mischaracterization.”

The Washington Post reported that policy analysts at the CDC were told in a meeting Thursday to not use certain words in any official documents for preparing for the budget for fiscal year 2019.

The words are: “evidence-based,” “science-based,” “entitlement,” “vulnerable,” “diversity,” “transgender,” and “fetus,” the Post reported.

In response to ABC News’ request for comment from the CDC, an HHS spokesperson responded in a statement.

“The assertion that HHS has ‘banned words’ is a complete mischaracterization of discussions regarding the budget formulation process,” the HHS statement said. “HHS will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans. HHS also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions.”

ABC News asked HHS for further clarification but has not yet received a response.

So there you go. We’ll have more on this if the HHS or CDC ever put out further clarification on the issue…


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