Today, Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) issued the following statement on Tuesday’s closure of the Region 10 office of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Seattle. The HHS Region 10 office serves Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska.

“This level of funding and staff cuts to public health services is unconscionable. This will hurt Seattle. There’s no justification — medically, scientifically, fiscally, or morally — for cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from the very institutions and programs that care for our most vulnerable, including vital treatment services.

“But let’s be clear: the intentions — and the risks — of this move by the Trump Administration are unmistakable. It leaves the Seattle region with less resources for public health, insurance coverage, disease prevention and control, among many other basic programs.

“I applaud WA Attorney General Nick Brown for acting swiftly and joining other states to stop this unconstitutional theft of critical health resources.

“We are only just beginning to recover from a pandemic that claimed thousands of lives and left many still grappling with long-term health consequences. Our region’s health systems were finally stabilizing, with promising results from our substance use disorder treatment programs.  

These cuts threaten to unravel that progress. I am actively identifying specific ways Seattle can protect its residents when the federal government fails to meet its obligations. This includes making treatment a top priority given fentanyl’s central role in our public health crisis. We will work together as a city, a region, and a coalition of concerned communities to ensure our public health system isn’t pushed past the breaking point.”

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