In an editorial today, the Wall Street Journal discusses Democratic complaints linking Ebola with supposedly falling spending on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Let’s take a look at the data with the Downsizing Government chart tool. Click open Health and Human Services, then click on CDC. Hold your mouse over the line to see the data.

Between 2000 and 2014, CDC outlays almost doubled in 2014 constant dollars, from $3.5 billion to $6.8 billion. Outlays have dipped the last few years, but that’s after a Bush‐​Obama spending boom. CDC outlays have quadrupled in constant dollars since the late 1980s.

The chart below shows CDC spending since 1970 in constant, or inflation‐​adjusted, dollars. The data is sourced from the Office of Management and Budget public database, available here.