Wash authors april ryan and cal thomas sunday on book tv on cspan2. Health alec cesar health and Human Services secretary azar was in washington. He talked about the federal government response to the outbreak and testifying on the president s 2021 budget request. The second panel on the Coronavirus Response, those questions will be limited to five minutes, which is the usual case. Only 10 members will be able to ask questions during that round. I will have to be strict with the gavel. Since the witnesses have a tight timeframe and i know that you will all cooperate with that. Let us begin. Welcome, mr. Secretary. We are glad that you are here. We have a lot to take up and every bit of it is obviously series. The chair recognizes yourself for five and its for an opening statement. Let me begin with this. , mr. Secretary i think that confusion is the enemy of preparedness. Confusion is the enemy of preparedness. I believe that the administrations lack of coordination for the Coronavirus Response is on full display. Markets are reacting. I think in some part to the lack of trust information amongst many other factors. Our government across the government has to speak with credibility and authority. Greatd, it is like a chorus chanting on the side of the stage. ,e have one thing being said the president saying Something Else. That adds to the confusion. I think that there are key questions that need to be addressed for the American People. What is the plan, the overall plan should this virusinfected americans in fact virus infect americans in high numbers . Tests, we all know, have a limited reliability to diagnose the virus. The small number, it could be said, of u. S. Cases it may reflect limited testing and not how the virus is spread. It is up to our professionals to put out with clarity that kind of information. What is the plan for protecting our Health Care Workers that are in the frontlines of this . What is the plan to increase Hospital Capacity . View, the United States of america has the premier professional Public Health professionals in the world, in the world. Thoseientists, doctors, are heading up the agencies, those that are part of the agencies. I think the problem rests more with administration people. One saying one thing, others saying Something Else. I think that the briefings that are done for the congress, if i might suggest, should be open to the public. There is no reason to have secrets about this. I say that because it raises the element of fear with people. There is something going on behind closed doors that they are not telling us. It is a time for us, if i might use the expression, to give them an inoculation of confidence. Certainly, the virus triggers fear. I think the antidote for this is truth and transparency, including informing the american coordinated, fully funded government plan to keep us safe. These are not things they can do for themselves. We are the ones. You are certainly in the drivers seat on this. I think that the funding requests and later in my questions, i will ask you about that, is wholly inadequate. Before requesting emergency funding, the president s budget contained dangerous cuts that weakened our Public Health frontline response, got the Health Care Safety net, and end programs focusing on increasing our health care workforce. So we are driving in the wrong direction. A fire and there is the fire engine is going down the wrong end of the road instead of to the fire. We need these resources in order to care for the American People. As the author of the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act, i know that the best way to fight outbreaks is by preparing and investing in advance, not by rushing after a pandemic its. Hits. While the virus is spreading, the president s budget cuts almost 700 million from the cdc, 400 30 million from the National Institute focused on Infectious Diseases. 3 billion from the governments Global Health program. This is a job dropping 1. 6 dropping 1. 6jaw trillion dollars cut from the federal programs that cover one in three americans. This does not make any sense. The president s budget virtually ends the Workforce Development programs that train more than half a million clinicians each year. I see them each week in my Congressional District at Stanford Medical Center and Lucille Packard childrens hospital. The budget weakens our Public Health safety net hurts our countrys resiliency. Nih, all these agencies cannot run on fumes, cannot run on fumes. If itnot even a tesla does not have a battery that is going to last. If americans are uninsured or underinsured, they are not going to seek care. That will contribute to the spread of the disease. , as the president has often promised, Beautiful Health care. I dont find beauty in what i just said. Im sorry that this is a part of it. With that, i will have questions. Thank you again for being here. The chair now recognizes the doctor, the Ranking Member of our subcommittee, for his five minutes for an opening statement. Thank you, secretary, for being here. Always great to see you in our committee. I hope the feeling is mutual. I just have to say, madam chair, that two weeks ago, i was criticized rather severely for even suggesting that we needed a coronavirus hearing. The work that we were doing that day was so important that we did not need to do that hearing. We did need to do that hearing. I am grateful we are having it today. I am grateful we have the secretary. This hearing is also being coincidently run with the president s Budget Proposal for fiscal year 21. That is a lot of stuff to cover in one hearing. I guess we will do our best, mr. Secretary. I do appreciate the administrations commitment to health care. I appreciate the commitment to lowering Health Care Costs and reducing the complexity of the system so that patients can more easily access their care. One thing the administration and mr. Secretary, particularly you, led on was advancing kidney help for Americans Health for americans. That trend continues. This bill would extend Medicare Coverage of immunosuppressive drugs past the current 36 month limit. A patient with a kidney transplant needs to take immunosuppressives are there body will ultimately reject the graft. A kidney transplant is indeed an investment in the future of that patient and this bill will help protect that investment. I am thankful it has been highlighted as a priority by the administration. It is time for congress to finally pass this common sense legislation. The opiate epidemic and programs investigativeht committee making sure the programs are indeed a priority. In our oversight investigation subcommittee, we have heard from various states of the efforts they are making to help those with Substance Use disorder. Funding for these grants is imperative to allow states to find the innovative ways to combat this crisis. Fact that thehe administration include the hyde amendment. Important to ensure that federal funds are not used to perform abortions. The Appropriations Committee puts together the bills for fiscal year 2021 and they will maintain those protections. Other important programs and policies receiving increased funding, including the maternal grant d block the coronavirus has infected over 80,000 individuals worldwide, proven to be more deadly than sars. I appreciate the Trump Administrations vigilance and Rapid Response efforts. I was so heartened when you came on the air and said there was a limit to people being able to come into this country from china. I thought that was important that the administration say that. I believe that is one of the central things. My thesis is that is one of the central things that has provided us at least a little breathing room as this virus erupts around the world. We are fortunately not as effective as some other countries. Now it is incumbent upon us to make sure we utilize that time wisely. Certainly, the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act, which was worked on by this subcommittee, important piece of legislation. I would have liked for us to have done realtime hearings updating, are we doing what was intended with that bill . Is the stockpile responding appropriately to the authorizations that we made . This is the type of information, rather than the political rhetoric backandforth that we have heard, this is the type of information i think would be helpful and indeed reassuring to the American People. You cant ignore the fact of what has happened to the markets. Today, they seem to have rebounded a little bit. We all know china has not been forthcoming with information. It is that uncertainty, that uncertainty that i believe is driving one of the negative forces one of the negative forces driving the market. We will have multiple questions for you. I certainly look forward to your testimony. I yields back. The gentleman yields back. I want the Ranking Member to know the following. On january 30, i requested that the following week that we have a hearing on the coronavirus with the heads of the agencies. Saidecretary leaned in and i had up the effort and i want to be there with that team. Here we are today. Something that we just casually overlooked or ignored. I now would like to recognize the chairman of the full committee for his five minutes. Todays hearing serves two critical purposes. First, we will examine the trumpet demonstrations proposed budget for the apartment of health and Human Services for fiscal year 2021. Second, we will get a crucial update to the administrations ongoing response to the coronavirus. I am disappointed yet not surprised that the Budget Proposal completely contradicts the health care promises that the president repeatedly makes to the American People. Comes to ensuring the American People have access to affordable and Quality Health care, the Trump Administration has failed them and this Budget Proposal continues that record. After showering the major corporations with major tax breaks, the 2021 budget slashes from the Affordable Care act and medicaid. The president wants to make it easier for states to take away peoples coverage, undermined undermine their care, and cut critical benefits. This puts the health and wellbeing of tens of millions of children, parents, pregnant women and people with disabilities at risk. It is unconscionable that the president wants to cut medicaid to pay for tax cuts for millionaires. These budget cuts also fly in the face of President Trumps own words. He promised he would not cut medicare or medicaid. He promised in the state of the Union Address earlier this year that he would continue to protect them more than 130 million americans with preexisting conditions. As the secretary knows, this administration is now suing in the federal courts to strike down the aca and all of its consumer protections. Overall, President Trump is proposing a 12 cut to the hhss budget, one of the largest cuts to any federal agency. The president s proposal cuts the National Institutes of health by 3 billion and the centers for Disease Control and prevention by 675 billion. This is the very agency debt is now responding to the coronavirus. I am also concerned by the proposal to move tobacco regulation out of the fdas authority altogether. Instead, the administration would create new agency to oversee Tobacco Products while we are in the midst of a Youth Tobacco epidemic. The act clearly and fdabiguously ensured that would regulate Tobacco Products with the protection of Public Health. Over the last decade, the agency has worked to develop the expertise, workforce and scientific base to regulate these products. I am concerned that this proposal would only serve to further politicize tobacco regulation by stripping away the sound, scientific and evidencebased approach and replacing it at the whims of political appointees. To if nothing more, a gift big tobacco companies. Let me move to the let me move to the second topic at hand. We will ask questions of the secretary and other Top Health Officials on the administrations efforts to address the coronavirus outbreak. It is critical we get an update on the scale of outbreak, repercussions and how we can Work Together to ensure the safety of all americans. I i think we have one of the strongest infrastructures in the world. More than capable of coming to an effective solution. We should be supporting that with all available resources. Again, adam chair, i thank you. Well, actually, i have time left, if anybody wants it. Everybody gets time . Anybody want my time . All right. Thanks i yield back. Gentleman yields back. Pleasure to recognize mr. Walden for his opening statement. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here today. Not the first time we have seen you. Here this year, probably. We certainly appreciate the work you and your team have done dealing with the coronavirus. I think ive been in every one of the roundtable and hearings that you and your team have provided for this committee and other committees. The comoderators of the first one in the Visitor Center where every member of congress was invited. I was at the last one and i was at the situation room at the white house before the break. You know, i think you all have been very forthcoming with the facts. For whatever reason, we have not had a hearing here, maybe wanting to wait until this one, but i think it is important that we hear from you and the team that you are leading. I think it is important to recognize the work that misses brooks did on reauthorizing the pandemic all hazards preparedness act in the last congress. We had big fights about that. Thank goodness it is in place because it is designed to do exactly what we are encountering today. Have a lead person in the administration that is you, designated by the president and a team ready to go. I guess i have been to enough of those briefings that i so members kind of yawning and i saw members yawning in those closed door briefings. We are hearing it for the third time. We are gone a week and a lot has changed. We know what is happening in china is probably worse than we are being told. I think the big issues there are supplychain, as well as Public Health. We know that it is spreading around the world. We know, and you have warned us, other doctors have warned us, expected this could well mutate. It can well expand. We should be ready for that. We have a terrific Public Health system here in the United States. A lot of that is driven at the local level. It is important we have those communication links in place so when we identify something, someone coming into an airport, Health Officials know about it at home and we are able to deal with it. Asper ands an update on the sidecar hearing we have 80,000 confirmed cases worldwide. 2700 deaths. The outbreak has become a Significant Health concern. Yesterday italy announced 300 individuals affected by the coronavirus. Eleven have died. There is still so much we do not know about the outbreak. We will learn more after this Budget Hearing. It is, essential, that we do everything that we can and provide you the assistance. I know the meeting that i have been in, you have made it clear, if you need more money, you will ask it. We have made it clear, if you need more money, tell us and we will work with you. I know you have sent up a supplemental request for, i think a total of a little over 2 billion. Some of that is reprogramming. Some of that is additional money no sooner left your office and some politicians on the air criticizing you for not asking for enough. We will be interested to get your response to that. I do think it is also essential to look at perspective, in terms of what americans are facing today with the traditional flu. And that we probably lost, what, 10,000 or more americans have died from the annual flu, and we have vaccines for that, treatments for that. We have to think about that as well. And practice good Public Health. I was in japan with a couple of my other colleagues on the committee and you cannot go anywhere in japan without the Hand Sanitizer being squirted in your hand. It was a good lesson, i think, for all of us. We ought to be doing more of that here. It would probably help with the traditional seasonal flu. Theres a lot we can learn