Word signup box. While the house of representatives remains out of session due to the coronavirus pandemic, members of the House Appropriations subcommittee met on capitol hill to look at the virus. The hearing included testimony from former cdc director tom frieden and caitlin rivers from the Johns Hopkins center for Health Security. This is 2. 5 hours. The hearing will come to order. Good morning, and welcome to the labor, health, and Human Services and education appropriations subcommittee. Todays hearing is on the nations ongoing response to the coronavirus. Like all other efforts on the supplemental package, it has been bipartisan. Let me commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including my friend and Ranking Member congressman tom cole. Our witnesses, dr. Tom frieden, president and ceo of resolve to save lives and former director of the centers for Disease Control and prevention, the cdc. From 2000 92016. Dr. Caitlin rivers, featured scholar at the Johns Hopkins center for Health Security and assistant professor in the department of Environmental Health and engineering at the Johns HopkinsBloomberg School of Public Health. His testimony will provide a perspective based on 30 years of fighting epidemics, including leading the cdcs response to ebola, where we are and what we need to do to protect americans. Makes the case why in the months and years to come will we need additional capacity and diagnostic testing, Contact Tracing in the Health System to combat the virus. Im glad to have my colleagues here, i want to thank them for being here. Ande democratic side on the republican side, congressman tom coles, congressman andy harris, and i hope we will have congresswoman herrera butler. We are all disappointed that others could not be here because of distance, flights, and the Health Issues raised by covid19. ,anking member kay granger , andra lee, lois frankel the congressman. They could not attend, but they did send questions which we will underscorewant to that members should not be blocked from participating in the hearing. All committee members, and that requires moving as quickly as possible into the 21st century. Nd conducting virtual hearings all mirrors should be able to participate. I am angry that the white house as Energy American reaction to the pandemic and the president has done everything he could to avoid being accountable. Im particularly upset about the lack of necessary testing and the personal protective equipment capacity, both of which would help us gain control. And then yesterday, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would not permit dr. Anthony found you to testify before the Democratic House committee dr. Fauci, saying the house is a bunch of haters, who frankly want the situation to be unsuccessful or cold but they are allowing dr. Fauci to testify before the u. S. Senates week. This is a bipartisan panel. Dr. Fauci has appeared before our subcommittee dozens of times. He has testified, whether it was a democratic or republican chair. He has testified hundreds of times, working with democratic and republican president s, but now, the white house said no, leaving no doubt they are just frightened. The labor hhs subcommittee provided billions of dollars in funding for the cdc and the nih, the National Strategic stockpile , and hospitals per we have appropriated 175 billion for hospitals and other Health Care Providers. Most recently, 25 billion for testing and improve diagnostic, including 11 billion for states and localities Testing Capacity. The purpose of todays hearing eyed get a clear clear view of the path forward in response to covid19. As we work to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, in the mediumterm as we develop the therapeutics to treat the disease and a vaccine to inoculate millions of americans against the coronavirus. Makee long term, as we investments to enhance our nationss Public Health and global Health Systems, better prepare for the next pandemic over the horizon. These are the three pillars we will look to build. Todays hearing, i would like to for the recommendations of our two Public Health experts on the necessary measures that must be put in place in the benchmarks that must be met to move forward on keeping americans safe. Science and facts prescriber policy, and hearing from doctors, scientists, researchers and experts to command those facts and drive the science of public policy. It is urgent that we do so, as these models predict or predictors according to the New York Times and washington post, that in the coming months, 3000 americans could die every day. There is no time to delay. Our Witnesses Today will give us the analysis, the facts of the science, and the strategy that will help us to make the right decisions. With that, i would like to recognize a good friend, the Ranking Member on the committee for any opening rep. Cole thank you, madam chair. First, i will have some extemporaneous remarks. I want to thank you for the hearing. It is a very important meeting to have, and i want to thank my colleagues for being here. We understand why they could not, but i appreciate you on both sides of the aisle for coming, and i want the record to show that i have joined the chairman in urging dr. Fauci be allowed to testify here. I think it would be a good testimony, useful to this committee and useful to the country, quite frankly. I think Going Forward, the subcommittee probably more than any other will need expert input as we make the important decisions in front of us, and while i am not naive enough to believe there is not a certain amount of partisanship on capitol hill, and some committees are more partisan than others, frankly, the Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee are not hyperpartisan committees in my view, and the record shows it. In the last five years, working on the subcommittee and with our friends in the United States senate, particularly senator blunt and senator murray, we have increased funding by 39 , increased cdc funded by 24 . We have increased the strategic stockpile funding by 34 . We establish the Infectious DiseaseRapid Response fund. I think that is a bipartisan record of accomplishment to be proud of, and i think, in retrospect, we all wish we had done more. The reality is we are so much better off where we are at because of the actions taken in a bipartisan sense by this committee, so its record shows that it knows how to Work Together. My friend, the chairman when i was chairman, i voted for the final passage of the bill every single time. We negotiated, and we got to a place where we could agree, and she helped me get it across. Chairmanship, i hope that is the way we can work Going Forward. Again, i think we are going to be called upon to make some really important decisions, and having read the testimony of frieden,rivers and dr. Frankly, i think that will call for us looking at the caps agreements on some of these accounts, as well. I do not think you can get to where we need to go with the cap. Witnesses will give us, and i look forward to working with every member of this committee and particularly you, madam chair, to arrive at the right decision for all of our country Going Forward, so with that, again, i want to thank you, too, for many of the calls and briefings to keep all of us updated to overcome this pandemic. The the last several weeks, spread of covid19 has caused unthinkable disruptions to life as usual and will continue to do so for some time, even as we flatten the curve. Following the hon strain on our Health Care Systems and the Health Care System as a direct result of this coronavirus, desire for normalcy to return is certainly a sentiment shared by us all, but as state and local economies cautiously begin to reopen, it is important to remember that getting back to business does not mean getting back to normal. Even though the fight against covid19 is far from over, keeping businesses closed and workers at home is not a sustainable option for the longterm. While the federal government has provided some shortterm relief to help individuals, households, businesses, and communities stay afloat during this period of social distancing, our economies need to get moving again, and americans need to get back to work. However, any such efforts to reopen must continue to keep the health and safety of americans at top of mind and not undo previous progress in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. This will, indeed, be a balancing act. Until they are working treatments, effective therapeutics, and ultimately a vaccine to control covid19, the risk and danger for disease remains. Returning to more regular functions and operations needs to be based on data. President trump the Coronavirus Task force recently recommended criteria for states and communities to achieve before moving into phases of reopening. This includes a consistent downward trend in reported symptoms, a consistent downward trend in document a cases, for positive tests as well as hospitals being able to treat all patients without crisis care , and robust testing in place for all Health Care Workers at risk. While this is a helpful reopening blueprint, states are not strictly bound to it, and indeed, just as there are 50 separate and unique states, there may be 50 approaches to reopening that carry the same spirit of caution in decisionmaking based on sound data. However, the idea behind these three phases is to gradually allow this mrs. And workplaces to open back up, not immediately, full speed ahead allow businesses and workplaces to open back up. Phases, this may include limiting the number of employees. Workplaces continuing telework practices, and vulnerable and Older Americans remain at home, and limiting the number of customers inside stores and restaurants. Clearly, life is going to be Going Forward that it was in our immediate past. Regardless of our reopening in our communities, we must remember not to abandon hygienic precautions, like thoroughly and frequent washing hands, not touching our faces, daily disinfecting of surfaces, keeping a safe distance from others, and staying at home when sick. It is quickly important that the federal government learns from this crisis, in order to face down another pandemic in the future. I am proud that congress is generally invested in were the tools and response resources to strengthen our readiness in recent years. It must be an even higher priority in days to come. You cannot be fully prepared for what you do not know what is coming. In this case, a mysterious virus originating in china only identified earlier this year for which a vaccine does not exist. I look forward to this, and i yield back the remainder of my time. To theelauro thank you Ranking Member, and i assure you that we will continue with the subcommittee. To Work Together in a collaborative spirit to do what is right in this area and in other areas that we have jurisdiction over on behalf of the American People. Let me also welcome our collie, Jaime Herrera beutler. You have come a long way from a state that has been hard hit. I appreciate that. And now, i would like to introduce our witnesses. Our first witness is dr. Tom , the president and ceo of resolve to save lives, part of the global Public Health association. Dr. Frieden was director of the centers for Disease Control and prevention, the cdc, from 2009 to 2016. Dr. Frieden is recognized as one of the worlds leading experts, currently assisting countries during this covid19 epidemic, as well as providing Technical Assistance to new york state and other jurisdictions here at home. During his time at cdc, many will recall that he led the response to the ebola outbreak, along with his colleagues at the state department. He also spearheaded many new Health Initiatives here in the u. S. , including initiatives to address the Opioid Epidemic and to reduce chronic disease. So pleased, we are to have you here today. Your full written statement will be entered into the record. You are now recognized for your opening remarks. Thank you very much, and good morning. Members ofber cole, the subcommittee, i appreciate the opportunity to testify. I will preside testimony based on three decades based on fighting disease globally. The bottom line is that covid is a terrible tragedy. Families have experienced devastating loss. Parents have lost their jobs, and all of our lives have been disrupted. Our war against covid will be long and difficult, and we must act strategically now to establish a new way of preventing future health disasters. At inappropriate time, we can assess what went well and what did not. I am acutely aware that hindsight is 20 20. Tois far too easy secondguess decisions others have made. We are just at the beginning of this pandemic and must focus on the future. There is only one enemy here, the dangerous microbe. It is us against them, humans against the virus. We will get through this best if we Work Together, learn from each other, and support each other. Here are 10 plain truths about covid19. First, it is really bad. Live, york city, where i i have heard for the past two months the sounds of ambulances day and night. In new york city, it is on the order of the 19181919 pandemic. More than 20,000 people when you look at all of the excess deaths killed in less than two months. That is as bad as the worst phase of the pandemic 100 years ago. Even now, with deaths decreasing substantially, there are twice as many deaths of covid in new york city as there are on a usual day from all other causes combined. And sadly, looking at the u. S. As a whole, just calculating forward from the number of people whose infections have already been documented, there will be tragically at least 100,000 deaths from covid by the end of this month. Been, as bad as this has it is just the beginning. Until we have an effective vaccine and unless something very unexpected happens, our viral enemy will be with us for many months and possibly many years. Very powerful a weapon against this virus. ,ealtime monitoring of trends finding cases before they become clusters, clusters before they become outbreaks, outbreaks before they become explosive epidemics that risk the lives of Health Care Workers and others. Fourth, we will be able to reopen as soon and safely as possible by basing decisions based on data and creating together a new normal. We are also impatient to restart our activities. Sheltering in place is a blunt but effective weapon. It suppresses the spread of the virus but inflict severe Economic Hardship on individuals and the economy. We need to deploy all of the effective weapons in our arsenal. After flattening the curve, the next step is what we call the box strategy. There are four corners to the box. Testing widely and strategically, i slitting people who test positive, isolating people who test positive, warning people who are exposed to the virus, and quarantining contacts, providing essential services so that they can be sure the infection stops with them. If any corner of that box is weak, the virus can escape and spread explosively again. Each is important. Fifth, find the balance between restarting our economy and letting the virus run rampant. We are conditioned to think in terms of dichotomies. A versus b. Versusthis case, open closed is not a dichotomy. It is more accurate to think of a dimmer switch or a dimmer dial than an on off switch to avoid undue risk. Even when we are closed, many essential activities continue, and when we reopen, our new normal will be different. With care and creativity, we can offer open sooner. It would change the way we travel, work, and go about our lives. The virus can create a new generation in minutes, in human populations, it takes weeks to see the result of repeated spread. As we reopen, if there is a lot of spread, it will take weeks before we actually see it. Another false dichotomy is between Public Health and Economic Security. In fact, the very best way to get our economy back is to control the virus, and economic stability is critically important to the Public Health. Sixth, we must protect the Health Care Workers and other essential staff who are the frontline heroes of this war. They should never have to put their lives at risk to care for us. Having safer Health Care Facilities is essential to more societal activity to resume. It is one thing to take risks for yourself, but if the risk you take for yourself and