Come to order. I just want all members to know that our Witnesses Today have to leave at 5 00 p. M. The questions for the first panel on the hhs budget with secretary, and, welcome, mr. Secretary, will be limited to four minutes. The second panel on the minutesl case, but 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. 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. Every bit of it is, obviously, serious. The chair now recognizes herself for five minutes for an opening statement. Let me begin with mr. Secretary. I think that the confusion is the enemy of preparedness. Confusion is the enemy of preparedness. I believe that the administrations lack of coordination to the Coronavirus Response is on full display. We all know that. Markets are reacting, i think, at least in some parts, to the lack of trusted information amongst many other factors. Our government, across the government, has to speak with credibility and authority. Instead, it is like a great chorus champion on the side of the stage. One saying one thing, the president saying Something Else, and that adds to the confusion. I think there are key questions that need to be addressed for the American People. What is the plan . The overall plan . Should this virus affect americans in high numbers. What is the plan for increasing diagnostic capacity and what is the target number for that . Dysfunctional past have limited our opportunity to diagnose the virus. It could be said u. S. Bases could reflect limited testing and not that the virus has spread. It is up to our professionals to put out with clarity that kind of information. What is the plan for protecting our healthcare workers that are in the frontlines of this . What is the plan to increase Hospital Capacity . In my view, the United States of america has the premier professional Public Health professionals in the world. In the world. Our scientists, our doctors, those heading up the agencies, those that are part of the agencies. I think the problem rests more with administration people. One thing, one thing, other saying Something Else. I think the briefings down for the congress, if i might suggest, should be open to the public. There is no reason to have secrets about this. And 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 to this is truth and transparency, including informing the American People of a 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 driver seat on this. I think that the funding request, and later my questions i will ask you about that, is fully inadequate. Before requesting the Emergency Funding, the president s budget contained dangerous that weekend our frontline response. Cuts to Health Care Safety net and programs focusing on increasing our healthcare workforce. We are driving in the wrong direction. It is as if there is a fire in the fire engine is going down the wrong end of the road instead of going 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 the best way to fight outbreaks is preparing and investing in advance. Not by rushing after a pandemic hits. While the virus is spreading, the president budget cuts almost 700 million in the cdc, 430 million from the National Institute focused on Infectious Diseases, 3 billion from the governors Global Health program. This is a draw dropping 1. 6 trillion cut from the very federal program to cover one and three americans. This does not make any sense. The president s budget virtually ends the Workforce Development programs that trained more than a half million clinicians each year. I see them every week in my Congressional District at Stanford Medical Center and Lucille Packard childrens hospital. It weakens our Public Health safety net and it hurts our countries resiliency. The cdc, nih, all of these agencies cannot run on fumes. Cannot run on fumes. It is not even a tesla if it does not have a battery that will last. If americans are uninsured or underinsured, they will not seek care. That will contribute to the spread of the disease. I dont know what the president has often honest beautiful healthcare, i dont find beauty in what i just said. I am sorry, this is a part of it. With that, i will have questions. Thank you again for being here. The chair now recognizes doctor burgess, the Ranking Member of our subcommittee, for his five minutes for an opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you, secretary, for being here. Always great to see you and our committee. I hope you are grateful to be here in our committee. To weeks ago i was criticized rather severely for even suggesting we needed a coronavirus hearing. The work we were doing that day was a bill that would never become law. It was so important we did not need to do that hearing. We did need to do that hearing. Im grateful we are having it today. This hearing is also being coincidently run with the president s Budget Proposal for fiscal fiscal year 21. That is a lot of stuff to cover in one hearing. I guess we will do our best. Let me just say, i do appreciate the administrations commitment to. I appreciate the commitment to lowering healthcare costs and reducing the complexity of the system so that patients can more easily access their care. The administration and mr. Secretary led on was Kidney Health for americans. That continues in the Budget Proposal and the support for hr 5534, the comprehensive drug coverage for kidney transplant patients, as you know, mr. Secretary, this bill would extend Medicare Coverage of those drugs on a 36 month limit. A patient with a kidney transplant has to take these drugs or their body will reject causing the patient to return for dialysis treatment. A kidney transplant is indeed an investment of the future of that patient and this bill will help protect that investment. I worked on this policy for a decade and im happy its been highlighted as a priority by the administration. Time for congress to finally pass this common sense legislation. The budget also continues to work on the support act. Major piece of legislation passed in the last congress. Programs making sure the Opioid Epidemic and response programs are in need priority. We have heard from various states about the efforts they are making to help those with Substance Abuse disorder. Funding for the state opioid response grant is imperative to allow states to find the innovative ways to combat this crisis. I also appreciate the fact that the administration included prolife protections and all proposed funding language. It is important to ensure federal funds are not used to perform abortions and i hope as this subcommittee moves forward with reauthorization and the Appropriations Committee puts together the bills for fiscal year 2021 they will maintain those protections. Other important programs and policies receiving increased funding including the Maternal Child Health block grant, administrations Maternal Health in America Initiative and the 340 b drug pricing program. Funding increase for that centers for Disease Control and prevention, particularly important as we now face this worldwide coronavirus outbreak. Which brings me to the Novel Coronavirus. It has affected over 80,000 individuals worldwide. Proven to be more deadly than sars. I appreciate the Trump Administration vigilance and Rapid Response. Let me just say, i think it was for fridays ago when you came along and said there was a limit to people being able to come into this country from china and i thought that was important to the administration to say that. I believe that is one of the central things, my thesis is, one of the central things that has provided us at least a little breathing room as this virus erupts around the world. Unfortunately, not as effective as some other countries. Now its incumbent upon us to make sure we utilize that time wisely. There was a preparedness act. Worked on by this subcommittee. The last Congress Finally passed at the beginning of this congress. An important piece of legislation. I would have liked for us to have done real time he raised updating what was intended by this bill. Responding to the appropriations that we made. This is the type of information rather than the political rhetoric back and forth that we have heard. This is the type of information i think would be helpful and reassuring to the American People. You cannot ignore the fact of what has happened to the markets. Today we are grateful that they seem to have rebounded a little bit. China is not coming forth with information. It is that uncertainty that is driving, one of the negative forces driving the market. Mr. Secretary, i appreciate you being here today. We will have alterable questions for you. Thank you. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. I want the Ranking Member to know the following. On january 30, 2000, i requested that the following week that we have a hearing on the coronavirus with the head of the agencies. The secretary leaned in and say i head up the effort and i want to be there. Here we are today. This is not something that is just casually overlooked or lowered. That is far from the fact. I would like to recognize the chairman of the full committee for his five minutes. Thank you, chairwoman. Todays hearing serves to critical purposes. We will examine the Trump Administration proposed budget for the department of health and Human Services for fiscal year 2021. We will get a crucial update on the ongoing response to the coronavirus. I am disappointed, though not surprised that the Trump AdministrationBudget Proposal completely contradicts the promises that the president makes to the American People. When it comes to enjoying the American People have access to affordable and quality healthcare, the Trump Administration has failed them and this Budget Proposal continues that record. Two years after showering the corporations of major tax breaks , the president s Budget Proposal flashes 100 billion from the Affordable Care act. 500 million for medicare and more than 900 over the course of 10 years. The president also wants to make it easier for states to take away peoples coverage, undermine their care and cut critical benefits. This includes a health and wellbeing of tens of millions of children, parents and people with disabilities. It is unconscionable that the president wants to cut it to pay for tax cuts for millionaires. These budget cuts also fly on the face of President Trumps own words. He promised as president he would not cut at a care or medicaid he promised in the state of the Union Address earlier this year that he would continue to protect more than 130 million americans with preexisting conditions. As the secretary knows, this administration is doing the data records to strike down in all of its consumer protections. President trump is proposing a 12 cut to the budget. One of the largest cuts to any federal agency. Medicare, medicaid and the aca. The president s proposal cuts at the National Institutes of health by 3 billion. The centers for Disease Control and prevention by 675 million. Keep in mind that this is the very agency that is not responding to the coronavirus. The most concern to move tobacco regulation out of the fda authority altogether. The administration would create a new agency to oversee Tobacco Products while we are in the midst of a tobacco epidemic. The control act clearly and unambiguously assured that fda 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 employees. Nothing more than a gift to big tobacco companies. Let me move to the second topic at hand. We will ask questions of the secretary another 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 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 a lot. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. Pleasure to recognize mr. Walden for his opening statement. Thank you. 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, 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 on reauthorizing the 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. A lead person in the administration that is you, designated by the president and a team ready to go. I have been to enough of those briefings that i so members kind of yawning and those closed door briefings. Hearing it for the third time. Gone a week and a lot has changed. We know what is happening in china is probably worse than we are being told. Supply chain 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. It is good to get this out in the public. I would just point out that we will hear from you and the cdc, fda, in asper and nia to give us 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