Transcripts For CSPAN3 CDC Director Robert Redfield Testifie

This hearing will come to order. I would like to welcome dr. Robert redfield, director of the centers for Disease Control and prevention and we thank you for being here this morning. Dr. Redfield, to discuss the cdc and the on going response to covid19. I also want to welcome the subcommittee members, Ranking Member congressman thomas pole and our full Committee Chair. I want to thank you to the subcommittee members here in person as well as subcommittee members who are participating by secure video teleconference. Before i move to my Opening Statement, and because this is our first labor hhs and education appropriation subcommittee hearing with some members participating remotely, i would like to begin by offering a brief explanation of how it will work in order to benefit both members and the public. This hearing room has been configured to maintain the recommended six foot social distancing between members, witnesses, and other individuals in in the room necessary to operate the hearing. Which we have kept to a minimum. Some members have opted to use secure video teleconferencing which is loallows them to partie remotely. Once you start speaking, there will be a slight delay before you are displayed on the main screen. Speaking into the microphone activates the camera. Displaying the speaker on the main screen. Do not stop your remarks if you do not immediately see the screen switch over. If the screen does not change after several seconds, please make sure you are not muted. To minimize background noise and ensure that correct speaker is being displayed, we ask that the members who are participating by video remain on mute until it is your turn to ask questions. Please remember to mute yourself at the conclusion of your question. Should you seek additional time, please unmute yourself so that i may recognize you. I want to remind all members and witness thats the five minute clock still applies. If there is a technology issue, well move to the next member until the issue is resolved and youll retain the balance yf you are time. For members using the video option, you notice a clock on the bottom of your screen that will show how much time is remaining. A one minute remaining at one minute remaining, the clock will turn to yellow. At 30 seconds remaining, i will gently tap the gavel to remind members that their time is almost expired. When your time has expired, the clock will turn red and i will move to recognize the next member. In terms of speaking order, well follow the traditional order beginning with option statements from the chair and Ranking Member and a full Committee Chair and Ranking Member. We will then hear from our witness dr. Redfield. Members present at the time of the hearing, the hearing is called to order, will be recognized in order of seniority. And finally, members not present at the time the hearing is called to order. Now i would like to move to my Opening Statement. Before i make opening remarks, i want to reflect on today. This afternoon there is a Memorial Service for george floyd. For the last few months around the pandemic, we have been talking about how to get back to normal. However, what we can hear and the chants for justice and the cries for equality is that going back is not good enough. This moment exposes so many wrongs, deep inequality, and racial wrongs. And that as we fight the covid19 virus before us now, we must also fight the virus of injustice. Good morning. Welcome to the labor health and Human Services and education appropriation subcommittee. This is our second hearing to oversee the federal response to the coronavirus. And it is bipartisan. Let me commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle including the Ranking Member, congressman tom cole. With us this morning is dr. Robert redfield, director of the centers for Disease Control and prevention. The cdc. Thank you, dr. Redfield for joining us today. Our nation is in turmoil. The coronavirus is the biggest Public Health crisis we have experienced in at least a century. To be blunt, the federal response had been inconsistent and incoherent. A major focus to have days hearing is getting a better understanding of what has gone right and what has gone wrong these past five months. We need to learn from mistakes, not repeat them. We cannot stop the risk from this virus overnight. But in the months to come, we can spare the American People from unnecessary misery, illness, and death. In a typical Public Health emergency, and historically, the response would be led by the cdc. Our nations foremost pub Health Agency based on science and Public Health expertise. Im alarmed that this administration has side lined the cdc in our response to the pandemic and chosen political expediency over Public Health. As a result, the u. S. Has had the worst response to coronavirus of any country in the world. And it is particularly egregious because our Public Health system should have been better prepared than any other in the world. Over the last three years on a bipartisan basis, this subcommittee increased annual funding for the cdc by approximately 1. 1 billion. An increase of 17 since 2017. That included the first year of a new Public Health dada Modernization Initiative which will transform how the cdc collects, uses, and analyzes Public Health data. We also created an Infectious Diseases Rapid Response reserve fund to enable the cdc to respond to outbreaks quickly, to protect Public Health. Ranking member cole and i have worked closely together, understanding the challenges to create that reserve fund and it was critical to funding early response activities at the outset of this pandemic. Since march, the congress has provided 7. 5 billion in emergency supplemental funding directly to the cdc. And i might add, in bipartisan fashion, but instead of Public Health expertise driving our response to the pandemic, it appears cdc has been side lined for political interests. That is dangerous there are projections going that 30,000 more could die each month. That would mean another 100,000 dead over the summer months. Yesterday the New York Times released a powerful and well researched expose of the consequences of the lapse in the work of cdc. The piece opened the quote long considered the worlds premier Public Health agency, the centers for Disease Control and prevention has fallen short in its response to the most urgent Public Health emergency in its 74year history. From the moment this pandemic reached our shores, President Trump and his administrations response has been he wouldfully inadequate, advocating all responsibility. There was never any coordinated flo plan to address the pandemic and under this dangerous lack of leadership, our nation surpasses 100,000 deaths from covid19. The most of any country in the world. When it comes to crucial details, like acquiring tests and supplies, setting goals for how much of the population should be tested, facilitating Contact Tracing and isolation efforts, and ensuring communities that have been hit the hardest are given the support they need, there is no National Coordinated strategy. Our federal response cannot be defended from a Public Health perspective. They have found ways to keep people in other countries safe. It appears as if the United States is just admitting defeat. Is that acceptable . Or simply accepting the preventable deaths of hundreds of thousands of americans to covid19 . If the administration is asking us to accept that, in my view, the answer is a decisive no. For us to keep our people safe, our response needs to be led by the scientists and the Public Health experts at cdc. Our response needs to be based on reliable Public Health principles, not political appointees in the white house. It is our expectation that Public Health expertise must be at the forefront of our National Response. We need answers to vital questions. Why has the administration accepted the worlds worst outcome and a level of preventable death that would have been unconscienceable a few months ago . How is our country going to reopen when there is not a coordinated nationwide effort to test, contact trace, and isolate cases . Why are states disregarding cdcs guidelines for reopening business and social activities . Why are cdcs guidelines not at the forefront . Why did cdcs guidelines on reopening come after states started to reopen or were already reopened . We are asking the cdc to lead the way and uphold its mission. I quote that mission, as a Nations Health Protection Agency cdc saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, cdc conducts Critical Science and provides Health Information that protects our nation against expensive and Dangerous Health threats and responds when these arise. That is the highest mission and it is the right mission. So let me say affirmatively that this Committee Supports the scientists and the Public Health officials at the cdc. Like dr. Nancy and others who are trying to provide sciencebased guidance to the country, what went wrong . Why has the cdc been left behind . When there was an early declaration of a Public Health emergency by hhs on january 31st . When the doctor said it is not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen, she further said, disruptions to every day life may be severe but people might want to start thinking about that now. Cdc produced high quality indepth publications. You need to take note of this. The cdcs morbidity and mortality weekly reports, the mmwrs, cdc experts have published evidence about universal testing at Skilled Nursing facilities to interrupt transmission of covid19. As well as critically important work about super spreading events which are responsible for trans mitti transmitting the majority of cases of covid19. They identified the cause of some of the super spreading events, the larger events. The exposure at a choir practice where 61 people led to 32 confirmed and 20 probable cases. Attendees at a church in arkansas, workers in meat and poultry processing facilities. We cannot have a cdc that fails to publish high quality specific technical guidance. We cannot have a cdc that has reports shefput on the shelf ant redriven or redrafted to suit political purposes. We cannot have a cdc that provides spotty Data Collection and reporting. We cannot have a cdc that fails at transparency. We need federal leadership that is guided by Public Health, by that expertise, real time, rigorous and transparent. We need cdc and we need scientists and the Public Health experts leading the way for all of us. And i am angry that their experience and commitment have been pushed aside for a political agenda. That must change. And i believe the congress has to change it. And we have to redirect the current course to set us on the path forward. So i look forward to this important conversation and appreciate dr. Redfield, your being here. I appreciate the same for all of my colleagues. And now i would like to recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee congressman tom cole for any opening remarks that he would like to make. Thank you very much, madam chair. Want to begin by thanking you for holding this hearing in the middle of a difficult time and you to be commended for it and certainly dr. Readfield being here. I want to associate my remarks myself with your remarks about the tragic death of mr. Floyd and, frankly, the Health Care Disparities that this tragic pandemic has shown a bright light on this committee has worked on for many years. I know concerned dr. Redfield as they concern everybody here. And thats going to be clearly a major cask for our Committee Going forward. As it has been the past. But probably with a higher sense of urgency. Good morning, dr. Redfield. I want to thank you again for coming to testify before us today. First, id like to thank you for your Public Service. The director of the cdc is no easy job. But leading your agency through a once in a century event compounds the challenge. You led that agency with a steady hand and Uncertain Times and i want to thank you personally for your leadership. Im going to depart from my remarks a little bit here because i think sometimes when were in the middle of something, its hard to keep it in context. But our performance has not been the worst in the world. Depending on how you want to measure performance. Frankly, im sitting here looking at todays latest statistics and if you want to measure it by the basis of fatalities per million population, then the performance of the United Kingdom is worse. Performance of italy is worse. Performance of france is worse. Performance of space has been worse. Performance of belgium is worse. Those are all advanced countries with sophisticated health care systems. I dont think can you really take the chinese numbers quite frankly for face value. And then beyond that, i say this with no criticism of the countries involved, but i do worry a lot about india and pakistan, that part of the world. I worry a lot about subsa hahar africa. Were going to see the numbers are probably worse in those places than they are in the United States. Simply because we have a more sophisticated health care system. So i have no problem with being critical or putting a flashlight on anything. I think we learn lessons that way. But, you know, in america we always tend to think were the best or the worst at everything. In this case we may not be the best but were not the worst. I hope we can focus on future steps that we can take together to ensure a sense of safety as our nation returns to work and school. After more than two months of staying inside, the American People need the guidance of the cdc more than ever to help us navigate the path ahead. Efforts to reopen our country and reignite our economic engines should be approached with caution and designed on each states unique circumstances based on sound data. This pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions to our families, communities, and economy. And it will continue to do so for some time. The strain on our supply chains and the devastating Economic Impact to hardworking americans have created challenges that will take months and in some cases years to address. However, im encouraged to see state and local economies slowly and cautiously beginning to reopen. I also welcome the renewed focus on the need for u. S. Based capacity and resilient supply chains. I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to address the challenges. I also want to acknowledge the robust bipartisan congressional response. In the deeply partisan climate, im pleaseded to see congress and the Trump Administration Work Together across party lines to deliver Critical Resources for the American Public in supplemental funding and support programs like the highly successful paycheck protection program. We set aside our differences and quickly delivered legislative action to address the pandemic. Passing records sums in record times. When the consensus is clear, congress is capable and is as capable as ever for decisive action. The fight against covid19 is far from over. I hope the spirited bipartisan cooperation can continue as we assess our past efforts and determine what more may be needed. While the federal government has provided some short term relief to help individuals, households, businesses and communities, stay afloat during the period of extreme 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 the top of mind and not undue previous progress in slowing this president of the coronavirus. This will indeed be a delegate balancing act. And until there are working treatments, Effective Therapeutics and ultimately a vaccine to control covid19, the risk and the danger of the disease remains. Fortunately, i see Real Progress in all of those areas. Returning to more regular functions and operations re