Watch live coverage at 5 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or listen live with the free cspan radio app. Illinois governor jb pritzker mississippi, joined a Public Health and Emergency Management officials from texas and alabama for hearing on the federal response to the coronavirus. Heres a portion of that hearing. The committee on Homeland Security will come to order. The committee is meeting today to receive testimony on examining the National Response to the coronavirus pandemic. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare the committee. Today, the committee is meeting to examine our National Response to the worsening coronavirus pandemic. This hearing comes at a critical moment. The number of u. S. Coronavirus cases are surging, topping 50,000 per day for the first time on july 1, and setting alarming records with new cases over the past weeks. Dr. Anthony fauci recently warned that u. S. Cases could double to 100,000 per day if current outbreaks are not contained in the south and west, putting the entire country at risk. As infections threaten to spiral out of control, President Trump has tried to downplay the impact of covid19, calling 99 of cases totally harmless, even as more than 130,000 americans have died and many more have become seriously ill. Just this week, he falsely claimed the u. S. Coronavirus death rate is the lowest in the world. When in fact, it is among the highest. Is among the highest. Unfortunately, the president s comment comes as no surprise. Unfortunately, the president s comments come as no surprise. His response to the coronavirus has been a failure by any reasonable measure. He ignored early intelligence on the virus, continues to disregard the opinions of doctors and scientists, including those in his own administration, and perpetuates misinformation about covid19 rather than allowing the experts to speak directly to the American People about the disease. To speak directly to the American People about the disease. Just yesterday, congress received notification that the president has begun the process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic, endangering Global Health against our own interests. And hisident administration have a responsibility to prepare and respond to the pandemic. Shifting the burden to state and local governments and the , the effectsle have been devastating. As countries are bringing their outbreaks out of control, u. S. Cases are headed in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, President Trump continues to deny the severity of the problem and is instead focus on his own reelection campaign. Many state and local governments, Public Health officials, hospitals, and medical workers are doing the best they can under the circumstance, but we need real leadership at the federal level if our country is to overcome the covid19 pandemic. Today, we will hear from those who have taken action where the administration has failed to do so. A governor, a mayor, Public Health official, and an emergency manager. They are in many ways in the front lines of this worsening pandemic. Testingg ppe and supplies, requiring mask sam social distancing, and sounding the alarm about the devastating masks and social distancing, and something the alarm about the devastating effects of this disease on the community. The American People are counting on us. I think the witnesses in my colleagues who are participating today. The chair now recognizes the Ranking Member of the committee, the gentleman from alabama, mr. Rogers, for an opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As you know, i strongly disagree toh the unilateral decision shut down the house of representatives. We should be doing our legislative business here in washington. We are much more productive when members are here in person doing our work together. We have always proven that we can do it safely. I hope we will return to regular work as soon as possible. As ive said before, our hearts go out to those who have lost their loved ones to the covid19. And those were currently undergoing treatment. Covid19 is an unprecedented Global Pandemic that requires unprecedented response. Earlyunately, we lost when china had the disease from the world. For weeks, the communist party refuse entry outside of medical as part medical experts. China deliberately withheld itsence of the virus, structure, and deadly spread. During this, the chinese warded lifesaving medical supplies supplies andal encouraged travel, spreading the virus around the world. Pulledlear that chinas out all the stops to manipulate everyone, from media outlets, to the World Health Organization. China probably selfreported over 19. They did not. After months of line, the who has come clean. They now said they found out about covid media reports and whistleblowers from within china. The Chinese Communist party once again has been caught with blood on their hands. An extra kerry Public Health crisis, the Trump Administration has reported the administration has prohibited the entry from hotspots. Delivery ofated the respirators, masks, and gloves. Over 500 billion dollars in ppp loans. Provided over 36 million tests. 700,000onducting over tests per day. That is good news. The number ofs, positive tests are rising in every state. It is important to continue to heed the advice of our government and local health officials. General hastings serves as a director of alabamas [indiscernible] agency. He has a very distinguished 30career in the air force. He has done a tremendous job leading the emas response through several disasters, loading covid19. I was she did i appreciate all the witnesses for appearing. [indiscernible] what more congress can do effectively. Our country has faced outbreaks in the past. In each case, we have showed our collective resources and ingenuity to overcome the crisis. I am hopeful that will be the case with covid19. Thank you, chairman. I yield back. I cannot hear the chairman. I cant, either. Now . N you hear me yes. Excellent. Members of the committee are reminded that under the Committee Rules, Opening Statements may be submitted for the record. I will yield to the Ranking Member for the purposes of clinically of cologne look we. Practices will continue to apply during this remote proceeding. Members will continue to adhere to the rules of the committee and the house. Asing the covid period, designated by the speaker, the follow theill guidance and a manner that respects the right of all members to participate. The technology we are utilizing today requires us to make some small modifications to ensure that the members can fully participate in these proceedings. Thank you, mr. Chairman. How will the members be recognized during the preceding . Semper fi the order of questioning, to simplify the order of questioning, i will recognize members for their five minutes of questioning based on a strict seniority basis, as determined by the committee roster. A departure from previous procedure. Members must be visible to the chair in order to be considered as present, for purposes of establishing a quorum or for voting. Members should make every effort to remain visible onscreen while proceedings during the preceding during the proceedings. At the beginning of this hearing, members are muted. Unmute themselves to be recognized for questioning. At the conclusion of speaking, members will be expected to mute themselves to prevent excess background noise. If a member does not mute themselves after speaking, the clerk has been directed to mute members to avoid inadvertent background noise. Should a member wish to be recognized to make a motion, themselves ande seek recognition at the appropriate time. What could a member expect should they encounter technical issues during this event . In the event a member encounters technical issues that prevents them from being recognized for questioning, i will move to the next available member of the same party, and i will recognize that member at the next appropriate time slot, provided they have returned to the preceding. To the member should the members time be interrupted by a technical issue, i will recognize that member at the next appropriate spot for the remainder of their time once the issue has been resolved. If i should encounter technical issues myself, the vice chair of the committee is available, or the next most Senior Member of shall assume the duties until i am able to return to the proceedings. What should members expect regarding decorum . Members are reminded that they are only allowed to attend one Virtual Event at a time. Should they need to attend proceeding,ittee please come a fully accept hearing before entering another proceeding. Finally, all members are reminded, they are expected to observe standing rules of committee decorum, appropriate attire, and should have a professional and a political background when they are participating in a remote event. What should members expected the witness loses connectivity expect if the witness loses connectivity . In the event a witness loses connectivity during testimony or questioning, i will preserve assessed as staff technical issue. I may need to provide time for the win for the witness to reconnect. What should members expect of a vote is called during a remote event . Members are to be visibly present to have their vote recorded during a remote event. Members who join the preceding after this call and who are not called upon for their vote shall seek recognition from the chair to ensure their vote is recorded. Should a member lose connectivity during a rollcall vote, i will hold the vote open riod of time to provide members to have their opportunity to have their vote recorded. Thank you, mr. Chairman, i yield back. With that, i asked unanimous consent to with Committee Rule proceedings,emote on the House Resolution 965. Without objection, so ordered. I welcome our panel of witnesses. A yield to the vice chair of the underwood, of illinois, to introduce our first witness. First witness is the governor of the great state of illinois, Governor Pritzker. Mr. Pritzker was a National Leader [indiscernible] for over his degreed earned from northwestern university. We are so glad to have him on the panel today to assess his experience leading a state of nearly 13 Million People through this challenging time, including one of the largest cities in the country, as well as extensive suburban and rural areas with very different needs. Back in march, we heard the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. I am looking forward to getting an update today from Governor Pritzker. Welcome, governor. I yield back. Thank you very much. Our second witnesses the mayor of tupelo, mississippi. For those of you who are on here who might not know, Elvis Presley was born in tupelo, mississippi. After practicing law in tupelo, mississippi for more than a ticket, mr. Shelton was elected mayor in 2013. The city of tupelo received the 2015 allamerican city award. Welcome, mr. Mayor. Since we have two members of the panel from houston, texas, i yield first to the gentlewoman from houston, mr. X and light and after that, i yield from the gentleman from houston, texas, also, to finish that introduction. Thank you very much to the Committee Members and the Ranking Member come all of the witnesses, thank you for your presence. Is the executive director and of all health the countys Public Health says 2013. He is a nationally recognized agency of 700 Public Health professionals serving the nation. He has been a strong, important, and interesting but provocative messenger on the importance of Health Challenges throughout the nation and around the world. We worked together on the issues around the zika virus, Environmental Health threats, contamination. He has been a strong voice in the needs of the county as a relates to covid19. Study andston houston, the most important title a person can have his doctor or nurse. With theen involved care of patients as it relates to the Harris County health. He previously worked as an Emergency Department physician at houstons Va Medical Center and chief medical officer of the health district. We are very delighted to have dr. Shaw, a voice of leadership and guidance during houstons very difficult time fighting covid19. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. I now yield to the gentleman from houston, texas, to complete the introduction. Unmute yourself. The gentleman believe he has done so. Thank you for the reminder. Thank you to the staff for the outstanding job you have done with this transmission. Think we have done except exceptionally fine job. One of the hallmarks of dr. Shaws career is that he gets involved. He responds. He responded to Tropical Storm allison, Hurricane Katrina and haiti. He responded to the ebola virus and zika. He has served as a medical branch coal director and did so what a time when in my district, we had some 27,000 persons move from louisiana, my home state, myhouston, texas, into congressional district. He was there for the evacuees at the astrodome. I am happy to have him. We are pleased to know he served our constituents in the state of texas and a directly across the country. Thank you for being here, mr. Shaw, dr. Shaw. Thank you for your involvement. The final witness acknowledged by the Ranking Member is colonel brian hastings, the director of alabama Emergency Management agency. Since august, 2017, colonel hastings rigorously served in the United States air force over 30 years. Medals,hastings earned the bronze star, and three Meritorious Service medals. Welcome to the panel, colonel. Witnessesjection, the statements will be inserted into the record. I ask each witness to summarize their statement for five minutes , beginning with Governor Pritzker. Gov. Pritzker thank you very much, mr. Chairman. , members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to testify about our National Response to the ongoing covid19 pandemic. Sixth most the populous state with the fifthlargest economy. We have some of the worlds as hospitals, like northwestern memorial. We have renowned researchers, modelers, Public Health experts, and worldclass institutions like the university of illinois and chicago. Phenomenons not a limited to asia or [indiscernible] we fully expected the federal and the department of Health Services would arm the states with equipment and personnel. After the experience of h1n1, ebola, a pandemic requires a National Response, but that is not what happened. First, i want to talk about what did happen. We took action here early, with illinoiss hospital leaders, a pretty me on ledges illinoi hospital leaders, epidemiologists quickly helping to the plans together. We were among the first states to close Nursing Homes to visitors and do wellness checks on the staff. In consultation with local officials, i shut down st. Andicks day celebrations, then i closed the bars and restaurants, than schools. Then schools. The federal government was not leading. We were. Illinois is home to the countrys thirdlargest metropolitan area and is a major tourism sector. We had all the potential to become a major early hotspot, like new york, florida, and texas have now become. Intervention, our Health Care System would be overwhelmed. Leading to tens of thousands more deaths. Ked approximately six weeks later. Today, our covenrelated deaths relatedn 85 covid deaths are down 85 from a few weeks ago. 71 covid cases are down from a high nine weeks ago. The number of covid positive hospitalizations, including in the icu, has dropped by over 70 since early may. Our kiss Positivity Rate was over 23 at one point. Our Positivity Rate was over 23 at one point. The cascade of decisions that guided illinois to this point were easy. In fact, every one of them has been a choice between bad and worse. The whiterther by houses broken promises on supplies and ppe deliveries. I spoke with many of my fellow governors they had the same problems. The defense production act was not broadly invoked early enough. We were in a war for lifesaving supplies against each other, and against our international allies. We were paying five dollars for masks that should have cost . 85. There were states calling other states to try and figure out if some International Businessman offering a warehouse of 2 was a scammer. Ks in the midst of a global were forcedates into some hunger games game show to save the lives of their people. This is not a reality tv show, let me be clear. These are things happening in year 2020. The if the government has one job, it is to respond to a lifethreatening emergency. When this emergency is crashing down on every state at once, that is a national emergency, and it requires a National Response. Professionals across the nation are crying out for supplies. It is a federal governments job to mature a nurse is properly equipped and pr area, illinois, not at the cost of a doctor in san antonio, texas. There was no National Plans will wire ppe or testing supplies. As a result, people died. I am so grateful to the incurable experience the incredible experience inside of va, thehe cdc, hhs, army corps, who worked so hard to give us their expertise and assistance along the way. We will need more of that before we will have think wished covid19. Uished covid19. We need to see a coordinated National Strategy for containment. That means more testing and more Contact Tracing. It may even mean National Restrictions that will be followed in every state. Second, every state has suffered revenue loss because of covid19. Without help, there will be massive layoffs of public servants, teachers, and firefighters. A Bipartisan Coalition of governors thanks the house of representatives for taking swift action on local support in the heroes act. Third, the federal administration also needs to provide clarity on Insurance Coverage for covid19 testing. Testing is not a oneoff tactic. We need regular testing across the population. That means people need to know that they are insured with their testing every time. We need to continue Covid Response funding for the National Guard through next year in the face of a possible maybe even likely second wave. Finally, this might be the most important thing that we can a to save lives, we need national masking mandate. We instituted ours in illinois on may 1. One of the first of the nation. It aligns with our most significant downward shift in our infection rate. It is not too late for the federal government to make an impact. It is more important than ever. I want to thank all of you. I look forward to your questions later on in this hearing. Governor. Ou, we look forward to your responses to the question. I now recognize mayor shelton to summarize his statement for five minutes. Mayor shelton thank you, chairman, Ranking Member, this in which the members of the committee of Homeland Security. Thank you for the honor and opportunity to be here with you discuss the ongoing devastating impact of covid19 on our great nation. More specifically, for me to discuss the impact on our local governments. I did hear the chairman mention there are political things in the background. I think i replied to that. I also have a notsosubtle reminder that i am from tupelo behind me. I hope that is ok. The adverse impact of the Public Health crisis and corresponding economic crisis caused by had a direct negative impact on the ability for local governments to provide the basic services that every single american depends on in carrying out their normal daytoday activities, such as getting to work, providing for the family, and having safety and security in their community. As the members of this committee are aware, nearly 3 million americans have already been diagnosed with covid19. And the number of deaths is in excess of 130,000 individuals. While some loss of life is unavoidable, many deaths could have been prevented by a more uniform response by the nation and the president s administration. Rational, stable, and consistent leadership, based upon medical and scientific data, is desperately needed from our Nations Highest Office during this very real pandemic. Unfortunately, that is missing at this moment. In the last six months, we have sin leaders of nations all over the globe response to this deadly pandemic with rational, sciencebased decisionmaking and genuine concern for citizens and their economies. We have seen leaders from all over the world setup and rights to the occasion. That past time to see leadership here in the greatest country on her spirit as was mentioned in the chairmans Opening Statements, our nation the worlds population but over 20 of the nations worlds covid the cases. Similarly, we have over 20 of the worlds deaths right here in the u. S. My purpose here to speak that he is about the hardships government which are on the frontline. Mayors, county officials, and doing, on the front lines all that they can do to enact local policies that are based on science and the recommendations of our nations top agencies and expert. Efforts are being hamstrung by the lack of rational, stable, and sciencebased leadership in the white house. Political continued climate surrounding covid19, cities continue to have difficulty getting individuals and businesses to comply with the Safety Measures to prevent covid19 related sickness and death. Health androlong the economic crisis in our community. The city of tupelo has been proactive. We initiated our Emergency Response february 24 of this year. Since that time, ive issued 17 different executive orders, all ratified by a bipartisan city council to combat covid19. Covid19 does not recognize the city limits or even the county or state border. One mandatory policies are needed if we are going to health care and Economic Crises facing our nation. I want to take this opportunity as the mayor of tupelo, as a member of the small Towns Council of the National League of cities, to thank members of this committee and this collective body for passing the cares act legislation. It is a great thing for our country. I also want to thank members who have supported the heroes act and the smart act. Legislation get resources to national to local governments that are desperately needed. That is the just of my testimony gist of my testimony today. To ask that federal funding be delivered to local governments so we can offset the loss of revenue. The National League of cities billion loss 360 of revenue for local governments. We need funding to be able to provide the basics that every american depends on to get to work every day. Garbage, trash collection, fixing potholes, fixing a light that is not working, fire protection, public safety, emts. The things every american depends on each and every day. Those things, those functions of government happen at the local level. The lost revenue due to the economic crisis of covid19 is going to severely diminish our ability to provide basic services. That is why direct funding from the federal government to local governments is desperately needing. Tip oneill famously said all politics is local. Likelyhe solutions will be debated in washington and our state capitals, they will be implemented where the rubber meets the road, right here in our local governments. ,hank you again for allowing me chairman thompson, rating member rogers, members of this committee, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be here to advocate for local governments. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you and i look forward to answering any questions you may have for me. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Shaw toize summarize his statement for five minutes. Thank you, chairman thompson, Ranking Member roger, members of the committee. Members of the texas delegation, al green, crenshaw, mccullough, i want to thank you in particular. I am the executive director and the local health. The local helped apartment across the country. Harris county is the third most populous county in the United States with 4. 7 Million People. The city of houston is one of the most diverse and Fastest Growing metropolitan areas. Population in our community is larger than 25 states. We are no stranger to emergencies such as storms, hurricanes, fires, and Infectious Disease responses. There truly is never a dull moment in our communities. Covid19tely, the pandemic has had an unprecedented impact well beyond health. And has undoubtedly tested the resolve of the American People. Harris county Public Health has responded to h1n1 for 18 months back in 2009, 2010. Tomorrow marks the sixmonth mark for covid19. A marathon, not a sprint. I am here to make three points. We as a nation have the opportunity to fight this pandemic, but only by working together. All eyes are on Harris County and texas right now. Despite being successful previously, the situation has changed. Public health is key and we must invest in it. The local response to covid19 has been strong, decisive, and proactive, and has worked closely with other area officials, including houston mayor turner. In point, from march to may, the approach saw the Community Working together to flatten the curve. More recently, the story has changed. Our community has seen an increase in cases. The percentage of tests coming back positive and hospitalizations. Our threat level for covid19 has been raised to read, its highest level. We have over 39,000 cases and 400 deaths in Harris County. The changing picture demonstrates why have called the layering effect of reopening texas on top of events and holidays such as mothers day, memorial day, protests and marches, further layering exposure and risk to our community. Inconsistent messaging at the federal, state, and local levels have led to further confusion, complacency at the community level. Cdc has not been consistently visible as the nations voice of Public Health. In texas, while many local officials stated clearly our state was reopening to quickly, the process continued. Powers of authority previously available at the local level were removed. Fortunately, the state has begun to dial back reopening. Reopening responsibly means decisions should be driven by health and medical while balancing other interests. Public health often gets the short end of the stick. It has been under invested in. I call this the hash tag and visibility crisis. Seriously take this to protect our communities. Most, publicit the health is underappreciated and underfunded. The Public Health workforce has been working beyond 40 hours a week, 24 7, months on end. The Public Health frontline is facing burnout and stretched to its limit. Months, ourof four department has doubled its workforce. Our Epidemiology Team has gone from 25 to 100. This has proven necessary. Without reliable funding, it is simply not sustainable. And we leadership are not alone. This is where the federal government comes in. The primary Financing Mechanism to expand capacity is through cdc grants. Our department is ineligible for the same mechanism that has been used for the covid19 response. The pandemic must be fought together. Like every Health Department has been left on its own trying to create new systems of response in real time. While federal response is appreciated, federal testing sites were planning to cease operation at the time we were seeing increasing need. Similar issues are likely to play out again when vaccinations become available, meaning proactive planning is needed soon. Scaling and testing has increased. Results take too long to reach Health Departments, especially at government supported sites. The Data Exchange is moving slower than the disease. Public Health Measures become less effective. This is especially true for those most vulnerable, such as disproportionately impacted communities and those in congregant settings. We are concerned with Health Inequity seen in hispanic and africanamerican communities. If the federal government expects robust systems of surveillance, better data informatics capacity is needed at the local level. This includes support for innovative study of disease patterns in Harris County, utilizing genetic sequencing. As a workaround, our department has had to develop new systems and online screening tools for testing on its own. Those local efforts are necessary to get the job done, but they are reactive as National Systems have failed. The pandemic is an unprecedented time for our country. We are being tested like never before. Smart, strategic scale of, and Sustainable Investments are needed now. All eyes are on texas and Harris County. We should be able to look to the federal government for leadership and support. On behalf of Harris County and our Health Colleagues across the nation, the offensive line of the football team, i appreciate the opportunity to testify, along with our local leadership, we join you in working together in fighting covid19 to protect our national security, economic vitality, and the health of our people. Thank you. Thank you very much, dr. I now recognize Carl Hastings to summarize his statement for five minutes. Chairman,ternoon Ranking Member, and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting the alabama Emergency Management agency to participate. I am here before you as the director of the alabama Emergency Management agency for the coordination of alabamas all Hazard Mitigation response and recovery activities. Tonk you for the opportunity share alabamas perspective and our experience preparing for and responding to covid19. The last four months, alabama has transitioned from a stayathome order to a safer at home order issued on the 30th of april. The latest order from Governor Ivey has been amended and extended through the 31st of july. When this pandemic began, alabama was fortunate that our department of Public Health had on hand an existing stockpile of ppe left over from the h1n1 response over a decade ago. The stockpile was mostly expired but was able to be distributed early with the help of a waiver granted by the u. S. Food and drug administration. The initial push of ppe stockpile combined with the slow rise in covid19 cases and the release of the federal Strategic Management stockpile helped reduce the shock of the supply and demand crisis. The Health Care Supply chain is still struggling to supply medical grade respirators and other specific personal protective equipment. The supply and demand mismatch continues to plague alabama just as many other state as you continue to provide ppe to the Health Care System while working to replenish our state stockpile in preparation for the fall surge. Activeciate the more role fema played in the u. S. Coronavirus response, even though hhs and fema were sometimes cumbersome, it was better than not receiving Critical Response information and the relationship provided visibility of the u. S. Public Health Response at a National Level that we lacked during the early days of the federal government response. The combination of fema and hhs leadership was mirrored in alabamas unified command. It helped communication information flow across our state agencies. This should be purposefully encouraged and federally supported preparedness programs. This would reduce duplication and streamline coordination and preparedness outcomes driven by hhs and dhs fema Emergency Preparedness funding programs of which femas Emergency Management performance grants and hhs emergency prepared and his programs are prominent examples. As the u. S. Develops future pandemics, a few items for consideration. Assess Public Health vulnerabilities and comprehensive supply chain analysis to include the location of a materials, resources, transportation vulnerabilities, and location meant of manufacturing. With regard to the cares act and the crucial support it provides, there are lingering questions about eligibility that are causing local confusion. For example it is unclear whether funding may be lawfully used to accommodate the expenses of Emergency Management agencies like ama that have been incurred, even though the vast majority of our personnel expenses have been dedicated to that end to date. Increase clarity on the allowable cases of cares funding to allow officials to make better decisions. As we work to maintain Government Operations during this crisis. Requirements that are to restrictive or specific in our funding programs, whether on authorizing legislation or implement an guidance passed down from federal agencies often creates distinct functional cylinders and siloed functional ertise in a way that is instead of enabling cooperation and sharing of resources in integrated resources. Should be fostering outward sharing of information and resources that is incentivized by federal grants and toward developing capabilities for interconnectedness and partnerships instead of driving it is especially important in terms of overlap between competing objectives of fema and hhs emergency prepared and is funding programs. Lastly, in accordance with femas framework of locally executed activities, please give consideration to the role that subdivisions of government and private partnership played in stockpiling resources for future pandemic or Building Local capabilities. If the federal government focuses too much on federal responsibilities, the u. S. May miss an opportunity to create a whole of government and Society Approach to preparing for future pandemic and complex disasters. We all play a role in Emergency Preparedness. The Strategic National stockpile should be a multitiered national whole with an integrated of business and whole of Society Partnership to strengthen the resiliency of the United States at all levels, state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal. I am proud to say alabama remains committed to fighting the coronavirus, reducing loss of life and minimizing the suffering of citizens. As the nation continues to respond to this crisis, we ask that you remain attentive to the evolving needs and mobilize the information, resources, and funding capabilities of the federal government that are needed to protect our nations Public Health and safety. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. Thank you for your support of the cares act and to our federal partners who have partnered with us in the response, i await your questions. Thank you. I think the witnesses for their testimony. He has fiveh member minutes to question the panel. I recognize myself for questions. , Johns Hopkins university has documented the disproportionate number of , the disproportionate number of testing. How do you think we got to the point in the United States that our people are dying more disproportionately than others . , can you givethat us what you think we ought to be doing that we did not do . You are talking about communities of color . I want to make sure. Ism my perspective, this something that was so overlooked in the very first weeks of the pandemic in the United States, and as the data was coming out, i think all of us, you know, that care about this, jumped on it and try to figure out, what are the things that we can do to make up for, to try to diminish the negative impact of coronavirus, particularly on the africanamerican community, the latino community, the Asian Community . This is the conclusion you have to reach, which is, this is the result of, frankly, hundreds of years of failure to invest in basic health care, basic needs, you know, investment in communities that has been lacking for so long. The result is that you hear a lot about the comorbidities that exist in the africanamerican community. Those do not just exist by accident. They exist because we have not invested in those communities. People suffer from the comorbidities more in communities where there is more poverty. From my perspective, to counter this, we put a lot of testing least hereinto at in illinois, into communities of color, particularly black communities. We have seen a disproportionate number of black people who get coronavirus dying from coronavirus. We also see a disproportionate number of latinos getting coronavirus relative to their population size. In both of those circumstances, we had to react to different challenges in each of those communities. When you ask me, what are the causes, the causes are things that have existed for many years and only now i think, not just with coronavirus highlighting the failures, but now on top of that, the recognition as a result of the outpouring of protest and peaceful protest, in the wake of the murder of george floyd, we need to do so much more. We are not prepared in this pandemic to deal with it. We need to ensure we are doing everything we can now, but we also need to make sure we put the resources in so that, god forbid, we have another pandemic, this is not thank you. Dr. , you talked about things we to do right now to try mitigate the increase in the numbers. That forind of repeat the members again . Sure, thank you mr. Chairman. To say it very bluntly, we have to make sure we are consistent in our policies and our messaging. That is the number one thing. The second thing is we also have to make sure that health and medical and science and evidence, the best we can, we know it is not always there because a novel disease, that is also driving those decisions. We are particularly concerned about the cdc and the fact that the disability and the leadership we have seen previously with cdc that has not been noted, at least at the local levels in Public Health, and that is a significant concern. I think there are preventative measures that are about the that and really ensuring we have policies in place from a prevention standpoint, that really can be very much part of the solution forward. We have to be smart about it. We also have to be thinking about how we can continue to move this process forward because the phased approach we are having in our community is very different than the governor is having in illinois right now or you are hovering you are having in mississippi. We all have to be working together. Thank you very much. Mayor shelton, you were one of the first municipalities in mississippi to require a mask of your citizens. And your counsel supports you. How did you reach that conclusion . I apologize. Thank you, chairman. We begin our emergency protocol on february 24. Made the decision then that this is an emergency, so we have to treat it like an emergency. Orderserent executive have all been based on the recommendations of either dr. Fauci or the cdc, the Mississippi Department of health. We have tried to follow the times. We have the nations largest rural hospital in tupelo, north mississippi medical center. A lot of requirements we have mandated have come from requests from north mississippi medical center. I appreciate credit for that. Tupelo is not the first on the mask. We have been first on shelter in place and other things, but i creditve credit to where it is due. We based those recommendations on the request of our medical professionals here. To listen to health care professionals. We have to make sound decisions based on science. Much. Nk you very at the request of the Ranking Member, we are going to recognize mr. Higgins, who has a flight to catch. The gentleman from louisiana is recognized for five minutes. I thank the chairman and the Ranking Member for holding this hearing. And mychairman colleagues are aware, i respectfully object to Remote Committee attendance. The white house is open and working in person. Home depot, police departments, fire departments, airports, all open, working in person, but not the peoples house. Thats my position on that. I respect that of my colleagues. It is important that we clarify our stance during this era of challenge. I have a question for the governor. ,f you would, good sir summarize what formula have you used to deliver cares act relief funding into your local Government Entities . This is a challenge across the country and i am interested to hear how you have handled that. Well, thank you very much, congressman, for the question. We begin in illinois with a challenge. We did not have a message method, an entity through which we could distribute those, so we had to go through our legislature to have them pass a law to allow us to do that. The legislature had not met lateg the spring until mid may. At that point, the legislature created the opportunity for us to distribute those funds. There is a direct amount of money that goes directly to the counties and cities across the state, the ones that are outside of the northeast metropolitan areas, which get those funds through their counties. So generally speaking, governor, in the interest of ase, would it be fair to say an executive of your state, you have responded to a challenge that has never been face before and you have navigated your way through it within the parameters of the law . You have done your best to respond to the local and municipal governments within your state . Is that a fair summary of your endeavor . Gov. Pritzker yes, sir. Im sure you are a fine gentleman and supported obviously by the majority of the citizens of your state, but would it be fair to say that for the subsequent governor, you have now determined a path forward for this particular type of challenge that was not known until you navigated through it . Gov. Pritzker i would not say we have everything figured out, congressman. But you are working on it . Gov. Pritzker we certainly have there is an awful lot of learning that has taken place. I believe we have created a path for someone in the future to follow. Thank you, and may i respectfully state that is what our president has done in response to this incredible challenge that we have never faced before as a nation. Mayor, like to ask the mr. Mayor, what is your perspective on your municipality . Have you had problems receiving funds, cares act relief funding from your executive . Yes or no . Mayor shelton as you know, the cares act specifically prohibits loss of revenue funds i understand. And yet every state executive had received massive amounts of the peoples treasure to be distribute it the state executive into local and municipal governments. , a smart and compassionate man, we thank you for that. Have you had problems receiving that funding . Mayor shelton congressman, again, the lost revenue funding is not available. My understanding is that the ppee is going to send for so you have not received funding from your executive . Mayor shelton not that i have been made aware. Thank you, sir. I dont know how much time we have remaining. From what i can, from what i can see. 17 seconds . I will leave you with this question. Do you believe that a Public Health crisis is best addressed at the local and state level or by federal mandate . And i yelled. Yield. I think it depends on your perspective. Growing up in the Emergency Management community, our standard is federally supported, state managed, locally executed. We try to adhere to that as we partner with the federal government, with state agencies and counties and municipalities. As thet to that might be 604 state of the union and heavily populated, some places need extra support so we are sensitive to that and identifying gaps and trying to plug in federal and state capabilities and resources in those areas as we can. And thank the chairman Ranking Member. I yield. Thank you, very much. We now yield five minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. Jackson lee. Rep. Lee thank you. I appreciate it to have the opportunity. In 2016 the Obama Administration developed a strategic playbook on pandemic preparedness. Emerging Infectious Disease threats, biological incidences. I am reminded of the ebola episode ande ebola it started or it was focused on texas. Had it not been for the focus of the Obama Administration on Infectious Disease and cooperating relationships in the federal government, there is no way of knowing how disastrous ebola would have been in the United States. The Trump Administration reportedly did not heed its guidance. Cited bylity rate was the administration as the lowest in the world when it relates to covid19. Johns hopkins indicated it is the sixth worst in the world. We heard the words covid19 would go away like magic. Governor pritzker, thank you for your leadership. [inaudible] created on top of a disaster when there is no Strategic Plan to be able to deal with covid19 . Gov. Pritzker thank you very much, congresswoman. Let me begin by saying we had immediately, we knew we needed supplies. So ppe was a term i dont think i have ever used before in my life and all of a sudden we were out in the marketplace competing for the most basic things like 5 masks,asks n9 gloves and stuff. We are competing against every other state in the United States , states that have more resources than we do, countries that have more resources with no help from the federal government, no indication of the defense production invocation of the defense production act. People were going to work, euros and nurses hours euros going to work to keep them healthy so we could [indiscernible] suppliesd the testing were impossible to get. The federal government was nowhere to be found for too long on that topic. Rep. Lee for those of us who have interacted with the military, the terminology is m. I. A. , missing in action. We continue to look for soldiers, but when you see lives have lost throughout the United States because of ineffective National Strategy . Gov. Pritzker there is no doubt about it. Tens of thousands have been lost across the nation as a result of the in action, the late action taken by the administration. Rep. Lee thank you. Dr. Shaw, thank you for your leadership. Let me cite into the record howard Harris County has 39,000 cases. This is 7 00 a. M. July eight this morning. Fatalities. I have a document that asks for unanimous consent to put in the record a timeline done by on member a number of individuals in the Houston Chronicle that indicates may 1 was when stayathome orders were lifted, and then we proceeded to open everything up. We are now where we are today. Would you please respond to the idea of the ineffectiveness of saving lives when there is no National Strategy or when there early early and too opening up of states in particular, and then finally when there is no cooperation, is it important to have between county and city governments . Thank you to mayor turner and also if you would comment on what happens when 5000 persons are coming to a community that has asked them not to come to an all of the resources to be used as these people congregate for a convention . Dr. Shaw thank you for your support. Let me unpack that as quickly as i can. First and foremost, anytime you have inconsistencies that are actually across the federal, state and local, i dont care where it is at, that is when you have problems in the community and that is where my biggest concern is. When we have looked at why people are coming together, it does not matter from a Public Health standpoint whether it is a red or blue issue, left or right. When people are coming together, that layers risk on top of that layers risk on top of each other. There is risk indoors. The other aspect that is critical is that as we have played this out, the state and local dynamics are critical. When you have the federal government not having a National Strategy, what that does is everybody is fending for themselves and doing things differently. We believe in state and local nuances, we also believe there should be a path forward the federal government provides as we have seen in previous emergencies. Rep. Lee i have worked on testing sites. I would like for you to emphasize how important it is to continue to have the federal government maintain its testing sites and how eager harris are fornd houstonians tests. Dr. Shah testing is the foundation of this response, also Contact Tracing and the other terms of Public Health. These are things we have been doing for decades. The foundation remains, testing gives you the cases. Cases allow you to determine after investigating the contacts, that is when contact tracers come into play. Then they turn around and reach out to individuals to get them tested. We start over again. I have said you cant trace without a case. So testing is the foundation and we need to have that support from the federal government. Now recognize we now recognize the Ranking Member from alabama for five minutes. [indiscernible] several Natural Disaster the last three years. How are you and your fellow planss adjusting your related to covid19 and are you getting adequate support . Thank you for that question. In my written testimony it talks about how this had been a banner disaster year for alabama at the seventh worst major declaration states in the union. Theave been complying with cdc and Public Health guidelines through safer at home. Beat since stopped a the beginning. Since the beginning of march we went into remote and dispersed operations. We deployed people away from the eoc and stay connected i. T. , and we did not estate connected i. T. State connected we kept working. What we did was make sure we close to people, socially distanced in the communities and working with counties. The locals is where the disasters happen, like politics. We have changed the way we do business. There were some people who did not like we went so early into these operations, but we were executing the pandemic antics, and we are fortunate to have our own i. T. Division and a separate network that allows this. In preparation of the hurricane which has had a lot of attention, we are working with cdc guidelines, fema preparedness plans, red cross and local communities, baldwin and mobile counties, to reexamine sheltering. It is very challenging because between the coast and middle alabama there is not a lot. It is the rural south. To find opportunities for noncovered sheltering is challenging. We will have to find a blend of congregant shelton, complying with sheltering, complying with federal orders, folks looking for a shelter back into some type of noncongregant shelter, a hotel, larger applicator amphitheater or the coliseums we have in montgomery, alabama and if you places in the coastal counties. It has changed everything we do and it has made us question if we can go to the state Emergency Operations center because you only have two or three feet between 125 people below ground. We have looked at other opportunities like the rsa towers in montgomery where we would join forces with the National Guard and set up an office and administer and partner with our federal, state and local communities to manage and navigate a disaster in the upcoming season. Ip. Rogers determine and cant the chairman and i care about this. You heard Governor Pritzker talk about demands for ppe. How has alabama managed this outside the Health Care Sector . Col. Hastings it has been challenging. As it has evolved, there are portions of the ppe which are now available to us. Masks,2. 5 million cloth we held the alabama superintendent of education masks for the upcoming education season. Where we are having problems and it is hard to get visibility with the health of the supply chain and to get our hands on the medical grade masks are the n95s. We have a shortage, whether it is from the federal government or the stockpile, it goes to the hospitals and we are seeing hospitals. It is not normal yet. It is not the levels it was precovid 19. We are working through the big six supply chain and we have a federal government call, on friday, to see how a small state can partner with the federal government and other regions to get higher prioritization for these critical medical masks both for hospitals now and to build a stockpile for the upcoming fall covid surge. Rep. Rogers my time is expired. I yield back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank all of the witnesses. Governor pritzker, thank you for being here today. I want to go back to the discussion about ppe and the challenges you had in acquiring it for your states to begin with. You described it as the hunger games so to speak. Ithink you and i would agree would be more effective for the president to invoke and use the production act. We could have gotten able to price and the taxpayer would have a lower price and we would have distributed it more effectively. It was the position of the administration and i have spoken directly with the director of fema, they would acquire this and then put it into the pipeline but not using the defense production act. Work in strategy for terms of putting it into the commercial pipeline . Using it to access ppe now . Gov. Pritzker the air bridge you are talking about, the air bridge was designed to bring supplies and give them to distributors in the United States who already had a list of customers, not based on where the need was for dealing with covid19 but simply customers who were preexisting that they needed to supply to because that is what you do for your customer list and prioritize them based upon your business dealings. Sure, theyies, worked their way through the United States, but not prioritized for covid19. So i think the air bridge was an utter and complete failure and a sense that most of the supplies need to go to areas where there is a great need a not thoroughly to where some private need and not necessarily to some private or preexisting customer. Where do we stand now . We have been, from day one, we have been out in the marketplace competing. The state of illinois as a buyer, i had many conversations with manufacturers and i remember one in particular who basically said to me, i will allow you to acquire this amount items or equipment if you will up your order by x amount so you are greater than the other customer who is promising to acquire a certain amount. Pitting meagainst against another customer, in an environment with a pandemic, having to make decisions for greater profit. That was very troubling. Today we have acquired a lot of ppe. We have got a constant supply and we have got orders that are ongoing on a regular basis and prices have come down. The environment is a little better but not back down to normal. This is not precovid pricing, but we are paying less than we were at the beginning and we were able to acquire ppe in illinois. Rep. Langevin hopefully that is the case with other governors in other states, but not the most efficient system. It would have been better to have be directed to where it is most needed. Preexistingout conditions. June 27, President Trump tweeted the following statement. I will always protect people with preexisting conditions, always. Now the washington fact checker says this is untrue. So this claim to protect preexisting conditions is in the middle of a pandemic against the advice of republicans, the president is trying to ask the Supreme Court to strike down the entire Affordable Care act including coverage guaranteed for people with preexisting conditions. How does the lack of Health Insurance especially in vulnerable populations exacerbate Public Health crisis and governor, as we approach the 30th anniversary of the americans with disabilities act, and as someone who lives with important is this coverage . Gov. Pritzker the guaranty is vital. Most important aspect of the parameter important aspect of obamacare and the expansion of medicaid. The idea that we would do away with this at this moment in history seems unimaginable. First we have got to make sure, and i mentioned in my remarks, that everybody can get a test for free, that they should not be dissuaded from getting a test thinking this will cost them a lot of money. Hopefully you have got private coverage but if you dont, make sure everybody can get a test. That is the most important thing we could do going forward. Identify, testing allows us in Contact Tracing allows us to identify where the outbreaks are and when people get sick, this is a national emergency. People should be able to get. Ealth care, get treated we should be keeping everybody alive and not have people think about whether if you go to the hospital in the first place if you are contagious and symptomatic. I am concerned about where we are. All i can say is we have got to make sure we maintain our medicaid coverage and particularly people who are having difficulty getting testing know that it is free to that. Rep. Langevin governor, thank you. My time is expired. I thank all of the witnesses. Thank you. Now the government gentleman from new york. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Governor pritzker, a quick question. Via the air bridge, did the state of illinois get stockpiles of ellen of ppe . I know that is not happening in new york. Gov. Pritzker not through the air bridge. It was bringing in equipment ppe, being given to distributors. There were Government Entities on the customer list, they may have received them, but what we got as a state, we were asked at the beginning, what do we need . Which is a terrific question for the federal government to ask. We put together a list of n95 maskswns, an that we needed. We have received 12 . At some point the federal government gave up on delivering. Rep. Katko did you receive anything from stockpiles from fema [indiscernible] gov. Pritzker we did. The 12 of what we asked for, we received 12 and we were able to direct that where we thought it should go. Rep. Katko [indiscernible] biggest problem with the ppe shortage at the beginning of the crisis was the fact that our National Stockpile was not where it should have been. Gov. Pritzker yes. Rep. Katko that has been a problem that has spanned several administrations, not just this one. Gov. Pritzker all i know is the federal government did not have what it needed. Rep. Katko switching gears did you ever institute of policy in illinois whereby individuals that came from Nursing Homes that were infected with the coronavirus were sent back after being diagnosed . Gov. Pritzker we did not institute a policy like that. We were making sure the hospitals were releasing, if they were, nursing home residents, that they were covid free. When they went back, they were covid free. That was something we had. In our Nursing Homes we had a policy of making sure, that we provided for the Nursing Homes, a policy that they should separate covid positive from negative residents. Many of them did. I will say some of them did not do it right. We are holding them accountable. Rep. Katko thank you. , i will ask you some questions. Federal criminal prosecutor, in el paso [indiscernible] that was 20 some odd years ago. You have a city of less than district,ore than my [indiscernible] 500,000 in the county it is in. Under the cares act, they have received no defense no direct funding. I assume you have not. Mayor shelton that is correct. Rep. Katko from the state rather than the federal government . Mayor shelton we have been told we have been approved for some funding from different things, but as far as receiving the communicationsmy director to double check, and she said we have not. We have not received any of the funds, but the 1. 2 billion that was sent to mississippi. Rep. Katko [indiscernible] received no money, similar to you. The city of rochester in the county of munro. Because they were just over 500,000, they received 120 million. The disparity is stunning. Tell me as a small city what you would do if you got the money . Mayor shelton that is the crux of the matter. The things that we would do are basic City Services. The city of tupelo has to make sure literally the lights are on on the streets, that you have first responders, firefighters, police officers, have the ability of public works to respond if there is a water instanceme sort of that happens in cities every single day, fixing potholes, cleaning up, beautifying the city, those basics. That is what is in jeopardy. Are the cities losing 360 billion. We had the big picture issues in washington and state capitals, but the nuts and both of American Society happened in cities and counties across the country. Those City Services are literally being able to drive down a decent street, stop at red lights, have traffic pick trash picked up some those basic services. Then talking about economy, the permitting office, building inspections, code enforcement, all of those local offices that are necessary to make sure business is open and running, that a new business could get occupancy permit, a new be permitted. Ould all of those are jeopardized by the loss of revenue across the country. We dont have the money, we have to do cutbacks or furloughs. Those basic City Services dont get performed and then it has a direct adverse impact on momandpop businesses and momandpops families across the nation. Rep. Katko thank you, Governor Pritzker. You have done a lot of learning. You have done a lot of learning and think we all have. Well have a lot to learn from this. I submitted a bill to congress alone with my colleague Stephanie Murphy from the toocratic side of the aisle form a commission after this is over to look back and see what we can do better. It is easy to criticize. A lot of learning you did around the job and i think everyone discussion discussion with the covid19 impact on minorities with dr. Uche blackstock. Watch washington journal and be sure to adjourn the sure to join the discussion with phone calls and tweets. Here is a look and our live coverage thursday. 1 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, defense secretary mark expert and joint chiefs of staff chairman general mark milley testify about Defense Department civilianes related to law enforcement. Then, joe biden and massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren discussing the reopening of schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. On cspan 2, the House Appropriations Committee Considers legislation that sets 2021 spending levels for the state department, foreign operations, agriculture, and military construction. Several congressional hearings streaming on our website thursday. At noon eastern, a House Financial Services subcommittee examines Financial Aid services for Small Businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, there is also a house energy and commerce subcommittee hearing on protecting consumers from frauds and scams as a result of covid19. At 1 00 p. M. Eastern, the House Foreign Affairs committee looks at the alleged russian bounties against u. S. Troops in afghanistan, and the response. On thursday. S live , the a 72 decision Supreme Court ruled in favor of new Trump Administration rules expanding the number of organizations that can file for religious or moral exemptions from the health care
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