Appear remotely via webex. Since some members are appearing in person let me first remind eastern that pursuant to the latest guidance from the house attending physician, all individuals who are attending this hearing in person must wear a Face Covering. Members who are not wearing a Face Covering are not permit today remain in the hearing room and will not be recognized to speak. Let me ask make a few reminders of the hearings. For those members appearing in person you will be able to see members appearing remotely on the two monitors in front of you. On one monitor, you would see all members appearing remotely at once in what is known in w webex as mode. And on the other monitor seeing the person when theyre speaking, including members who are appearing remotely. For those members appearing remotely, you can also see each person speaking during the hearing as well as in person or remote if you have your webex set to active speaker mode. If you have any questions about this, please contact the staff immediately. Let me also remind everyone of the house procedures that apply to hybrid hearings. For members appearing in person, a timer is visible in the room directly in front of you. For those who may be remote, we have a timer that should be visible on your screen and when you are in the active speaker with the mode that youll have the timer pinned. For members who may be appearing remotely. Reminders, the house rules require that we see you, please have your cameras turned on at all times, not just when youre speaking. Members who are not recognized should remain muted to prevent background noise and feedback. I will recognize members verbally and members return the right to seek recognition verbally. In regular order, members who will be recognized in seniority order for questions. If youre remote and want to be recognized outside of regular order, you may identify that in several ways. You may use the chat function, the senate request, you may send an email to the majority staff or you may unmute your mic to seek recognition. Obviously we do not want people talking over each other, so my preference is that members use the chat function or email to facilitate the formal verbal recognition. Committed staff will ensure that i am aware of the request and i will recognize you. As members of the committee are likely aware, we expect votes to be called in the middle of this hearing. Out of respect for each memb members and the witnesss time and because of the Long Duration much each vote during this Public Health emergency, i do not plan to recess the hearing for members to vote. Committee members, including those recognized for questions while the vote is ongoing, will have sufficient time to step out of the hearing, cast their vote, and return to the hearing. You will begin the hearing in just a moment when they tell me they are ready to begin the livestream. Good morning, the committee will come to order. [gavel] without objection the chairperson is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. I now recognize myself for an Opening Statement. Today the secretary subcommittee recognizes health and Human Services alex azar. The Trump Administrations Top Health Official. Secretary azar, this is the first time you have testified before Congress Since february. In the seven months since your last appearance, more than 207,000 americans have lost their lives due to the coronavirus and over seven million have been infected. And all of us woke up this morning to the news that the first family and at least one of their close Staff Members have been diagnosed with covid19, and we wish for all of them a speedy and complete recovery. As americans, we pride ourselves on being the most scientifically advanced nation in the world. With the best doctors and Public Health experts. We have led the world in countless medical breakthroughs from inventing a polio vaccine, to mapping the human genome, battling aids and ebola. That is why it has been so heartbreaking to watch the administration squander this legacy by refusing to lead, ignoring our scientists, and putting politics over the health of the American People. Let there be no doubt that the president s response to the Coronavirus Crisis has been a failure of historic proportions. Covid19 has claimed more american lives than the battles of world war i, the korean war, vietnam war, afghanistan war, and iraq war combined. While the president claims that hes saved millions of lives, more people have died from the virus in the United States than in any other country on earth. We have 4 of the worlds population, but 20 of the coronavirus deaths. More than 140 other countries have all had fewer deaths per capita from this virus than we have had in the United States. Behind me are the images of a few of the americans we have lost. At my far right is scar lot herbert, the daughter of two First Responders in of michigan. Schyller was a fiveyearold dreaming of being a pediatric dentist when she grew up. She died from the coronavirus in april. Next is cheryl fink, at 81 years old, cheryl was sharp as a tack, loved to visit with family and friends. She died in april after contracting the coronavirus. Cheryls daughter Alison Lolley told her mothers story to our committee in june. To my immediate left is jason hargrove. Many people like i saw jason as he drove his bus. He was a 50yearold bus driver in detroit. He caught the coronavirus after being coughed on by a passenger and many of us watched as he yelled out in disgust. He died in early april. Jasons best friend and colleague eric spoke to our committee in may about jason and the dangers faced by frontline workers around the country. The final photo is emmy bannister. She was a 28yearold third grade teacher in my home state of south carolina, in my hometown of columbia. She tested positive after returning to school for training early in september and died three days later. Last sunday, her mother Shirley Bannister also died from the coronavirus. Shirley tested positive for the coronavirus the day her daughter died. Shirley was a 57yearold constituent of mine and served as the chair of the Nursing Department at midlands technical college. Tragically its not hard to see why americans like skyler, cheryl, jason, demi and shirley were more likely to die than people in most other countries. Even though the president knew early in february that the coronavirus was here, deadly stuff, in march he said, and im quoting him again, i wanted to always play it down. Consider with this desire or consistent with this desire, the president has refused to step up and lead a National Response to stop the spread of this deadly virus. Rather than implement a National Testing strategy, the white house deferred to the states reportedly because they believe blaming democratic governors for coronavirus deaths would be, in the words of a Public Health expert, involved in the discussions and effective political strategy, end of quote. The result was widespread testing shortages and delays that let the virus spread widely throughout the country. The white house also refused to purchase and distribute masks and other protective equipment because trump is saying and im quoting him again, we are not a shipping clerk, end of quote. As a result, the National Stockpile overseen by you, mr. Secretary, quickly ran out. And states were forced to compete for supplies while First Responders and medical workers reused old masks and wore garbage bags to try to stay safe. As hhs secretary and the first chairman of the White House Coronavirus task force, mr. Secretary, you should have been at the helm of an ambitious National Response rather than follow the science that tried to hide or ignore the science whenever they contradicted the president s wish to downplay the crisis for perceived political advantage. This morning my staff released a report that i hold. This report identifies 47 separate times that political apointees interfered with career scientists who were trying to help americans stay safe during this pandemic. 47 documented times. When the president complained that c. D. C. Guidance on reopening schools was quote, im quoting him, very tough and expensive, they tough and expensive, how expensive was demetrius bannisters life when she went back into that classroom . After the president complained that testing was revealing too many new coronavirus cases, said im quoting him again slow down the testing. Hhs altered key testing guidance that claimed that people without symptoms did not need a test, even if they were exposed to the virus. That decision was reversed only after this select subcommittee and many others objected. And when the president complained that the im quoting here deep state at the fda was not moving fast enough to approve treatments before the november election, the fda authorized plasma therapy over the objection of top scientists. Mr. Secretary, with the president the president at the press conference and repeated false statistics about the therapys effectiveness. Now the administration appeared intent on politicizing a vaccine. With the president pressuring the fda to approve a vaccine before election day and casting doubt on the agencys efforts to assure that the vaccine would only be approved based on scien science. Now, i know there are about four companies that are that moved to a third phase of testing. But i would hope that whatever they come up with, and im sure there will be more than one vaccine, im hopeful there will be a safe and effective vacci vaccine, but even in the best Case Scenario as dr. Fauci said last week, most americans were not receiving vaccine until mid to late 2021. That means americans could be waiting up to another year to get vaccinated. I often share with the public that i was around during the polio vaccine. And i remember political decisions that were made for that vaccine. Im sure many remember the salt vaccine, and the sabin vaccine. The sauk vaccine required a shot in the arm. The sabin vaccine was a little drop of serum on a lump of sugar. [inaudibl [inaudible] inaudible we appear to have lost our live signal from this hearing with hhs secretary azar. Were working to fix the issue and we hope to resume our live coverage shortly. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] i want to express my prayers and support to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. We know, they tested positive. I know how tough and strong of a person President Trump is and how tireless he is, and i know hes going to continue working for the American People, but jennifer and i surely keep he and the first lady in our prayers for a quick and speedy recovery, as i join with the chairman in expressing those thoughts. Secretary azar, i truly want to thank you as well as the 80,000 men and women who work for your agency who have been working tirelessly so well for the American People, completely focused on learning more about this virus, which we learn more about every day, as well as working so feverishly now toward finding one or more vaccines and therapies, which, by the way, your agency has already identified and approved a number of therapies that are working well to save lives. Truly saving american lives as we speak. Its not going without notice the tireless work that your men and women and hhs and all of the Health Care Workers across this country are doing to save american lives. They are the front line heroes of this virus. Today the republicans on the subcommittee are releasing a report. Its President Trumps plan, a whole of america response. Yes, there is a plan. For those who choose not to read the plan, they might walk around saying theres not a plan. There are tens of thousands of pages of plans that continue to be updated by your agency and so many other federal agencies that are all directly involved in helping us get through this. The plans cover so many things from how to properly protect yourself and your family, how to safely reopen schools. Weve actually had hearings on a number of items of those plans. Weve talked about them, weve given the links to websites to people who deny that theres a plan, who hold their head in the sand and say theres no plan. Again, because you dont want to read a plan doesnt mean there isnt a plan. We detail so many aspects of the plan. I want to go through some of the trump Administrations National plans and some things that hes done which include thousands of pages of guidance backing these up. First, its a plan to procure personal protective equipment. So we know this has come up many times. On march 29th of 2020, President Trump launched project air bridge, and began to carefully and thoughtfully leverage the defense production act. The president many times has invoked the production act. To secure ppe and ventilators and other needed resources to combat this pandemic. As of september 20th, 2020, the Trump Administration coordinated the delivery or production of 243 million n95 masks, 1. 1 billion surgical and procedural masks. 45 and a half million eye and face shields. 429 million gowns and coveralls and over 27 and a half billion, billion gloves. Further, as of september 20th, or september 10th of 2020, the strategic National Stockpile is fully stocked with 135,784 ventilators. There was not one hospital in america that ran short of ventilators. There was not one american through this whole pandemic that was denied a ventilator who needed one. In fact, today most doctors will tell you, if someone comes in, the last thing they want to do is put them on a ventilator because that science has advanced. Doctors know a lot more about this virus today than they did just a few months ago and i credit our medical community for learning and sharing that information with others as we learn more every day to save american lives. That has been part of President Trumps plan. In addition, a plan to slow the spread. On march 16th, 2020, President Trump announced National Guidelines entitled, quote, 15 days to slow the spread. In fact, dr. Fauci testified right there where youre sitting, secretary azar, a few weeks ago before this committee. When i asked him, was that part of the president s plan, he said yes. I said did that plan save american lives . He said yes. President trump made those decisions. That was part of the president s plan. These guidelines outline how to help slow the virus spread and keep our most high risk populations safe. Again, as we learn more about this virus, we learn it doesnt affect everyone equally and so, as there are populations that we identify as higher at risk, there are more resources given. Part of the president s plan, by the way, as secretary azar is well aware, is to acquire and distribute testing machines to every nursing home in america. Admiral girard sat there a few weeks ago at the table to talk about that aspect of President Trumps plan and how its carried out today to protect the nations seniors, which we uncovered all 40 of deaths in americans came from 1 of the population, seniors and Nursing Homes. It was the work through some of this on this committee that we identified, yes, 45 governors actually followed the president s plan to cmf guidelines issued how Nursing Homes could properly take care of seniors in Nursing Homes. That was part of the president s plan unfortunately five governors might have read that plan, but they ignored that plan and completely threw it in the trash can and said were going to do our own thing. Sadly, it had deadly consequences. At least 25,000 seniors died who shouldnt have died in Nursing Homes because those five governors went against the president s plan, as we know in america, Nursing Homes of governed at the state level, not the federal level. The guidance came from the federal level, but these five governors chose to go the other way. Some of them are still trying to hide the facts. Many of us have asked on this committee to get those facts. Not all have, i wish the majority would join us in getting the facts for those families. Thousands of families who still want and deserve answers for why their loved ones died. Many of whom could not even go and visit their father, their aunt, their grandmother, who died in those Nursing Homes, who shouldnt have died if those five governors would have followed the guidelines. It shouldnt be a political issue, 45 governors got it right. Republicans and democrats. If five got it wrong, we should all be wanting to find out why they got it wrong and find out how many people actually were victimized by those decisions. The fact that months and months later we still dont know and that he data is being hidden, hidden by those five governors, is a disgrace. Everybody should be demanding those answers, but again, the president laid out that plan, 45 governors followed it. A plan to have increased testing. On may 24th of 2020, the Trump Administration released a report to Congress Called covid19, strategic testing plan, which built on the april 27