At Select Subcommittee Hearing, Democrats Debunk Republican Claims About Biden Administration’s Pandemic Response

Washington, D.C. (June 13, 2023)—Today, Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D., Ranking Member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, led Select Subcommittee Democrats in taking a forward-looking approach to pandemic preparedness and advocating for policy reforms that would leave the country better prepared in the event of another public health emergency. Throughout the hearing, Select Subcommittee Democrats contrasted the Biden Administration's science-based pandemic response against the Trump Administration's political interference in public health communications, guidance, and response measures.

"As Ranking Member of this Select Subcommittee, I have often said how important it is that we focus on forward-looking policy solutions that will leave us better prepared in the event of another deadly novel airborne virus. At the forefront of this work is the nation's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which, under Director Walensky's direction, helped guide us out of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Ranking Member Ruiz in his opening statement.

Today's hearing included testimony from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, who testified to the CDC's data-driven response under President Biden and how the agency is moving forward to better respond to future public health threats.

"When I testified for the first time before this Subcommittee in April 2021, I noted that the United States had faced three significant emerging infectious disease threats in the decade prior to COVID-19—the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ebola, and Zika. None of these emergencies resulted in the sustained improvements and investments needed in our nation's public health infrastructure, leaving us vulnerable in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have come a long way since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is still much work to be done to ensure that CDC is ready to respond to the next public health threat. We must bolster our public health infrastructure by making sustainable investments and supporting new authorities that address long-standing vulnerabilities and better prepare us for the next public health challenge," Director Walensky said in her testimony.

Select Subcommittee Democrats took a forward-looking approach to pandemic preparedness by building on progress made under Director Walensky and the Biden Administration.

• Congresswoman Deborah Ross demonstrated the work Director Walensky has done to monitor and respond to emerging threats: "Director Walensky, I'm particularly grateful for your efforts to take the lessons we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and use them to inform forward-looking policies that will make our country better prepared for the next pandemic. This includes spearheading a reorganization of the CDC to transform the agency into a more streamlined, nimble organization that is poised to tackle public health threats as soon as they arise. For example, under your leadership, the CDC has stood up the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics to forecast infectious disease outbreaks and inform policymakers in real-time."

• Congressman Kweisi Mfume highlighted the CDC's work under Director Walensky to prioritize health equity in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: "I have been particularly interested in your work to address disparate health outcomes and to advance health equity…During a public health crisis, we must be able to identify and care for the most vulnerable among us. Collecting and analyzing this data will be critical towards identifying vulnerable populations and ensuring they have the resources to thrive."

Select Subcommittee Democrats debunked Republicans' misleading claims on the Biden Administration's COVID-19 response and lifesaving public health measures such as masks and vaccines.

• Congresswoman Debbie Dingell pushed back on Republicans' allegations about undue influence in CDC guidance by teachers' unions: "There was no ‘special' access or collusion between the teachers' union and the CDC to keep schools closed, and my colleagues on the other side are grossly mischaracterizing the situation. So, let's go over the facts again. It is routine practice—and I believe common sense—for the CDC or any group…to consult impacted groups on guidance that affects them."

• In response to questions from Congresswoman Dingell about the importance of engaging with groups on developing public health guidance that impacts them, Director Walensky said: "It was critically important to get the schools open, and in order to do so, we needed to make sure that the day we released their guidance it would be implementable on the ground. So we spoke to numerous stakeholders—over 50 to make sure that our guidance would be implementable on the ground. It would have been irresponsible not to."

• Congresswoman Jill Tokuda refuted Republicans' assertions about lifesaving public health measures like masks: "Despite the overwhelming body of evidence that shows wearing masks effectively prevent COVID-19, my Republican colleagues have drawn into question commonsense guidance issued by the CDC regarding mask wearing in schools and other congregate settings. We know for a fact that it was not safe to send our kids or our teachers back into the classroom without clear mitigation protocols in place, including masking guidelines."

Select Subcommittee Democrats exposed the Trump Administration's political interference at the CDC, which hindered the country's COVID-19 response.

• Committee on Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Jamie Raskin called out Republicans for their hypocrisy: "President Trump and his allies not only spread medical disinformation about quack medical cures like hydroxychloroquine and injecting yourself with bleach, but they lied to the American people very explicitly for their own political benefit…If Donald Trump's apologists are really worried about plummeting confidence in government and in public health, they should look at the lies and the serial manipulation of the facts that were engineered by Donald Trump and his Administration and their spectacularly failed response to COVID-19."

• Congressman Robert Garcia demonstrated how Republicans are attempting to whitewash the Trump Administration's own political interference at the CDC, which ultimately delayed accurate and timely public health guidance to the American people: "Last year's Select Subcommittee report found that the Trump Administration conducted a systemic campaign to compromise the integrity of the CDC's pandemic response to advance President Trump's political interests ahead of the 2020 election. On February 26, 2020, he and his allies mandated that all media requests about Covid be approved by his White House. CDC officials have testified that, because of this, there were extended periods of time his administration just refused to approve critical COVID briefings to the American people."

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