WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Tuesday pressed members of the White House coronavirus task force at the Committee’s first hearing with administration witnesses on COVID-19. Specifically, Murphy pressed Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield on their warnings that opening states too quickly without properly issuing specific guidance could lead to unnecessary deaths. This comes on the heels of President Trump’s remarks yesterday from the White House Rose Garden proclaiming that U.S. has prevailed in the fight against COVID-19.

Murphy said: “Dr. Fauci and Dr. Redfield, you've made news today by warning us appropriately of the dangers of states opening too early…this is infuriating to many of us, because it comes hours after the president declared that we have prevailed over coronavirus, which I'm just going to tell you is going to make it much harder on state leaders to keep social distancing restrictions in place. It comes days after the president called on citizens to liberate their states from social distancing orders. And I think you're all noble public servants, but I worry that you're trying to have it both ways. You say the states shouldn't open too early, but then you don't give us the resources to succeed. You work for a president who is frankly, undermining our efforts to comply with the guidance that you've given us, and then the guidance that you have provided is criminally vague.”

Murphy specifically pressed Redfield on leaked CDC guidance from last week: “…This guidance that was developed by you and other experts was shelved by the administration, that it was withheld from states and the public because of a decision made by the White House. So my specific question is, why didn't this plan get released? And if it is just being reviewed, when is it going to be released, because states are reopening right now. And we need this additional guidance to make those decisions.”

Murphy pressed Redfield on the timeline for new CDC guidelines for states reopening: “But we’re reopening in Connecticut in 5 days, in 10 days. This guidance isn't going to be useful to us in two weeks. So is it this week? Is it next week? When are we going to get this expertise from the federal government?”

Last week, Murphy pressed the administration on the importance of testing, and why it is so critical that the United States join the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in creating and distributing a COVID-19 vaccine as fast as possible, while also working on our own efforts at home.

Full transcript of Murphy’s questioning is below

MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to you and Senator Murray for convening this. Thank you to all of our witnesses for your service.

“This is obviously an exceptional hearing today, in that three of our witnesses are in quarantine. And so, I just want to start by asking a pretty simple yes or no question that I think I know the answer to: Dr. Fauci, Dr. Hahn, and Dr. Redfield, I'm correct, that all of you are drawing a salary as you should, during your period of quarantine.

“Is that correct?”

FAUCI: “Senator, let me let me start off, I think we better be careful about the issue of quarantine, we are essential workers as part of the essential infrastructure. And we are when needed, which is often, to do our duties at respective places at the White House. I was at the White House yesterday and I will likely even perhaps even be there today and in my office at the NIH.

“So it is not really, strictly speaking, the quarantine as we know it, but it is performing our duties as critical workers. And I'd be happy to have my colleagues also respond to that.”

HAHN: “Senator Murphy, this is Steve Hahn. I agree with Dr. Fauci. And yes, I am drawing salary and I have continued to work during my quarantine, and as an essential worker will participate in meetings face to face when that attendance is considered critical.”

MURPHY: “My point here, listen, you all should draw a salary while, you are taking precautionary steps because of the contacts you have made.

“My point is that quarantine is relatively easy for people like you and me. We can still work and get paid, we can telework, but there are millions of other Americans who work jobs that can't be performed from home or are paid by the hour. And it's just remarkable to me that this administration has not yet developed a mechanism for states to implement and pay for a quarantine system that will work for all Americans. Your plan to reopen America requires states develop that plan. And yet my state has no clue how to implement and pay for that system without help from the federal government.

“Which leads me to my second question. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Redfield, you've made news today by warning us appropriately of the dangers of states opening too early. But as Senator Murray mentioned, this is infuriating to many of us, because it comes hours after the president declared that we have prevailed over coronavirus, which I'm just going to tell you is going to make it much harder on state leaders to keep social distancing restrictions in place.

“It comes days after the president called on citizens to liberate their states from social distancing orders. And I think you're all noble public servants, but I worry that you're trying to have it both ways.

“You say the states shouldn't open too early, but then you don't give us the resources to succeed. You work for a president who is frankly, undermining our efforts to comply with the guidance that you've given us, and then the guidance that you have provided is criminally vague.

“And I want to ask my last question on this topic. Obviously, the plan to reopen America was meant to be followed by more detailed nuanced guidance, right? What is a downward trajectory mean? What happens if the trajectory is downward in some settings, but upward in others? What happens if you reopen and then there's a spike in one location or another setting? And of course you knew this because you developed this guidance, this additional guidance that is site specific, that frankly, is helpful. Some of this is on the CDC website, but some of it is not and we need it. My state needs it. We don't have all of the experts that you have, and so we rely on you.

“So reporting suggests, Dr. Redfield, that this guidance that was developed by you and other experts, was shelved by the administration, that it was withheld from states and the public because of a decision made by the White House.

“So my specific question is, why didn't this plan get released? And if it is just being reviewed, when is it going to be released, because states are reopening right now, and we need this additional guidance to make those decisions.”

REDFIELD: “Senator, I appreciate your question.

“Clearly, we have generated a series of guidances as you know, and as this outbreak response has evolved from a CDC to an all of government response, as we work through the guidances, a number of them go for interagency review, and interagency input to make sure that these guidances are more broadly applicable for different parts of our society. The guidances that you've talked about, have gone through that interagency review their comments that have come back to CDC. And I anticipate they'll go back up into the task force for final review.”

MURPHY: “But we’re reopening in Connecticut in 5 days, in 10 days. This guidance isn't going to be useful to us in two weeks. So is it this week? Is it next week? When are we going to get this expertise from the federal government?”

REDFIELD: “The other thing I will just say is that the CDC stands by to give technical assistance to your state and any state on any request. I do anticipate this broader guidance though to be posted on the CDC website, soon.”

MURPPY: “Soon?”

REDFIELD: “I can tell you. But, and I can tell you, your state can reach out to CDC and we’ll give guidance directly to anyone in your state on any circumstance that your state desires guidance from.

MURPHY: “Soon isn't terribly helpful. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.”

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