The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, July 16, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Review of CDC Anthrax Lab Incident." Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will be among the witnesses testifying.
The CDC recently announced that more than 80 workers at a CDC lab in Atlanta may have been exposed to live anthrax. Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Murphy immediately expressed concern, noting “There is no room for error or negligence when it comes to bioterror research." As Reuters characterized it, “The exposure incident is unprecedented in the history of American research on bioweapons and other deadly pathogens." Frieden will discuss CDC’s pending investigation into the matter.
“A potential live anthrax exposure raises serious questions about CDC’s adherence to safety protocol measures and the agency’s ability to ensure its scientists and the public are safe," commented Murphy. “This committee has a history of careful oversight of safety lapses at CDC’s bioterror labs. This hearing is an important opportunity to understand what happened and make sure every precaution is in place to prevent any such risk or exposure from happening again."
The Majority Memorandum, a witness list, and witness testimony will be available here as they are posted.
