Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered opening remarks at today’s Health Subcommittee hearing titled “Are CDC's Priorities Restoring Public Trust and Improving the Health of the American People?”
“For decades, America enjoyed its status of having one of the pre-eminent public health infrastructures in the world," said Rodgers. "Federal agencies conducted cutting-edge research and facilitated private sector efforts to advance science and keep our citizens safe. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.”
Rodgers highlighted several issues she termed as "mission creep" and "misplaced priorities." She stated, “The CDC was established to assist states and localities in controlling infectious disease outbreaks. COVID-19 should have been the agency’s moment to shine. Unfortunately, on almost every level—the CDC fell flat."
She criticized the CDC for "egregious flaws in testing, confusing—and, at times, blatantly misleading—communication mishaps, and one-size-fits-all guidance and mandates," which she argued undermined its primary mission.
Rodgers questioned whether the agency's focus had strayed too far from its core mission due to competing priorities. She noted a significant increase in non-communicable disease funding between fiscal years 2013 and 2014 but pointed out that rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension continued to rise.
“There is clearly a disconnect here—Congress has a responsibility to understand what the return on that investment has been,” she asserted.
Addressing public trust issues, Rodgers remarked that Americans have lost faith in public health agencies, particularly the CDC. She referenced Dr. Fauci's comments about social distancing guidelines during COVID-19 as an example of unclear decision-making processes within the agency.
“The unfortunate truth is that Americans have lost faith in our public health agencies—particularly in the CDC,” Rodgers said. “The agency’s many failures rightfully led people to question whether the guidance being released was actually grounded in science, reason, or even common sense.”
Rodgers emphasized the need for restoring public trust through transparency and accountability within the CDC. She mentioned last year's hearing with Dr. Cohen regarding updates on the CDC-wide 'Moving Forward' initiative aimed at rebuilding trust.
“That work will only be successful if the CDC’s leadership...are truly committed to reform," she said. "This means admitting where inefficiencies exist and taking accountability for mistakes."
Rodgers concluded by expressing hope for collaboration: “My hope is that we can work together to achieve this, starting with today’s conversation.”
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