Senator Hassan Calls for Administration to Increase Funding and Improve Coordination Efforts to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak Following Additional Briefings from Current and Former Trump Administration Officials

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today called on the Trump Administration to increase funding and improve its coordination efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak following briefings from current and former Administration officials on the government’s response to this public health emergency.

“Although the risk that the coronavirus poses to Americans remains low, the deadly virus is spreading rapidly around the globe, and we need to see a more robust plan from the Administration on how to coordinate at the state level to identify potential coronavirus cases and mitigate the spread of the virus. It’s also critically important that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and all the agencies working to address coronavirus have reliable, sufficient funding to respond to the current threat as well as prepare for similar health risks down the line. I am concerned that in the midst of this emergency, the Administration has proposed a budget that would cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, which would undermine our efforts to address epidemics like the one we are facing now.”

Senator Hassan continued, “I also want to thank the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and health care professionals on the ground who have been working around-the-clock to contain this public health emergency. As the coronavirus spreads, all Americans should continue to follow typical flu prevention protocol to contain the potential spread of the virus.”

Senator Hassan participated in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee roundtable today where she heard from former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and the former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., MPH about how the government can better respond to this expanding public health emergency. Later in the day, Senator Hassan attended a briefing with senior officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Hassan joined a number of colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requesting updates on the Administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The Senator also joined the New Hampshire delegation in calling on President Trump to increase federal funding to respond to the coronavirus in his budget proposal for fiscal year 2021.

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