WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing opened Friday with the chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., questioning why the newly appointed Obama administration “Ebola czar,” Ron Klain, was not present to testify.
Witnesses testified that nurses were unprepared and unequipped to treat Ebola cases while the Department of Homeland Security mismanaged the millions of dollars Congress had allocated to prepare for a potential epidemic.
Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United, disclosed the results of a survey of more than 3,000 nurses in more than 1,000 hospitals in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia. It found that 68 percent say their hospital has not communicated to them any policy regarding potential admission of patients infected by Ebola, and 84 percent say their hospital has not provided education on Ebola.
“The heroic nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas had to interact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan with whatever minimal and woefully inadequate protective equipment was available, at a time when he was unfortunately most vulnerable with diarrhea and vomiting, and therefore most contagious,” Burger said in a prepared statement.
“Initially the nurses who interacted with Mr. Duncan wore a non‐impermeable gown front and back, three pairs of gloves, with no taping around wrists, surgical masks, with the option of N‐95s, and face shields. Some supervisors even told the nurses the N‐95 masks were not necessary,” she said.
Burger concluded her testimony by explaining that all she was asking President Obama and Congress was this: “Not one more Ebola-infected nurse.”
Michael Lumpkin, assistant secretary of Defense, opened the testimony with a prepared statement that stressed U.S. troops in West Africa will not be in direct contact with Ebola patients.
John Roth, inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, reported that DHS “mismanaged” the $47 million Congress appropriated the agency to train, plan and prepare for a potential pandemic.
“DHS did not effectively manage and oversee its inventory of pandemic preparedness supplies, including protective equipment and antiviral drugs,” Roth said in his prepared statement. “DHS did not keep accurate records of what it purchased and received and did not implement sufficient controls to monitor its stockpiles.”
10-day waiting period?
Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, questioned aggressively Maj. Gen. James M. Lariviere, deputy director of political-military affairs for Africa for the Department of Defense, challenging the military’s assumption U.S. troops could return to the U.S. after a 10-day waiting period during which the soldier showed no signs of having contracted the disease.
Issa joined Turner in arguing that Ebola has an incubation period of 21 days and the 10-day waiting period was not sufficient time to insure the person was free of the virus.
Issa did not accept Lariviere’s counter argument that once back on base in the U.S., the soldier would be required for 21 days to report to a base medical facility to have a doctor take their temperatures and to “look them in the eye” to examine them.
Issa further pressed witnesses that Dr. Thomas Frieden, the head of the CDC, presented incorrect testimony in saying nurses would be safe from contracting Ebola if the neck potion of their skin were exposed, when now the CDC requires full-body protective suits for all Ebola health-care workers.
Issa further charged Frieden misspoke when he said a person could not contract Ebola by sitting next to an Ebola-infected person on a bus. Frieden subsequently was forced to admit the virus could be transmitted if the Ebola-stricken person vomited on a non-infected passenger.
“In other words, we are relying on protocols coming from the head of the CDC, who has been proven subsequently to have been incorrect in his statements. Isn’t that true?” Issa asked several witnesses, with each avoiding a direct answer to the question.
Need more facts, less ‘happy talk’
Lariviere explained U.S. troops deployed in West Africa will set up a military hospital in Liberia and a second in Sierra Leone, “so any U.S. soldier that contracts Ebola in Africa will first be treated in-country and then flown back to the United States for treatment.”
Under questioning by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., Lariviere explained the current airlift capability for Ebola patients consists of one military transport airplane with a maximum of airlifting at most 10 soldiers per week out of Africa. Approximately 3,000 U.S. troops currently are scheduled to be deployed in West Africa.
Unsatisfied with Lariviere’s answer, McHenry said: “If we need more resources to support the military deployed to Africa, the Congress will provide the resources.”
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said hearing government agencies “come before this committee and telling us that there’s nothing to worry about is when I start worrying.”
He noted that Department of Defense estimates are that by the beginning of next year, more than 1 million people in West Africa could be infected with Ebola.
“Instead of a 21-day checking period in the United States to determine whether a soldier is Ebola-free, the waiting period ought to be 21-days in Africa, before a soldier is given permission to return to the United States,” Lynch insisted. “We need a fact-based approach to the Ebola problem in Africa, not just happy talk.”
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked Nicole Lurie, M.D., assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services: “You’re the key person in HHS responsible for preparedness and response to public health emergencies, right?”
After acknowledging she was the top adviser to the HHS secretary on public health emergencies, Lurie admitted she was not aware of some $30 million in HHS grants Jordon claimed were spent to develop various programs such as children’s menus in school programs, puppet shows and other seemingly trivial matters when compared to the seriousness of Ebola public health crisis.
“Might we be closer to having an Ebola vaccine today if we had not wasted $39 million in HHS programs most taxpayers think were misdirected?,” Jordan asked. “If developing vaccines is a costly process, would we not be further along if $39 million were spent on Ebola vaccine development?”
Roth claimed she was not responsible for approving the various HHS grant programs Jordan listed.
Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., apparently wanting to deflect criticism of the Obama administration’s response to Ebola, claimed the real health threat this year is influenza.
“I hope everyone has gotten their flu shots,” Cooper said.
‘Three-foot rule’
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., asked Lariviere whether or not U.S. troops in Africa would have contact with nationals. The officer said the military has imposed a “three-foot” rule, specifying U.S. troops in Africa must stand at least three feet away when speaking with nationals.
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., pressed Lurie that the Obama administration was damaging the credibility of the U.S. health system because officials such as CDC chief Frieden assured the American public the CDC had everything under control, only later to issue revised guidelines.
“Wouldn’t it be better to simply admit when you don’t know?” Connolly asked Lurie, only to get an evasive response.
Connolly continued: “How in the world do we contain Ebola before it becomes explosive when we have credible estimates the number of Ebola-infected in Western Africa could go from the 10,000 currently estimated to 1.4 million in December, only two months ago?
“That’s jaw-dropping,” he said.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., read for Lurie various claims she made in print about “having a plan” and “being prepared with a strategy for medicine and communication.” He asked Lurie why the Obama administration chose a lawyer, Ron Klain, to be the “Ebola czar” instead of her.
“Why did the president pick a lawyer to be Ebola czar instead of someone with your background and experience? Ron Klain is not a doctor, he does not have a background in infectious disease, and he doesn’t have a background in West Africa. This is a medical crisis, not a legal debate over a contested election. Why not you?”
Lurie responded that she has confidence in Klain.
“The role of coordinator in the White House demands a government coordination expert,” she offered.
“Then, the next time President Obama has to pick someone for the Supreme Court can you assure me he won’t pick a medical doctor?” Gowdy pressed. “Can you understand why the American people might be a little bit concerned President Obama appointed as his Ebola czar a lawyer instead of a medical doctor?”
Pressed further by Gowdy, Lurie could not identify any medical experience in Klain’s background.
