Colorado Politics

DeGette announces COVID-19 oversight agenda

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced on Tuesday that her agenda for investigating the Trump Administration’s response to COVID-19 includes reviews of equipment supply chains, vaccine development and testing efforts.

Calling the administration’s coronavirus response “inconsistent and inadequate,” DeGette and committee chair U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said in a joint statement that the oversight plan “focuses on some of the key areas where the administration has failed the American people, the states and marginalized communities. “

DeGette’s subcommittee will continue to prompt the administration for its plan to increase diagnostic and antibody testing, as well as monitor the federal government’s ability to support contact tracing and monitor infection trends.

Members will also investigate the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s interaction with the personal protective equipment supply chain, and whether the agency is “playing a more proactive role in decisions related to distribution of supplies.” Earlier this month, after Gov. Jared Polis accused FEMA of delaying state orders of ventilators to fulfill their own needs, a spokesperson responded that “FEMA has not and is not seizing or taking supplies or personal protective equipment.”

Vaccine production, the safety of food workers, and the administration’s ability to “prioritize the public interest” are the final items on the subcommittee’s agenda. DeGette cited President Donald Trump’s decision to defund the World Health Organization, his dismissal of multiple inspectors general, and a ban on fetal tissue in COVID-19 research as actions that called into question for her the White House’s dedication to public health.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver talks to the Trump administration about the deadly coronavirus on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020.
Courtesy of Rep. Diana DeGette’s office via YouTube
Tags

PREV

PREVIOUS

CDPHE: Herd immunity won't work; 'We're really still at the beginning of this epidemic'

As more restless Americans call for states to reopen, “herd immunity” has been tossed out as a purpose for less regulation. But the state’s top health official on Wednesday said that for herd immunity to even be effective in Colorado, 70% of the population would have to get sick and more would die. “We’re really […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

Gardner challenges Democratic nominee to five general election debates

Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner on Wednesday said he has accepted invitations to five fall debates and issued a challenge to the Democrat who wins the U.S. Senate nomination to join him. Colorado voters are set to start receiving mail ballots for the June 30 primary in three weeks. Former Gov. John Hickenlooper and former […]


Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests