Holding the Trump Administration Accountable for the Coronavirus Outbreak Response

We need to make sure that the Trump administration is effectively responding to the coronavirus outbreak. That’s why I wanted to recap some of the work my office has done over the past few weeks to hold this administration accountable to the American people:

• In December, I joined Senators Tom Cotton, Mitt Romney, and Tim Kaine in asking the Department of Defense about the national security risks posed by America’s reliance on China for pharmaceutical products — a problem that coronavirus has magnified in recent weeks. https://homelandprepnews.com/stories/41054-senators-concerned-about-overreliance-on-foreign-made-pharmaceuticals/
• Over a month ago, HELP Committee ranking member Patty Murray and I — along with a group of Senate Democrats — asked Secretary Azar for an update on Department of Health and Human Service’s comprehensive response plan to the coronavirus threat. https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/health/senators-press-us-health-department-for-updates-on-coronavirus/291-ea5fbf1c-be52-4ff3-9166-8866450f4ad7
• I also worked with Senator Angus King to ask the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) why they were shuttering PREDICT, a program established to identify and combat viruses that may generate global pandemics, including coronaviruses. https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/closure-of-government-program-could-hurt-coronavirus-fix-senators-warren-king-say/
• Two weeks ago, I was one of the 25 Senate Democrats who pressed HHS and the White House Office of Management and Budget to request emergency funding for the coronavirus outbreak and raised concerns that they’d failed to share details about the resources they needed. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/483729-democratic-senators-urge-trump-administration-to-request-emergency-funding
• I also joined Senator Dianne Feinstein on a bipartisan letter calling on HHS to establish clear guidelines for how state and local governments will be reimbursed for costs related to assisting the federal coronavirus response. https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/02/27/coronavirus-threat-gives-strapped-state-health-agencies-a-new-crisis-1264110
• The coronavirus response is also about leadership. Patty Murray and I led 25 of our colleagues in urging the White House National Security Council to fill the head of global health security position that’s been vacant for almost 2 years with an expert who can address the coronavirus. https://www.rollcall.com/2020/02/13/who-leads-coronavirus-resp-at-the-national-security-council-democratic-senators-ask/
• When news reports broke that the administration placed 14 Americans infected with coronavirus on plane with healthy passengers, I requested info from the State Department, HHS, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about their chain of command for making these public health decisions. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/26/warren-coronavirus-trump-cruise-117760
• I introduced legislation that would redirect funds from President Trump’s racist border wall to HHS and USAID to help prevent the spread of the virus. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/27/coronavirus-updates-elizabeth-warren-wants-to-defund-trump-border-wall-for-emergency-money.html
• I also joined Senator Ed Markey in opposing a proposal to pull funds from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program — which helps families in MA and around the country stay warm — to fund the coronavirus response. https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-warren-warn-not-to-raid-low-income-heating-program-to-pay-for-coronavirus-response
• I wrote to Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley — five Too Big to Fail banks — and requested information on how they’re monitoring and managing the coronavirus threat to the global economy. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/485205-warren-presses-big-banks-on-preparation-for-coronavirus-fallout
• And I asked the State Department and Treasury Department for assurances that US sanctions are not preventing basic medical supplies from reaching the people of Iran, who are suffering one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks outside of China. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/485204-warren-pens-letter-to-administration-seeking-assurance-iran-sanctions-are-not

The time for the Trump administration to prepare for the coronavirus outbreak should’ve been months ago and we can’t afford to waste more time. I’ll keep using every tool in my toolbox as a US Senator to make sure our federal government has an effective response to this public health crisis.