sile, please. >> good afternoon. i convene the committee on

senate oversight. we will need to make sure when the witnesses speak, we are clear in the center section. today the world is fighting the worst ebola outbreak in history. the c.d.c. and our public health care system are in the middle of a firestorm. job one is to put that out completely, examine and we will not stop until we do. we must be clear-eyed and singular in purpose to ensure that not one additional case is contracted in the united states. we as congress stand ready to serve as a strong and solid partner in solving this crisis. there is no greater responsibility for the u.s. government than to protect and defend the u.s. people. the stakes could not be higher. the number of ebola cases in africa is doubling in about every three weeks. with no vaccine or cure, we are

facing down a disease for which there is no room for error. we cannot afford to look back at this point in history and say, we should have done more. errors in judgment have been made to be sure, and it is our immediate response on this day to learn from those errors, correct them rapidly, and move forward as one team, one fight. let us candidly review where we stand. when the latest outbreak in west africa confirmed, we thought it would be quickly contained. that turned out to be wrong. by underestimating the danger and and over estimating the ability to handle the ebola outbreak, mistakes were made. the trust and credibility of the administration and government are waning as the american public loses confidence each day with demonstrated failures of the current strategy. but that trust must be restored. it will only be restored with

honest and thorough action. we have been told that any hospital in the country that can do ice legislation can do isolation, unquote. events in dallas have proven otherwise. events for containment have not worked. false assumptions create mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes. why was the c.d.c. slow to deploy a rapid response team at texas presbyterian? why weren't protocol rapidly communicated? what training have health care workers received? and there are things about ebola we don't know. how long does the virus live on substances? how do health care workers wearing full protective gear still get infected? can it be transmitted from a person who does not have a high fever. the largest study of the current ebola outbreak found 30% of

transmitted cases in africa did not have a current fever. i believe the c.d.c. is the goal. i want to understand why c.d.c. and the white house changed course in 2010 on proposals first introduced in 2005 that would have strengtheneded the federal quarantine guidelines. am here to state my objection that the u.s. fails to restrict travel from ebola hotzones. a month ago the president told us someone reaching our shores with ebola was unlikely. screening and self-reporting have been a demonstrated failure. the administration continues to advance a contradictory position that does not make sense to me,

especially if priority one is to contain the spread of ebola. it troubles me more when public health policies are stated over cutting commercial ties with fledgling democracies rather than protecting public health in the united states. this should not be presented as an all-or-none choice. we can and will continue to transport whatever supplies are necessary to end this deadly disease in africa. we do not lead to leave the door open while ebola is a dangerous and unwelcome stow-away on these flights. the current airline passenger screening at five u.s. airports and temperature taking is troubling. while c.d.c. and n.i.h. tell us ebola patients are only contagious when they have a fever. we know this may not be completely accurate. a fever can be masked by taking

ibuprophen. it is -- let me be clear to all the federal agencies responding to the outbreak. if resources or authorization is needed to stop ebola in its tracks, tell us in congress. i pledge, and this committee joins in pledging, we will do everything within our power to help you keep the american people safe from ebola outbreak. i now recognize the ranking member of the committee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. on monday the director general of the world health organization called the ebola outbreak, quote, "the most severe acute health emergency seen in modern times." she warned, "the epidemic threatens the survival of these governments in south africa." this is no exaggeration. c.d.c. predicts that up to 1.4 million west africans could be

affected from debowlia. this is a humanitarian crisis, and we have a moral imperative to help in west africa. but ending the west african outbreak is also a u.s. national security imperative. doing so is the best way to keep ebola out of the united states. i was alarmed like all of us were when thomas duncan flew to the u.s. while harboring ebola, and even more disturbed to hear he was discharged from the texas e.r. after saying he had traveled to liberia. even worse, we learned two nurses have contracted ebola. i know, mr. chairman, we all join in sending these women and their families our prayers. these new cases raise serious questions. "the washington post" wrote yesterday that texas presbyterian, quote, had to learn on the fly, how to control the deadly virus and the

hospital was, quote, not fully prepared for ebola. we need to find out why this hospital was unprepared and if others are, too. and we need to make sure that the c.d.c. is filling these readiness gaps. we should be concerned about the appearance of ebola in the u.s. and the transmission to two health care workers. but we should not panic. we know how to stop ebola outbrake break by isolating patients and tracing and monitoring contact. the u.s. can prevent isolated cases from becoming broader outbreaks. that's why i'm glad dr. frieden doctor by phone. it would be a mistake to say that the -- it would not be wrong to say that the first case of ebola was mismanaged. i know both of these gentleman will be transparent and

forthright in helping me understand why how we can understand our response when another person, and it will inevitably happen, shows up at the emergency room with these kinds of symptoms. i appreciate the steps taken by c.d.c. and customs. these steps are appropriate. as some call for cutting off all travel, as the chairman said, this will be reasonable to be able to stop anybody with ebola from coming into the united states. we don't want to take steps that would endanger americans by interfering with efforts to halt an outbreak in africa. you know, there is no such thing as forterss america when it comes to infectious diseases. the best way to stop ebola is going to be to stop this virus in africa. efforts from doctors without borders have told us a quarantine on travel would have a quote catastrophic impact on west africa. also, earlier this week, the director of n.i.h., francis

collins said had we adequately funded his agency for over a decade, we would already have an ebola vaccine. his words are a reminder that key public health agencies have faced stag demand funting for several years, hampering ourable -- hampering our ability to handle this crisis. l the scope of this problem in west africa was beginning to come into focus months ago. now the situation is dire. let's work together to make sure we stop it as quickly as we can. with that, i yield back the balance of my time to the gentleman from iowa. >> thank you. our duty today is to make sure the administration it is doing everything possible to prevent the spread of ebola in the united states. our number one priority in combating this disease must be the protection of americans, and we have to figure out the best way to do that. my heart goes out to all those suffering from this horrible

epidemic. i am very proud by the hard work done by american troops, doctors, nurses, and other volunteers to combat this disease. congress must come together, put aside partisan differences, and help stop this outbreak. today i hope to hear what steps the american -- the -- i am greatly krn concerned, as the congresswoman sucked, that they did not act quickly enough in spoppeding in texas. we need to discuss all the options we have in moving in, in texas, and make the changes necessary. >> the gentleman's time is expired. we have a lot to do here, so we'll just keep going. >> ok. thank you. >> i now recognize the gentleman from the full committee, mr. upton, for five minutes. >> thank you. let me first thank all our witnesses, republicans and

democrats, for being here today. it is unusual to convene a hearing in d.c. during the district court parade, but there is no time to wait. i was glad to see the president get off the campaign trail yesterday to finally focus on the crisis. people are scared. we need all hands on deck. we need a strategy, and we need to protect the american people, first and foremost. it is not a drill. people's lives are at stake, and the response so far has been unacceptable. as chairman of this committee, i want to assure the witnesses we stand ready to support you in anyway to keep americans tafe safe. we are going to hold your feet to the fire on getting it done and getting it done right. both the u.s. and world health community have failed to put in place standards to combat the current outbreak. the c.d.c. admitted more could have been done in texas. two c.d.c. workers have become

infected in texas even as protocols are being developed on the fly. none of us can understand how a rse who treated an ebola patient and had herself a fever was permitted to boffered a flight -- board a flight and fly across the country. we are seeking preparedness in the response plan here at home and abroad. it is clear whatever plan was in place was inefficient, but i believe we can and should do better now. >> we need to treat health care workers and safely stop the spread of this disease at home and at its source in africa. this includes travel restrictions or bans from that region beginning today. surely we can find other ways to get the aid workers -- aide workers and supplies in from these countries, and there is

air travel used to assure public safety. why not here? we can no longer be reactive to each day's crisis, we need to get ahead of this terrible outbreak. the american people also want to know about our troops and medical personnel who are courageously head today africa to treat the sick. how will they be protected? we want to be sure americans here have the resources and training necessary to combat this disease as well. it is not just the responsibility of the u.s. the global health community bears the charge to finally get ahead of the threat, develop a clear strategy, train all of those involved in combating this disease and eradicate the threat. we have all heard the grave warnings this will get worse before it gets better. people are scared. it is our responsibility to ensure the government is doing whatever it can to keep the public safety. diana degette and i have partnered to help ensure the research speed and while much

attention has been paid on how this affect can help with diseases like cancer and diabetes, these same reforms have to help us in the development of treatments for ebola. nfections like i yield back the balance of my time to dr. burgess. >> thank you. i think everyone here agrees we must fix this. america's response to the ebola outbreak is not a political issue, it is a public health crisis. we need to guarantee the safety of our health care workers on the frontlines. it has been long known that health care workers have an out-sized risk in africa. they have a 56% mortality rate of those health care workers who catch this disease. two nurgses have contracted ebola in the united states, and indeed, we have to learn from the current situation in texas and youzhny information we can

gather to better help prepare hospitals and better protect health care workers on the frontline. we are hear today because we need answers to these questions. this will past august the director of homeland security issued a response on personal protective equipment and anti-counter terrorism measures. they found that the department of homeland security did not adequately conduct pan democratic preparedness supplies and did not effectively manage its stockpile of personal protective equipment and medical countermeasures. this illustrates how under-prepared we are. we have to get this right. i would yeelyeel to ms. blackburn from tennessee. >> thank you, dr. burgess. welcome to all of our witnesses. everyone has welcomed we are here to work with you to help protect americans, and that includes the care givers. by that i mean the men and women working on the frontlines, the screaming eagles of the 101st

from fort campbell. i will yeelyeel. -- i will yield back my time. >> the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. to mr. waxman. >> i am pleased to make an opening statement before we hear from the witnesses. i think we have to put all this in perspective and not panic. everybody says "don't panic" and then they say things like "we're going to get tough." well, what are we going to do? first of all, we have a problem in africa. thaze serious outbreak that could spiral beyond our control. the world health organization estimate estimated there could be up to 10,000 new ebola cases each week in west africa. c.d.c. has warned the outbreak could affect as many as 1.4 million people by the end of january.

this is a humanitarian crisis in africa. and we have a responsibility to help. if we don't help there, that outbreak is going to continue to spiral out to other places. and sealing people off in africa is not going to keep them from traveling. they will travel to brussels, as one of the people did, and then into the united states. we can stop the epidemic from spreading in africa or the united states if we isolate the -- ents and contact the monitor the contacts of that patient. if we do that, we can stop it there and we can stop it here. so in africa, we need to know, are we moving fast enough? responders have adequate resources? are we coordinating our responses with other organizations in other

countries? here people are scared, and we should not make them more frightened. put this in perspective. we have had three rect cases of ebola in this country. thomas duncan who entered the u.s. while harboring ebola and who flew through brussels to get here. nina pham and the other nurse who became infected while treating mr. duncan. we need to act urgently, but we need not to panic. what we need to do is learn what we need to do, what mistakes we have made, and not repeat them. we want to find out what happened in texas health presbyterian hospital, how c.d.c., state and local health officials can improve procedures moving forward. we should also use this as a wake-up call to assure the adequacy of our own public health and preparedness safety net. we need to be prepared before a

crisis hits, not scrambling to respond after the crisis. in the past decade, the ability to fund research and public health programs has declined here in the united states. since 2006, c.d.c.'s budget, adjusted for inflation, has dropped by 12%. funding for the public health emergency preparedness cooperative agreement which regulates state preparedness activities has been cut from $1 bhill bill in its first year of 12 million 2, to $6 in 2014. all of these were also subject to the sequestration. so to allow that sequestration allowed - so those who e government to close,

sequestration, have to answer to the american pep public as well. based on what we know, texas presbyterian would have not met c.d.c. standards. although, in fairness, i suspect much hospitals all over the country would have struggled to respond. this is a problem we have to solve. mr. chairman, before i run out of time, i want to go to health care workers and volunteers, those treating ebola victims in the u.s. and those who have traveled to west africa to help during this outbreak. it is a dangerous work they are doing. they are putting themselves in danger to save lives and preserve -- and they deserve our thanks and our praise. i also want to thank all of our witnesses. you have my confidence. i thank you for joining us today to provide answers to help stop the current outbreak in africa and how to improve our public health systems to avoid the next public crisis. i am ending my career at the end of this year. but i have been through so many

hearings where when there is a crisis we have congressmen sit and point fingers. let's point fingers at all of those responsible. we have our share of responsibility by not funding. in africa, they have no infrastructure. we have to help them many build infrastructure, and we should have not these irrationale budget cuts. >> i would like to introduce our witnesses. . tom frieden, c.d.c., dr. fauci, the national institutes of health. dr. robertson, advanced research and development authority within the office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the united states department of health and human services. r. luciana borio, the assistant commission ergs for u.s. counter-terrorism policy at

the u.s. food and drug administration. dr. wagoner, u.s. department of homeland security. joining us today on video conference from texas will be dr. daniel varga, senior vice president at texas health resources. joining us in a moment. i will now swear in the witnesses. you are all what ware -- all aware the committee is holding an investigation and when doing so has the practice of taking testimony under oath. do any of you have an objection to giving testimony under oath? >> no. >> no. >> the witnesses say no. dr. varga? >> no. >> you are entitled to be advised by counsel. advisedf you wish to be by counsel during your testimony today? >> no. >> no. >> everyone answers no.

>> that case, please rise, and i will swear you in. raise your right hand. do you swear the testimony you are about to give is the truth k, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> i do. >> i do. >> i do. >> i do. >> thank you, doctors. you are now subject to the penalties in title 18. of the u.s. code. we call upon you to give a five-minute opening statement. dr. frieden, you are recognized first. >> thank you, committee members. i very much appreciate the opportunity to come before you to discuss the ebola epidemic and our response to protect americans. my name is dr. tom frieden. i am trained as a physician. i'm trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases. i completed the c.d.c.