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>> today results from an eight month investigation into sexual abuse of women in federal prisons with testimony from the director of the federal bureau of prisons and formerly incarcerated women before the homeland security and governmental affairs investigations subcommittee. what's the hearing tonight at 9 pm eastern on c-span2 or online at c-span.org. >> focus on the house select committee, alex is a health report from bloomberg government and history first, remind us when and why the select committee was established. >> thanks for having me. this is where at the very beginning of the outbreak of the coronavirus in april 2020 . really respond and sort of d keep investigative on top of

the general response. there was this real understanding the federal response i need like many other responses needed oversight. needed a body keep tabs on what the government was doing so it was started in april 2020 as congress is national check on what the federal government was doing in terms of responding to the virus. an opportunity to get officials in front of cameras and have ca very defined body to oversee how this was going to work. >> and our final report comes from the committee onfriday . there's a wrap-up hearing coming this week on capitol hill. why final report, like a wrap-up hearing if it is not over yet ? >> this congress is over, select subcommittees like this one are by their charter required to begin with endpoints but you have a good point. the committee itself really does actually have a big debate about how hard they should keep going. democrats haveset our job is

not finished yet . many on the subcommittee pulled reporters we have work to do. there are financial institutions that took advantage of pandemic programs that need investigation. they still want to look hard at some of these things. republicans take over, it's their choice whether ornot to restart this . this is a big question for the next beaker, kevin mccarthy. he's got a choice if he wants to bring this up. a lot of republicans have said there's work undone here . almost all this work was focused on the trump administration, those early 2020 years and they want to turn the spotlight on to the biden administration. they have not had a perfect response and i think that there's a lot of earnest interest in turning this body at least oversight itself onto the most recent two years where the biden in ministration is functioning and what the government could do also any congressional body it has a political advantage. i want to turn this on the biden administration to show,

to gain political points. >> what was the re recommendation that came from that report that came out on friday ? >> it's a very long list and i would recommend readers take a look. it's broad like the pandemic response these recommendations are quite broad. they are things like having a better look at some of those pandemic sponsored programs the paycheck protection program. looking at anti-fraud programs, and improving our response is the huge one. one of this rule the things this report, the thsenate has had reports on this and there's been lots of looks at how the us fell flat on its face in transport. it failed to meet up, what is arguably the best country in the world . we have one of the best health institutions and we did not fare as well. >> ..

for the past everyone aso filters over the past two years or so since this outbreak came. there is been this real challenge particularly from the cdc, all of the directors that have been a through covid have experienced this. it's how to describe to americans what we should be doing and how we can protect ourselves. it's been very difficultur and i think one after another there's been this challenge in this push and pull in the subcommittee report does go over this about us both to communicate, what exactly is our responsibility and how we keep ourselves safe against the virus. that's been a real challenge i think. it's been like that for a long time. it's been a real job for people understand what we need to do.

people ask themselves a lot, everybody has family members come friend to ask themselves do i need boosters? am i protected against this? what aboutut the next step? how to like about my life? i think the cdc has had a challenge getting those messages out to americans. >> host: alex ruoff is with us in the segment of "washington journal" and with us until the bottom of the hour at 9:30 a.m. eastern time. if you want to join the conversation it is 202-748-8001 for republicans. democrats 202-748-8000. independents 202-748-8002. use health reporter from bloomberg government has been tracking thein work of the selet committee on thehe coronavirus crisis. what are you expecting from this hearing this week? >> guest: at the big wrapups of some of that will be about the future. the expectations for everyone and their members about what should come by these recommendations. this is a little bit of a bitter

subcommittee. there's been discussion among the members about where the focus should be. that will be a big fight. republicans have said this report and a lot of this work has been unfairly focused just on the trump administration. a lot of this hearing or one of the things i'm hoping to hear is about the future, is about where congress is going to turn its focus now. we are two years into this. there's a lot of interest and there is a lot to discuss about where congress should go, where should it invest, who should invest tax dollar money, when his attention to go in terms of policy changes. i think to improve but what many people know is a real difficult situation is our public institutions ready if we face another outbreak of another disease? or godf for bid another version of covid that challenges the country. >> host: has this committee looked at the origins of covid? >> guest: no. that is been a sticking point particularly across both parties. republicans have really vowed to

make this a focus. there is almost any committee out torisdiction as set do this. rand paul and acidity takes over government affairs committee in the senate, that's a real point of his. energy and commerce in the house oversight and a house as well they of all really said this has been something we want to discuss. i think democrats feel rejected the idea of doing it. i don't think is that high priority for them, particularly over the last congress. >> host: we will have you chat with aav few callers. jeff in new york independent good morning. >> caller: good morning. i would like to propose that one of the problems that we don't politicize infighting public health --ic [inaudible] one of the problems we just talked about. and we don't have enough money to actually implement efforts

adequately for the next pandemic. or for that matter for public health which is sorely underfunded. what needs to be done is some public health -- [inaudible] so people participate in inviting -- [inaudible] and they become -- and available. i have received no response except polite comments. thank you. >> host: on that question, the politicizing of public health funding. how much is the committee focus on that? >> guest: they are and authorizing committee. they have said this been underfunded for a long time. this iss a debate currently. congress is debating right now i year-long spending bill and this is a sticking point about whether how much money need to

go into domestic programs and a lot of that, a lot of mouths to feed in that area. there's been a lot of discussion when we need to boost domestic spending which pushes all the way down to the health side and public health is sort of a subset of that. this all feeds into when you talk to appropriators they will say we do want to fund this but the federal government has a a lot of mouths to feed. they get a big boost it goes very broadly. there is a real discussion about wanting to do this but whether or not we see it this year is really undecided. we have called for it year after year but that deep long-term investment has yet to appear. >> host: to chicago this is pete, flying for democrats. that morning. you are on with alex ruoff. >> caller: good morning, c-span. how are you this morning? i wanted to see what all the shots were going to do. so what i did was i took the johnson & johnson shot, then i went in and i took both the

moderna boosters, and then this past september i went in and i got the pfizer, the new pfizer booster. and i also got the flu shot. now, the information that people are putting outin here going on the internet and whatever these websites are putting out, i didn't find anything with the shots, and i got a brother who's on a disability.ot he got moderna, moderna's boosters, pfizer booster. he got the flu shot and pneumonia shot. and my s other brother got his shots, too, and we are still alive. so we only got 40% of people in this country who have taken the new booster, and only 62% are fully vaccinated. soul why doesn't our citizens in

the united states get on the ball out here, do what you're supposed to do? this vaccine is not going to kill you. it's going to keep you out of the hospital. thank you. >> host: on vaccination rates in this country. >> guest: that's a good point. i talked a lot of public health people come particularly our reporters. one of our public health reporters, done great work here, but it's a real myriad of reasons. i believe some of it a lot of people just accessibility, time. this happened with the flupl sht every year. people know they need to get things like they're boosters or the flu shots but scheduling, we are busy people and that really does reduce it. there is are combination of this the culmination of factors of one, people don't necessarily feel they need it. people often -- i think it's up to a lot, up to the public health officials to describe the real need for it to drive

booster campaigns but i think there was a lot of it. when you ask people about it i believe this is also me, there's uncertainty that were should all be onle our schedules at a think that's really part and parcel of our health system, it's hard to keep on top of it. that's a big public health issue that we all kind of have to deal with in our allies is whether or not knowing when you need to get boosters, when you need to get vaccines and pushed them forward. >> host: one of your recent stories, americans could have to pay for their covid shot starting next year. explain. >> guest: well, so there's been a lack of this public funding to buy vaccines. the federal government starting early in your started warning its running out of money to put its covid vaccines out. congress, particularly republicans in congress have been reluctant to give them a big boost of funds. s some point the white house will run out of money. they say sometime around january of this year, sort of depends on how when you go out the door. they won't be able to buy

anymore. they will have the money to send out free vaccines. this has been a big part of kind of where we are in 2022 versus 2021 where every thing related to covid was supposed to be free. one of the early pandemic packages i believe it was cares really sit if you need treatment, you need to ask, you need vaccines, all of that should be paid for by your insurance company because the federal government is providing all this. that's less and less. at-home tests, the program has really tried that. the program for the a nature that is completely dried up of funds. the white house is warning it when he adamantly for vaccines. what it has propose and i think what people are embracing a shifting it back over to where of the vaccines are what you pay a co-pay foryo your flu vaccines or, and a lot of other adult vaccines. they are going to really supposedly shift this back into the public realm, and like anything else when a government buys itov in both in millions of doses it's cheaper and the

person is getting it will receive really' very few -- i do was to get for free so when you take it. future if it privatizers you should expect to pay money because it's going to insurance, being bought by the hospitals. there is pressure the hospitals taking on this cost of it will pass it on to you. >> host: to laura out of baltimore in independent. good morning. >> caller: thank you. good morning. i'm in my seventh day of isolation with covid, and i have looked -- i'm fully vaccinated, both vaccines, and two boosters and as soon as i can i'm going to start getting boosters every couple of months because i do not want to get this again. i was looking this stuff up while i am stuck at home and i'm grateful to have placed isolate. if somebody doesn't have a comfortable place, god help them. i'm going to say that, i want to

talk about the neurological effects of even a mild covid infection. there have been studies out of the uk and i think in just 2022 this year that there is neurological damage from even a mild covid infection. and the loss of smell is not your nose is stopped up and you lost your smell. it's a brain, a neurological damage and we don't know the effects of this. it clearly hasn't been studied enough and i think about writing you and a mild covid infection was going to damage your brain, a lot more people would be getting vaccinated. that's my comments. thank you. >> host: anything you want to say? >> guest: no. i think this is an interesting aspect to this, is the real damages to covid and what is the real threat at this point of the virus to us all? there's been a lot of interest in puttingf more studies into

long covid and read this question about really where our risk levels are. this is something i think all of us have had to deal with. this idea of where our risks are and where we can place them. it's a challenge we all face, having to get back and live our lives come similar children to school, going to work and living withth the risk of this virus existing. i think that's a real, this goes back to the public health questions. i think that face the cdc. tried to describe to people where your risks are, you can reduce your risks of being sick, of facing real harm i think it's a challenge i don't envy. i'm ' communicator and do something i can't possibly explain to other people myself so i think it's a real challenge we are facing in the world we are now where covid continues to exist and circulate in our communities. we are all going back to work incident being expected to exist

in a world we are back in the public. >> host: about ten minutes left with alex ruoff a bloomberg. let me come back to the select committee on the coronavirus crisis. the open investigation last year on telemedicine platforms that were prescribing unproven treatments. whatever happened with that? >> guest: i believe that is one of the open ended partly open and parts of this. report goes in very deeply on a series of websites that started, places where you can go, you can get like an online visit. a lot of them were prescribing hydro- chloroquine, i i apoloe if i mispronouncing these words, but series of things that a guesshi were popular in certain communities over really unproven testing, when proven treatments for covid, the report did fine really that there was a huge i guess can they call it a gold rush or funding rush to get these out for people to get these docs to get and they were

really acting against that. one of the reports interesting is a lot t of this was supposed beheaded by medical boards which have real uncertain place on the internet where that care can be sought anywhere. covid broke down those barriers. typically need to be seen by doctor in your state. covid because the relaxed some of these rules about where you can be in the docs you can see and desert had this change affect a lot a of telehealth and medicine became online and there was a lot of hospitals and health centers embrace of that. and for a lot of good things. this is one thing they said may have been an opportunity for people to sort of take advantage and they kind of came up and went down. it's an interesting for an interesting look at where things kind of rose and fell. there's a broader question the report reads and about where online not unlike -- >> we are going to leave this program to keep our more than 40 year commitment to live coverage of congress. the senate