Lawmakers ask President Trump to restore interagency communications

Eighty-four members of Congress have written to President Trump expressing concerns about his actions regarding the CDC and USDA that will negatively impact the nation’s ability to ensure that bird flu does not become widespread among people.

United States Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, leads the 83 other lawmakers in the effort to change the president’s mind about measures he has taken that they believe will hamper the U.S. Department of Agruculture’s and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s efforts in containing bird flu, also known as H5N1.

The virus has already infected 70 people and killed one. More than 970 dairy herds in the United States have been infected and the virus has resulted in the culling of more than 157 million commercial poultry.

Since becoming president, Trump has restricted communication between the CDC and the USDA, making it impossible for the agencies to collaborate on the nation’s response to bird flu.

“The most effective way to cut through agency bureaucracy, which you claim to be in favor of, would be to increase agency communication with Congress, stakeholders, and the public,” the lawmakers’ letter states.

The virus has already mutated, with a second strain infecting a dairy herd in Nevada. So far, human H5N1 infections have largely led to mild illnesses, according to the lawmakers, however the two cases of severe illness in North America were associated with this new variant, including a Louisiana resident who died, and a British Columbia teen who was in critical condition.

“Failure to restore full interagency information sharing and public health communications continues to harm the U.S. Response to H5N1,” according to the members of Congress.

In a statement about the lawmakers’ letter to the president, DeLauro said the gag order has harmed the response to prevent the spread of H5N1, and the government must be allowed to resume interagency communications and the sharing of critical public health information.

“Your Administration must act quickly to address this crisis,” the lawmakers wrote. “Viruses will not wait for this Administration to lift its gag order or for agencies to restart their collaboration and information sharing before they spread or mutate. It is clear that these interfering short-sighted actions by your Administration will cause significant harm. This interference must end.

“We know you would not like to see another deadly pandemic unfold under your watch. [T]hus, we await your swift action to completely lift the pause on external communications by public health agencies, commit to cross-agency collaboration on H5N1, and work to get every necessary state enrolled in the National Milk Testing Strategy.”

Last week, the USDA confirmed that it fired several agency employees working on the federal response to H5N1. The Administration “prioritizing” their bird flu response and firing of federal employees actively working on this worsening outbreak cannot both coexist, according to the lawmakers.

The members of Congress also asked President Trump to encourage all states to engage in the National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) to facilitate comprehensive H5N1 detection in the nation’s milk supply. 

In addition to sending their letter to President Trump, the lawmakers copied Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. 

You can read the full letter here.