Letter comes ahead of Director Cohen’s testimony before Oversight Subcommittee

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), on behalf of the Health and Oversight subcommittee Republicans, today wrote to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen, who is slated to testify before the Oversight Subcommittee tommorrow, November 30.

KEY LETTER EXCERPTS: 

“The Centers for Disease Control and Protection’s (CDC) failure to communicate accurate information in real-time during the COVID-19 pandemic has undermined public trust in the agency. If the CDC is to regain credibility with the American people, it must be transparent and forthcoming with the information it has on public health threats facing our nation.

“It is widely known that China thwarted international efforts, including efforts by the CDC, to respond to the burgeoning COVID-19 crisis as it began to unfold in China. Even the World Health Organization (WHO), which has long been criticized for being overly accommodating to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has called China’s decision to withhold information from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic ‘simply inexcusable.’

“The WHO has now called on China to provide epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results, on the reported pneumonia clusters among children, in addition to information on recent trends of known pathogen circulation. It would be an abdication of the CDC’s duty to the American people if it allows China to repeat its misdeeds from the COVID-19 pandemic. The American people should not have to rely on the unaccountable and untrustworthy WHO to communicate information about Chinese public health threats. Further, we cannot allow the CCP to block the CDC from accessing the information it needs to protect Americans and assist in appropriate public health response efforts.” 

The Chairs requested bi-weekly briefings and answers to the following questions by December 13, 2023: 

1. Has the CDC engaged with or interacted with its Chinese counterparts with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia? 
2. If yes, when did the CDC and its Chinese counterparts first interact with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia? Who initiated this interaction? 
3. At any point did the CDC’s Chinese counterparts withhold information or fail to respond to the CDC in a timely manner with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia? Please detail each instance and the topic of inquiry that prompted such failure to respond in a timely manner.
4. What specific information, if any, has the CDC sought from China with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia?
5. What specific information, if any, has the CDC received from China with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia? Please detail the length of time it took China to respond to each inquiry for information.
6. What specific response efforts, if any, has the CDC offered to take part in with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia? 
7. What specific response efforts, if any, has the CDC taken part in, is actively taking part in, or plans to take part in with respect to the increased incidence of respiratory diseases and undiagnosed pneumonia? 
8. Has specific information on the outbreak been communicated to relevant federal agencies and/or key stakeholders, including: 

• The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); 
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); 
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH);
• The Surgeon General;
• Department of Defense;
• Other Federal entities; and/or 
• State and local public health officials

CLICK HERE to read the letter.