When hardworking families in Central Texas observe the American media today, they are barraged with messages of partisan, political fighting that makes one question whether our nation’s leaders are truly leading.
This has worsened over the past few weeks as some have used the coronavirus outbreak for political purposes. This is unfortunate, as it creates fear instead of confidence in our government and our health care systems.
I am writing to set the record straight on this issue.
First, the U.S. is the best-prepared nation in the world to deal with this virus. Second, the current risk for Americans is low. Third, we need to be vigilant and practice good personal hygiene protocols. Lastly, there is no need for panic or political gamesmanship.
As I write this, 227 cases and 12 deaths from the coronavirus have been confirmed in the U.S. While these statistics are important, it’s wise to keep them in perspective.
For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since October 2019, between 32 and 45 million Americans have been diagnosed with the flu, which has caused between 18,000 to 46,000 deaths. These numbers are staggering compared to the coronavirus, but are lower than any flu season so far since the CDC began reporting flu season statistics in 2010.
Last year President Trump signed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act into law. The law established the Infectious Disease Rapid Response Fund to set up a robust framework to respond to this type of disease threat.
More broadly speaking, this law strengthens our country’s emergency response workforce, improves government coordination, and accelerates the advanced research, development and federal purchasing of medical countermeasures.
In January, the president suspended entry into the U.S. by certain foreign nationals from China and later expanded restrictions to travelers from South Korea, Iran and Italy. While he has been criticized for these actions, they have proven to be proper in light of the fact that the U.S. has the lowest infection rate of any modern society in the world.
The CDC has also greatly expanded the number of laboratories able to test for coronavirus, allowing for quicker test results and treatment.
A few days ago, Congress took another strong step to let the American people know that the government is working to make sure they are safe.
After some partisan delay tactics by Speaker Pelosi in late February, my House colleagues and I united on a bipartisan basis on March 4 to appropriate about $8 billion in funding to deal with this virus, including substantial funding for the Rapid Response Fund. Passage of this supplemental funding bill will allow the federal, state and local government agencies to address the virus at home and abroad.
The bill includes over $4 billion to make much needed diagnostic tests more broadly available, $2.2 billion to the CDC, nearly $1 billion for state and local response efforts, and $1.3 billion to protect Americans abroad and to prevent the spread of the virus worldwide.
Today, the CDC and National Institute of Health are better able to detect the virus and accelerate testing for a vaccine because of the support of Congress. Since 2015, Congress has increased NIH funding by 39%, CDC funding by 24%, and advanced biomedical research by 35%.
Also, since 2015, the institute has received more than $23 billion dedicated to the study of infectious diseases.
The U.S. has never been more prepared to handle the coronavirus.
In the last 20 years, the federal government has dealt with several outbreaks including the West Nile virus and ebola. These and other diseases originated internationally and spread to the U.S. They have tested the limits of our pandemic defenses, and each time America has risen to the challenge and, ultimately, eliminated each threat.
Certain elements of the American media and pundits on TV have attempted to paint a picture of a government in chaos. This could not be further from the truth. The experts who have spent their careers studying infectious diseases have praised President Trump and his administration.
John Auerbach, president of the Trust for America’s Health, called the response from the CDC “excellent.”
The best thing Texans and their families can do is use common-sense prevention methods recommended by the CDC. If you are feeling sick, stay home, cover your mouth when you sneeze and vigorously wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds.
As a parent and grandparent, I understand the uncertainty and anxiety many Texans are feeling. That said, we need to remember that the facts demonstrate our nation is prepared and that there is no reason for panic. There is no better equipped country to stop the coronavirus than the U.S.
Each of us, working together with our government agencies, will beat this disease, protect our citizens and be an exemplary international example of how to deal with threats of this nature.
Bill Flores was elected as U.S. representative for the 17th District in 2010. His final term of office ends this year.
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