DeLauro Statement on Trump Administration Delaying Release of CDC Reopening Guidance

WASHINGTON, DC — (May 7, 2020) Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, released the following statement on reports that the Trump Administration has delayed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to local leaders and the public on how to reopen businesses and transit safely in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As states and localities looks towards reopening their economies, it is critical that they have the best guidance possible from medical experts at the CDC. Science must dictate our response to this public health and economic crisis, and there is no replacement for the CDC's sound advice. Without it, confusion and dissonant opinions will take hold. The White House should stop blocking this critical document's release so the CDC can help people understand what they and their communities should be doing to stay safe weeks and months ahead."

"The Trump administration's continued abdication of its leadership role in responding to the COVID-19 crisis is untenable. Yesterday, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations held a hearing and received expert testimony from Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director, and Dr. Caitlin Rivers, a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, who testified that we need a national plan for testing, contact tracing, quarantining, and isolation in order to tackle this pandemic. We are still stuck on the first step: we do not have enough tests. And there are no federal assurances that the CDC's recommendations for who should be tested are being followed."