(CNN) Rick Bright, the ousted director of a crucial federal office charged
with developing countermeasures to infectious diseases, testified
before Congress on Thursday that the US will face an even worse crisis
without additional preparations to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
"Our
window of opportunity is closing," Bright said. "Without better
planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history."
Bright
criticized the Trump administration for failing to implement a
"standard, centralized, coordinated plan" to combat the virus and
questioned its timeline for a vaccine. His testimony came a week after
filing a whistleblower complaint alleging he was fired from his job
leading the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for
opposing the use of a drug frequently touted by President Donald Trump
as a potential coronavirus treatment.
About
an hour before Bright's hearing, Trump tweeted that he had "never met"
or "even heard of" Bright, but considers the NIH senior adviser a
"disgruntled employee, not liked or respected by people I spoke to and
who, with his attitude, should no longer be working for our government!"
Before
the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee,
Bright urged the Trump administration to consider a number of actions,
including increasing production of essential equipment and establishing
both a national test strategy and a national standard of procurement of
supplies. He calls on top officials to "lead" through example and wear
face coverings and social distance.
Bright
claimed that the administration missed "early warning signals" to
prevent the spread of the virus. He said that he would "never forget" an
email from Mike Bowen, the hearing's other witness and the vice
president of the medical supply company Prestige Ameritech, indicating
that the US supply of N95, the respirator masks used by health care
professionals, was at a perilous level.
Rick Bright's full House opening statement
"He said, 'We're in deep shit,'" testified Bright. "'The world is.'"
Bright said he "pushed" that warning "to the highest levels" he could at Health and Human Services but received "no response."
"From
that moment, I knew that we were going to have a crisis for health care
workers because we were not taking action," said Bright. "We were
already behind the ball."
In his
written statement, Bright blamed the leadership of HHS for being
"dismissive" of his "dire predictions." Bright wrote that he knew the US
had a "critical shortage of necessary supplies" and personal protective
equipment during the first three months of the year and prodded HHS to
boost production of masks, respirators, syringes and swabs to no avail.
He alleged that he faced "hostility and marginalization" from HHS
officials after he briefed White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and
members of Congress "who better understood the urgency to act."
More of CNN's coronavirus coverage
- Map: Covid-19's spread across the US
- Reopening: Where your state stands
- Photos: Giving birth during a pandemic
- Video: How to know if you should still be traveling yet
- Guide: How to help and get help
- Q&A: How does soap kill coronavirus?
And
he charged that he was removed from his post at BARDA and transferred
to "a more limited and less impactful position" at NIH after he
"resisted efforts to promote" the "unproven" drug chloroquine.
A
Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson responded that it
was "a personnel matter that is currently under review" but said it
"strongly disagrees with the allegations and characterizations."
Bright
is seeking to be reinstated to his position as the head of BARDA. The
Office of Special Counsel, which is reviewing Bright's complaint, has
determined that was a "substantial likelihood of wrongdoing" in removing
him from his post, according to Bright's attorneys.
Rep.
Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat and the panel's chairwoman, said
Bright "was the right person, with the right judgment, at the right
time."
"We can't have a system
where the government fires those who get it right and reward those who
get it completely wrong," added Eshoo.
Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Eshoo's opening statement at Bright hearing
In
his testimony, Bright also cast doubt on the Trump administration's
goal of manufacturing a vaccine in 12 to 18 months as overly optimistic,
calling it "an aggressive schedule" and noting that it usually takes up
to 10 years to make a vaccine.
"My
concern is if we rush too quickly, and consider cutting out critical
steps, we may not have a full assessment of the safety of that vaccine,"
Bright said. "So, it's still going to take some time."
Some Republicans on the subcommittee said that the hearing shouldn't have been held at all.
Rep.
Michael Burgess of Texas, the top Republican on the panel, said "every
whistleblower needs to be heard," but added the hearing was "premature"
and a "disservice" to the Special Counsel's investigation since Bright's
complaint was filed only a week ago.
And
Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina claimed that the
hearing was not about the whistleblower complaint but "undermining the
Administration during a national and global crisis."
Thursday's
subcommittee meeting comes two days after a blockbuster hearing in the
Senate that featured Dr. Anthony Fauci, who leads the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci said that access to a vaccine
in time for the fall school year would be "a bit of a bridge too far"
and warning against some schools opening too soon, which Trump later
called "not an acceptable answer."
Fauci
testified from his modified quarantine at home since he had made
contact with a White House staffer who tested positive. But Bright
appeared masked and in-person for his hearing on Capitol Hill, as did
the lawmakers who questioned him. Many members of the House have steered
clear of Capitol Hill since the onset of the outbreak, although they
are expected to return on Friday to vote on a multi-trillion dollar
Democratic bill responding to the crisis.