A group of Democratic U.S. Senators will introduce a bill to establish a commission to examine the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The commission would be charged with reviewing the government’s coronavirus response and make recommendations on how it can be improved. The bill is sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Edward Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
“The coronavirus showed just how unprepared and slow we were to respond to a major outbreak. And that lack of readiness endangered lives,” Feinstein said. “We weren’t able to ramp up testing, we didn’t have enough safety equipment for doctors and nurses, and we lacked any kind of consistent federal guidelines for states and cities. We know this won’t be the last outbreak, so a 9/11 Commission-style panel is necessary to fix these mistakes going forward and apply the lessons from this pandemic to future crises.”
A companion bill introduced in the House was sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and cosponsored by Reps. Gilbert Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), David Trone (D-MD), and Denny Heck (D-WA).
“Keeping residents safe in dangerous times is a fundamental responsibility of government. Yet the past two months have made clear that the federal government was unprepared to confront the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, let alone both at the same time,” Harris said. “I’m proud to help introduce this bill because we must carefully document government’s actions and mistakes in order to correct them when preparing and responding to future crises. The commission needs to take a holistic approach to oversight, and cannot leave out an analysis of the disturbing disparity in prevention and health outcomes in the Black community.”
The commission would be composed of 10 members, with the same partisan balance as the 9/11 commissioners. Current federal officials would be prohibited from participating. Members would come from a variety of backgrounds in relevant fields, including public health, epidemiology, emergency preparedness, armed services, and intelligence.
The commission would provide a full accounting to the president, Congress, and the American people of the facts and circumstances related to the outbreak.
“Once we overcome this heartbreaking crisis, the American people deserve to understand how and why we were so unprepared. Our future depends on it. A nonpartisan, independent investigation – much like what was conducted after 9/11 – is absolutely necessary to understand the mistakes that were made and develop the lessons learned,” Blumenthal said.
The commission would be established in February 2021.
“It is tragically clear how unprepared the Trump administration was to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The families of the nearly 18,000 Americans who have already died due to this deadly virus deserve answers, and we need to learn how to better respond to future emergencies. A bipartisan commission will allow for an impartial investigation in order to ensure the safety of our country in the face of future emergencies, as well as provide information on how to align our budget priorities to tackle such an unconventional national security threat. The coronavirus is not the first biothreat our country has faced, and it will not be the last,” Markey said.