The government accountability office,
the GAO has released a report that's been described, I think rightfully so
as scathing in relation to the country's ability to whether things like pandemics,
weather disasters and bioterrorism attacks.
And I'm glad that they have this report because the last couple of years there
hasn't really been anything to let us know that our country is not prepared
to weather these things didn't done.
Anyway they say that they're designating health and human services leadership and
coordination of public health emergencies as a high risk area for the government.
That is terrifying by the way.
We're covering this and I'm glad that we are but how is this not a bigger topic?
These are huge calamities that could potentially hit us and
things like pandemics sure they only happened constantly but
whether disasters are multiple times a year and were simply not prepared.
Let's give you some more details.
They say longstanding persistent deficiencies at HHS quote have hindered
the nation's response to the current COVID-19 pandemic and
a variety of past threats.
If left unaddressed, these deficiencies will continue to hamper the nation's
ability to be prepared for and effectively respond to future threats.
And they gave me ideas of what some of these shortfalls might include things
like managing the medical supply chain, coordinating with federal and
state agencies and providing clear and consistent communication to the public and
the health care community.
And I think the panel can probably agree that all of these have been very clear and
constant issues even during the pandemic that we're still weathering but
Anna what are your thoughts about this report?
>> My thoughts are it is fine and dandy that the GAO has put out this report.
The question is what will be done about it?
And I hate to be a downer but if we need to rely on Congress to allocate
the necessary resources for this nothing will be done.
So we will be just as ill prepared for weather emergencies will be just
as ill prepared for any type of public health issue or emergencies.
It's just that's the reality that we're dealing with right now and
so we have to think about what we can do as ordinary people to
apply pressure to Congress to get them to listen to us, right.
That's really what we need to focus on in addition to being strategic electorally
and all of that.
Because if we just have these reports and we just assume that something will be done
about it, we will be disappointed and we will continue running into these issues.
>> Yeah and Anna you always say the fish rots from the head down and
this is it's so true in this case with COVID.
I mean, what an exposure of the failures of American Healthcare and
supposedly the best health care in the world, right?
And American Information and all kinds of things just any kind of coordination.
This is what happens when you allow basically libertarian psychos who
only care about their own pocketbooks to run government for 40 years.
Like oops, sees then there's a pandemic, there's a natural disaster.
We might need a government.
Hey, that's cool and sadly, as someone who grew up very, I mean,
becoming politicized so critical of the electoral system,
so done with the two parties and you just when you want to throw it all out.
As Anna says, we got to put the pressure on because we don't have a choice,
everyone says.
I mean whether it's climate stuff or whether it's the pandemic, you're
not gonna mobilize the amount of money and personnel that is needed to attack these
things, to address these things without the Federal Government on board.
It's just not gonna happen without that money but I'm glad there's
some sort of oversight, at least a little bit of a post mortem check in,
what did we do wrong get still going.
But it is scary to me like HHS the fact that like CDC and HHS are so
separate and it seems like HHS has been kind of hamstrung and
sidelined and like that's where the public health part is.
CDC is where like the emergency response and what do we do?
How is that? Well, the CDC has been screwing up for
a long time, let's be real.
They're trying but they can't do enough because truly this is going to be endemic.
We need to make this a public health priority.
We need Medicare for all, but
we need to address this as a Public Health Crisis and HHLS needs to be involved.
>> Yeah, totally and look, we're, I think understandably focusing mainly
on the pandemic that were already in but let's bear in mind, we've had scares
in the past decade with bird flu and swine flu and those sorts of things.
Just because we have COVID all over America and all throughout the world,
doesn't mean that other viruses are any less likely to go wild.
So bear that in mind as well, as the issues that we have with natural
disasters being exacerbated by climate change and those sorts of things and
my issue is that we cannot afford to be behind.
We have these sorts of shortfalls that they've identified in literally anyway,
because we know that no matter how prepared HHS or DHS or Fema or
whatever are there going to be weighed down by now established and
indisputable lack of willingness to participate on much of
the American Public's part with these sorts of things.
So like, for instance, leading senators on both parties,
it says released draft legislation this week, calling for
a close study of the pandemic and an overhaul of HHS capabilities.
So they wanna see what we did wrong and fix it.
Okay, cross your fingers that something like that.
If they identified a solution could even pass because we're looking at
this as my God HHS and CDC they might not be prepared.
There's like 50 million people that don't want them to be prepared for
literally anything.
They think that they're staffed entirely by satanists.
So like we need to bear that there cannot be a gap in in the capabilities
of these organizations.
Because we know that we're already gonna run up against so many issues with getting
people to comply even with accurate, well transmitted, easy to follow information.
The supply chain needs to be there because we're already gonna have enough
trouble getting people to actually use the things if they're made available.
>> Yeah. >> Yean,
in fact just to lend some meat to your argument which is a good one
in the same one of the articles talking about this GAO report.
They comment or they use a quote coming from Republican Senator Richard Burr and
he just used it as an opportunity to say negative things about our institutions
because he's a Republican lawmaker.
He doesn't believe in them.
So he was talking about how the CDC is a mess and
they're putting out conflicting information and confusing people but
John if I remember correctly wasn't Richard Burr?
One of those senators who was part of that closed door Coronavirus
briefing in the very beginning of the pandemic who then later on went and
traded stocks that would be negatively impacted by the pandemic and
then bought stocks that would be helped by the pandemic?
And then he went and told Americans that there was nothing to worry about.
>> Yeah >> So like for
him to be used as a quote in any news article regarding confusing people or
spreading misinformation is it's just Rich.
It really is.
>> Yeah >> No and
that's I mean this is the other thing about Biden's handling of the pandemic
that really bothers me to be honest is again the Cavaliernous with which he has
said that he can stop the virus.
Well he can't, nobody can, it is there it is.
We again, unprecedented was the word on everyone's lips two years ago for
a reason this thing mutates it changes.
So what can we do to mitigate the damage?
Of course the vaccine is part of that,
of course that rollout is part of that but so is hazard pay.
So is the ability to heal and stay home and
I know we're gonna talk about that a little bit later.
So I just wish there was more humility from the Federal Government and
more of a like all right, we can't just like Bruce Willis our way through this and
whereas the ones we're like we're going to Donald Trump our way through it
which is like the pandemic called me fat.
How dare you, whatever it was like like I'm personally offended,
you're just a six and so like, but
then the the alternative of like Biden's like, well I'm gonna tough it out.
It's like, no, no, no, no, everyone needs a bow down and
we need to solve this and not on a patchwork level.
My God, have you felt any more atomized as a country than
watching every state do something a little bit different for
a period of three weeks until we change strategies.
>> Yeah >> Terrifying.