On January 31st, Secretary Azar declared COVID-19 a public health emergency.

It is difficult to overstate this disease's devastating impact.

I think this was extremely reckless, and unfortunately, it continues the President's pattern of ignoring the advice of his own public health experts.

Public health must also be our first consideration as we accelerate research into a vaccine and treatments for COVID-19.

On top of the raw devastation of this disease, this committee must confront the fact that, had it not been for a sluggish initial response from the Trump administration, and a President in my opinion putting political considerations over…

Now President Trump refuses to even acknowledge the challenges we face and the difficult work that must be done to prevent further destruction.

Today, the Energy and Commerce Committee continues its important work overseeing the administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Administration's unwillingness to face these hard truths I think will lead to more deaths and more needless suffering.

These long-term trends are rooted in several social determinants that are often driven by structural discrimination.

I think the HEROES Act is really important in this regard.

We have long known that people of color experience disparities in healthcare in the United States.

The tragic result of these long-term trends is that people of color are more likely to suffer from underlying health conditions, and have a much harder time gaining access to care.