“I cannot think of a better example of an area where we should all agree than passing this emergency funding to fight Ebola, and to set up some of the public health infrastructure that we need to deal with potential outbreaks in the future.” — Former President Barack Obama in 2014

The funds would have included millions of dollars for personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Strategic National Stockpile which is where much of the drastic shortages are being seen across the country in the current crisis. 

No one wants to hear it.  They would have to admit the dysfunction caused by the Tea Party and John Boehner and

the sequestration forced cuts to almost every department of the government.

The stockpile was the responsibility of of a Republican, now retired, who complained vociferously every year either the Obama or Trump Administration tried to lower the budget or Boehner or Ryan axed more $$ from the kitty.

Bottom line. Anthrax and other vaccines were completely replaced while PPE numbers lanquished.

marketwatch

That was ended in 2016, 1st. But can you explain to me this:

FEMA Report Warned of Pandemic Vulnerability Months before COVID-19

Posted in late July, the document foresaw many current impacts, including overwhelmed hospitals and disruptions in essential services

The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned last year that a pandemic caused by a novel strain of influenza would cripple the country‘s response capabilities by driving millions of people into overwhelmed hospitals.

The report, which was written before the new coronavirus first surfaced in China, offered these prescient predictions: The deluge of patients would create “a shortage of medical supplies, equipment, beds, and healthcare workers.”

FEMA‘s warning, issued in July, forecast with stunning accuracy the social, economic and personal devastation that the ongoing pandemic has caused.

The report, which has not been previously described, was drafted in collaboration with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other federal organizations.

With detail about widespread “social distancing” and “the overcrowding of hospitals and medical centers,” the federal government‘s disaster agency provides perhaps the strongest contradiction of President Trump‘s assertions that the scope of the current pandemic could not have been foreseen.

The report also undermines comments by FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor, who has sought to deflect responsibility for the pandemic‘s damage by saying the Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for public health. Gaynor was FEMA‘s deputy administrator when the report was published.

FEMA did not respond to questions emailed by E&E News yesterday morning.

A key section of the 37-page  report , which looks at various perils facing the nation, is a nine-sentence narrative under the headline “Pandemic Scenario.” It describes a sequence of catastrophes that would unfold as a “new (novel) strain of influenza virus” spreads across the United States and infects 30% of the populace......

The reports have raised questions about whether the Trump administration acted quickly enough to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States and whether the federal government should have been more prepared for the outbreak.

The reports also undermine Trump‘s statements that such a pandemic could not have been predicted.

“Nobody ever thought of numbers like this,” Trump said at a White House briefing on March 18, when the CDC reported 10,442 COVID-19 infections in the United States.

On March 19, when the CDC reported 15,219 domestic infections, Trump said: “Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this before.”

scientificamerican

Perrie - I understand what you're saying.  When I was conducting MarDef (Maritime Defense) for the 5th CG District, we would conduct numerous scenarios of "What Ifs" and try to determine our appropriate responses/actions/procedures for Maritime Defense.  Some would actually come to pass and we would put the action plans for that particular scenario into being.

The CDC and FEMA have been doing the exact same thing.  Not all their scenarios come to pass, which is a good thing.  Basically, it's an operation of "What ifs" which causes us to plan for each scenario.  The CG works with FEMA continually and I know about the planning.  Hell, we even had a plan for Katrina.  However, butttt, the storm got way bigger and more dangerous than our planning objectives hence the many flub ups by all involved.

Actually, and I believe someone has already posted the information, but a "pandemic" of this type was projected in 2004, but the planning process and action plans were not fully defined nor developed.  No, this pandemic is not "new" from the aspect that it hasn't been addressed - it has - just not fully enough.

And that is not this administration's error - Clinton and Bush and Obama's administrations did not step up to the board and develop, fully, what is needed now.  Now we are playing catch up and it's costing us in many ways.  But, I have faith in our systems and believe that this will be brought under control.

1st,

The purpose of funding and writing up these "what ifs" is for this very reason. If we are going to ignore them, why bother at all? What ever happens to "The buck stops here".

And it was me who posted the link before, but no one that I could see bothered to click on it, and I find that very frustrating since I always read the links. Glad you did. 

Medical devices were outsourced long before the 2.3% medical device tax came into existence. The tax is paid by the manufacturers and importers. So no matter where it manufactured tax is paid. Domestic production or foreign production and imported.  

It was in existence from 2013 until 2016 when it was suspended by Congress.

In Republican eagerness to tear down anything with the Obama name on it, they had no plans to replace anything with a comprehensive plan. Rather than improve and change ACA they work to tear it down no matter that it seriously impairs the health of their own voting base. Republicans are exactly like Trump in that they want nothing but a messaging war trying to spin every negative thing they do as a positive. Hand out Billions to Billionaires is their motto while jacking up the deficit to the stratosphere and then spinning it to their ignorant base as a "trickle down" move to help them. Now they have openly planned to destroy the entire safety net affecting many Veterans who are retired and in nursing homes. They care nothing for their own base other than the message. If the base is dumb enough to buy their same old schtick again then whoopee for Republicans.