Chairman Thompson and Committee on Homeland Security to Investigate TB Incident at Hearing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
On Wednesday, June 6, 2007, the House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing entitled “The XDR Tuberculosis Incident: A Poorly Coordinated Federal Response to an Incident with Homeland Security Implications.” This hearing is designed to identify the shortfalls in our systems, and discuss ways that we can fix those problems.
Specifically, the hearing will focus on the communication and notification policies and procedures between federal agencies and international entities; the process by which the CDC attempted to prevent an infected individual from crossing into the United States; the Department of Homeland Security’s delay in placing the individual on a “no-fly” list and the procedures by which the Department screens visitors coming across our northern and southern borders; the breakdown of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to prevent the infected individual from crossing the Canadian border; the level of medical preparedness and awareness that exists among CBP agents; and the policies, procedures, and capabilities that our nation possesses to isolate and quarantine an infected person once he/she enters the U.S.
This incident represents a real world test of our national systems of border security and disease control, and proves that we, as a nation, have a great deal of work to do.
Confirmed Witnesses:
-Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Homeland Security
-Mr. W. Ralph Basham, Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection
-Dr. Martin Cetron, Director, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007 @ 10am
311 Cannon House Office Building
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano or Todd Levett at (202) 225-9978
