COVID–19 Strategic Testing for Workers, May 28, 2020 — Congressional Record, House
Summary
Page H2349 of the House section of the Congressional Record for May 28, 2020, headed COVID-19 testing for workers, in interleaved columns, from a House floor exchange. A speaker says the House passed extraordinary legislation over the last 2 months to help the American people, and another says Members cannot phone it in or do that remotely and must come back to work, which are their views. Another passage concerns an order for Tyson to conduct tests and a statement that more than 200 people connected to a plant were infected. Mr. Grothman is given permission to speak for 1 minute.
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“COVID–19 Strategic Testing for Workers, May 28, 2020 — Congressional Record, House.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-28-crec-2020-05-28-pt1-pgh2349-da2410e105/
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May 28, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2349
that. We have passed, as the gentleman look at the message that we are trying elect us, the people who make this
mentioned earlier, extraordinary legis- to send. And, yes, there are some country work so that we can come
lation through this House over the last places that you don’t have traffic on back here and represent them better.
2 months to ensure that the American the road because their officials have But we do have to come back here
people got the help they needed and chosen not to open as aggressively as and do the work. You can’t phone it in
that the economics of our country will others, using safety protocols. sometimes. You can’t do that re-
undergird it to the extent we could. So, No one is talking about compro- motely. There are certain parts of our
we have done a lot of work. mising safety, but there are many job where we actually have to be here.
I want to say this: I think we do a States that have shown how to safely In the rough-and-tumble of a legisla-
disservice to our Members and to this reopen on a much wider scale where tive process, things change on the fly;
institution if we go home and pretend you can get people back out doing the and if you are back home or going to
that Members somehow aren’t working things that they want to do again, and some other event somewhere else be-
because they are not physically in this that is the real issue. You are watching cause you choose not to come here, it
room. I don’t know, I presume my aspects of the private sector, you are is kind of hard to say you gave your
friend’s Members—but I tell you, even watching other levels of govern- proxy to somebody and then things
Madam Speaker, the Members on my ment, large cities, large States that change 2 minutes before a vote. It is
side of the aisle are working around are reopening and doing it successfully, going to be hard for that person to
the clock and communicating around not overrunning their hospitals. know how to change their vote by
the clock. Most of our hospitals are telling us proxy when they are not here.
That bill that we passed in a bipar- they want more patients. They want So there are flaws in there that don’t
tisan way, we took a lot of time, days the people who normally would be get- need to be there because we have prov-
and days and days and days of hours- ting their checkups and immunizations en we can be here. I just hope that that
and hours- and hours-long conversa- and even hip replacements and things is taken into account when the new
tions to get to a consensus on what that are part of their life cycle, their schedule is being worked out, and,
ought to be in that bill, and we passed quality of life, and their ability to live again, hopefully released as soon as
it in a bipartisan way. with cancer treatments and things like possible so that as other people and in-
So, my presumption is my friend did that that aren’t being done. There are dustries and groups are starting to
the same. I don’t know; I was not on people dying right now because they show how they are going to come back
my friend’s phone calls. But you do a are not being tended to. safely, we can do the same thing—not
disservice, I think—I don’t mean you In my home parish, I actually talked last. Clearly, we are not going to be
personally. But we do a disservice to to my coroner about this. He took a 6- first now, but hopefully, as other peo-
allow the President or anybody else— week period—just 2 weeks ago, took a ple are making those decisions, we can
nobody is on vacation. People are 6-week period and took that exact 6- be part of that, not at the tail end of it.
working harder now than if we didn’t week period a year ago, and there was Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I
have this coronavirus is my observa- a 42 percent increase in non-COVID-re- thank the gentleman, and I yield back
tion. lated deaths, just in my home parish. the balance of my time.
I am hopeful that we will move on. I This year, more—Madam Speaker, 42 f
am hopeful that we will be back to percent increase—because people aren’t
going out, aren’t going to the doctor. If COVID–19, STRATEGIC TESTING
business as usual and as soon as pos-
they had chest pains, they weren’t FOR WORKERS
sible—‘‘possible’’ is the operative
word—with the advice of our Capitol going to a doctor because the doctor’s (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given
physician, with the advice of the ad- office is closed, where they could catch permission to address the House for 1
ministration, and my own Governor. it, and so they were dying in their minute and to revise and extend her re-
My friend talked about States. I have house. marks.)
a Republican Governor, Governor These are real numbers from the cor- Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, as of
Hogan, whose father was one of my oner. I mean, there is a problem that is yesterday, the United States death toll
predecessors. I know he is still very created by not allowing people to go from COVID–19 has reached over 100,000
cautious and urging caution for our about their lives again in a safe way. precious lives.
citizens. So we ought to be leading the way, Recent headlines tell the story of
Madam Speaker, unless the gen- leading the way to show people how to COVID–19 risks as workers report to
tleman has something further, I am do it. And, again, we have had votes work with no testing. The Toledo Blade
prepared to yield back the balance of here on the House floor before proxy reports: ‘‘Coronavirus Strikes Fermi 2
my time. voting in the midst of this pandemic, Nuclear Plant During Refueling.’’ Reu-
and it went very smoothly. And if ters reports: ‘‘All Three Detroit Auto-
b 1545 makers Had Workers Test Positive for
there are better ways we can find to do
Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I it, we will do it. COVID–19 Since Plants Reopened.’’ And
would just say that, clearly, we have a But we followed all the protocols of Willamette Week reports: ‘‘The Re-
disagreement on how business should the Attending Physician. I didn’t hear opening of Vancouver, Washington, Is
be conducted on the House floor, spe- of any Members complaining about On Hold as 65 Workers Test Positive for
cifically as it relates to proxy voting that process. Everybody went about it COVID–19 at a Fruit Processing Facil-
and whether or not we can be here their own way, practicing the social ity.’’
physically doing the job. And, clearly, distancing that we all encourage. Yet Madam Speaker, I include in the
when we are at home in our districts, we are not doing that on a consistent RECORD the articles I mentioned.
we are finding other ways to get work basis, and that doesn’t send the right [From the Blade, Apr. 8, 2020]
done, to communicate with constitu- message. CORONAVIRUS STRIKES FERMI 2 NUCLEAR
ents, to communicate with people all As the gentleman reworks the sched- PLANT DURING REFUELING; UTILITY KEEPS
around the Nation. Using technology, ule, and I hope it is done soon, I hope WORKING
it has definitely helped the ability for it takes into account the fact that it is (By Tom Henry)
us to do it, but it is not the same thing important for us to show the rest of the NEWPORT, MICH.—An undisclosed number
as when we are here. country that we can be here doing our of coronavirus cases have been documented
The other side of that, because one job. inside Fermi 2 during the nuclear plant’s lat-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
piece of it is the ability to be here— Yes, there are things that we are est refueling outage.
and, clearly, we have the ability to be going to do remotely. There are things But owner-operator DTE Energy said it be-
lieves it has enough precautions in place now
here. There are flights. If somebody is we always do remotely. If we are on a
to complete the work and get the plant re-
not comfortable flying, they used to 3-week schedule in D.C. and 1 week started in the coming weeks.
take horse and buggy. They didn’t have back home in our districts, it is impor- In a statement, DTE spokesman Stephen
planes, and yet they found a way to get tant that we go back home to stay in R. Tait said the company ‘‘can confirm that
here in tougher times. But then you touch with the people who actually we have had employees test positive, but are
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H2350 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 28, 2020
not giving out numbers, locations or names eration after the spring 2020 outage,’’ Ms. ed positive and asking them to quarantine
at this time.’’ Mitlyng said. for 14 days.
Media reports showed the first worker test- Fermi 2, one of Michigan’s largest employ- Firestone processes frozen fruit mostly
ed positive about the same time the refuel- ers, is about 30 miles south of Detroit, which berries. Food processing plants have been
ing outage began on March 21. A Detroit tel- is now one of America’s hot spots for the epicenters of COVID–19 outbreaks across the
evision station reported at least two more coronavirus pandemic. U.S., in part because social distancing is dif-
positive cases were documented within days ficult on assembly-line floors.
of that. [From Reuters, May 27, 2020] The facility told The Oregonian it’s un-
DTE won’t say for the record when it ex- aware of any workers who have been hos-
ALL THREE DETROIT AUTOMAKERS HAD WORK-
pects to complete Fermi 2’s outage. pitalized because of the virus.
ERS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID–19 SINCE
But many similar operations—which once ‘‘While this outbreak is unfortunate, our
PLANTS REOPENED
took six weeks or longer—have been short- response demonstrates we have the con-
ened to about a month in recent years. Utili- DETROIT.—In the week since U.S. auto fac- fidence and capability to respond to situa-
ties lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in tories reopened after coronavirus lockdowns, tions like this,’’ Dr. Alan Melnick, the Clark
potential electricity sales each day nuclear workers at all three Detroit automakers County health officer, said in a press release.
plants sit idle. have tested positive for COVID–19 but only
Nuclear plants are refueled every 18 to 24 Ford Motor Co has temporarily closed [From the New York Times, May 25, 2020]
months, depending on the type of uranium plants.
The U.S. auto industry reopened many ‘THIS IS NOT THE HUNGER GAMES’: NATIONAL
used in their reactor cores.
Fermi 2, located along western Lake Erie plants last week after a two-month shut- TESTING STRATEGY DRAWS CONCERNS
in northern Monroe County’s Frenchtown down due to the global pandemic. To ensure (By Apoorva Mandavilli and Catie
Township, is one of many nuclear plants safety during the outbreak, companies im- Edmondson)
across the United States scheduled to be re- posed new safety measures, including screen- The Trump administration’s new testing
fueled during the spring or fall of 2020, the ing employees, use of face masks and social strategy, released Sunday to Congress, holds
two seasons when demand for electricity is distancing. individual states responsible for planning
lowest. Ford paused production at its Claycomo, and carrying out all coronavirus testing,
Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant Missouri, plant for an hour on Tuesday after while planning to provide some supplies
along the Lake Erie shoreline in rural Ot- a worker tested positive. Work resumed at needed for the tests.
tawa County recently completed its latest the plant, which builds the F–150 pickup The proposal also says existing testing ca-
refueling. truck and Transit van, without workers pacity, if properly targeted, is sufficient to
Both plants are about 30 miles from down- being sent home following a deep cleaning, contain the outbreak. But epidemiologists
town Toledo. Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said Wednes- say that amount of testing is orders of mag-
The coronavirus pandemic has, of course, day. nitude lower than many of them believe the
complicated those efforts this year. General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Auto- country needs.
To help keep refuelings on schedule, the mobiles NV (FCA) said Wednesday they have The report cements a stance that has frus-
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last had workers test positive since the restart, trated governors in both parties, following
month allowed for an exemption from rules but have not been forced to idle plants. They the administration’s announcement last
which limit the number of consecutive hours did not disclose the number of workers af- month that the federal government should
workers are allowed to be inside the plant at fected. be considered ‘‘the supplier of last resort’’
a time. The agency said in a March 28 letter On Wednesday, a union leader at Ford’s and that states should develop their own
to the Washington-based Nuclear Energy In- Kentucky Truck Plant said on Twitter a testing plans.
stitute that it will consider such requests on worker there tested positive, but had not ‘‘For months, it was a tennis game, it was
a case-by-case basis, and that exemptions worked since May 21. Felker said the plant going back and forth between the feds and
will be limited to 60 days. never closed. the states, and it’s now landed with the
‘‘We are aware of the NRC’s willingness to states,’’ said Scott Becker, executive direc-
Last week, Ford closed two assembly
relax some rules for overtime at plants if tor of the Association of Public Health Lab-
plants, due to a positive test at its Dearborn,
there is a need,’’ Mr. Tait said. ‘‘At this oratories.
Michigan, factory and a parts shortage due
time, we have not requested any variances.’’ Mr. Becker noted that the federal govern-
to a positive test at a supplier that closed
The NRC has ‘‘no immediate concerns in
the Chicago plant. It had marked the second ment plans to distribute some testing sup-
this area,’’ Viktoria Mitlyng, agency spokes-
consecutive day for closures in Chicago fol- plies, including swabs and viral transport
man, said. ‘‘We are communicating regularly
lowing two positive tests. media, and to store test kits in the strategic
with Fermi staff to discuss current activities
United Auto Workers Local 600, which rep- national stockpile. ‘‘That’s actually quite
and future plans, including staffing, medical
resents hourly workers in Dearborn, last significant,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s a positive
screening, reductions in nonessential main-
week demanded testing for every worker step.’’
tenance work, and other related matters.’’
there and that Ford shut down the plant for The Department of Health and Human
In nearly all refuelings, including at those
24 hours after a positive test. Ford said the Services prepared the strategy, which meets
at Fermi 2 and Davis-Besse, hundreds of spe-
safety of its workers is a top priority and requirements under the Paycheck Protection
cialized, out-of-state contractors augment
cited the safety measures it has developed in Program and Health Care Enhancement Act,
the regular plant workforces, often resulting
conjunction with the UAW. signed into law by President Trump on April
in 1,000 or more workers assigned to any
In Mexico, Ford told workers it was tar- 24, that federal agencies come up with a stra-
given site at a time. Work is usually divided
geting a May 28 restart at its Hermosillo tegic testing plan within 30 days. It was re-
into eight-hour shifts, with activity occur-
plant. GM and FCA have restarted oper- ported earlier by The Washington Post.
ring 24 hours a day.
Officials have noted those contractors ations in Mexico. Mr. Becker, public health experts and
move throughout the country from job to Democratic leaders panned the proposal, say-
job, bringing with them the potential of car- [From wweek.com, May 25, 2020] ing the strategy runs the risk of states com-
rying viruses outside of the sites they last THE REOPENING OF VANCOUVER, WASH., IS ON peting with one another and may create deep
worked. HOLD AS 65 WORKERS TEST POSITIVE FOR inequities among them.
Monroe-area resident Michael J. Keegan, a The strategy mirrors a divide that has
COVID–19 AT A FRUIT PROCESSING FACILITY
longtime activist associated with the activ- played out in Congress for months. As they
(By Tess Riski) negotiated the virus relief bill in March,
ist group Don’t Waste Michigan, said he wor-
ries the NRC will again allow DTE to post- Clark County’s application to move into Democratic lawmakers pushed to require the
pone some of the work planned for the sub- Phase 2 of reopening has been put on pause. administration to submit this national test-
merged portion of Fermi 2’s pressure sup- The COVID–19 outbreak at a fruit proc- ing plan to Congress. Republicans resisted,
pression chamber, also referred to as the essing plant in Vancouver, Wash., climbed saying those decisions belonged to each
torus. from 38 workers Friday to 65 employees Mon- state.
The utility came to an agreement with the day. The Oregonian first reported. Mr. Becker and others said it’s reasonable
NRC to fix degraded coating there, a situa- The facility, called Firestone Pacific to expect states to implement some aspects
tion that has lingered for 31 years. It was Foods, halted production May 19. On May 23, of the testing, such as designating test sites.
first identified in 1989, the NRC has said. Washington state health officials suspended But acquiring tests involves reliance on na-
One of the concerns is that loose paint Clark County’s request to enter Phase 2 of tional and international supply chains—
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
chips in drains could make it difficult for the state’s reopening plan due to the out- which are challenging for many states to
vital reactor coolant pumps to move water break. navigate.
in the event of an emergency. The state health department cited the ‘‘That’s our biggest question, that’s our
The NRC told DTE it will grant the util- Firestone outbreak as its reason for sus- biggest concern, is the robustness of the sup-
ity’s request to remove only coatings found pending Vancouver’s reopening. ply chain, which is critical,’’ Mr. Becker
to be degraded through inspections. The county health department said in a said. ‘‘You can’t leave it up to the states to
‘‘If degraded coating is found, they will re- press release Saturdav that it is identifying do it for themselves. This is not the Hunger
move it prior to returning the reactor to op- and notifying close contacts of all who test- Games.’’
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May 28, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2351
In a joint statement on Monday, Speaker with last week’s dust-up over the mixing of It’s not clear if antibody tests are useful
Nancy Pelosi; Senator Chuck Schumer, the test results for active infection with serol- for testing of health care workers to deter-
Democratic leader; Representative Frank ogy. ‘‘This is not C.D.C.’s shining moment,’’ mine immune status, according to the re-
Pallone, Democratic chairman of the House he said. port.
Energy and Commerce Committee; and Sen- Governors have bristled at claims from the ‘‘We believe that greatly expanding
ator Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on administration that the supply of tests was SARSCoV–2 testing is a critical element in
the Senate’s health committee, said the adequate, routinely asking for more federal our response to COVID–19,’’ the report reads.
Trump administration was not taking re- assistance. Some states have ultimately de- ‘‘For testing to be maximally effective, co-
sponsibility for ramping up national testing cided to negotiate directly with suppliers to ordination across the system and across ju-
capacity. obtain test kits. risdictions is necessary. Ideally, this re-
‘‘This disappointing report confirms that Federal virus relief legislation required quires federal guidance, leadership and sup-
President Trump’s national testing strategy states to release their individual testing port, with strong jurisdictional buy-in at the
is to deny the truth that there aren’t enough plans last week, but they requested an exten- state and local levels.’’
tests and supplies, reject responsibility and sion to later this week. If elements of those The report calls on the US Department of
dump the burden onto the states,’’ the law- state plans prove promising, Mr. Becker said, Health and Human Services to appoint a
makers said. ‘‘In this document, the Trump the federal strategy could be revised or panel to oversee and organize testing. ‘‘The
administration again attempts to paint a merged with them. panel should include representatives from
rosy picture about testing while experts con- public health, clinical laboratory, and medi-
tinue to warn the country is far short of [From CNN, May 21, 2020] cine; the laboratory testing research and de-
what we need.’’ CORONAVIRUS TESTING IS ‘A MESS’ IN THE US, velopment, marketing, and product support
Experts also took issue with the report’s REPORT SAYS industries; ethicists; legal scholars; and
assertion that continuing to test only about elected officials,’’ it says.
(By Maggie Fox) Osterholm noted that some states are com-
300,000 people a day, by targeting only those
likely to be positive, would be enough to Coronavirus testing in the United States is bining data from diagnostic tests and anti-
contain the outbreak. disorganized and needs coordination at the body tests to make estimates about how
‘‘On the face of it, the idea that 300,000 national level, infectious disease experts said many people have been infected. The Food
tests a day is enough for America is absurd,’’ in a new report released Wednesday. and Drug Administration advises against
said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Right now, testing is not accurate enough using tests in this way and so does
Global Health Institute. to use alone to make most decisions, includ- Osterholm. ‘‘You need to do the right test at
He offered a quick rundown of the numbers ing who should go back to work or to school, the right time to get the right result,’’ he
to illustrate the estimate’s inadequacy. Most the team at the University of Minnesota said. ‘‘Nobody is thinking through that.’’
hospitals nationwide now test everyone who said. Plus, there’s not enough coordination to
is admitted for any reason, roughly 100,000 ‘‘It’s a mess out there,’’ Mike Osterholm, ensure that states have the testing supplies
tests each day, fearing that they may be head of the university’s Center for Infectious they need. This is a system and if a system
asymptomatic and yet still spreading the Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), breaks down anywhere, it breaks down ev-
virus. Testing the 1.6 million residents of which issued the report, told CNN. erywhere,’’ Osterholm said.
nursing homes—known to be at high risk of ‘‘Testing is very, very important, but we’re ‘‘What good are the test results if you
coronavirus infection—and workers every not doing the right testing.’’ can’t trust them?’’
two weeks would require 150,000 more tests The number of tests that have been com-
each day. Add high-risk places like pleted—numbers widely reported by states [From the New York Times, May 25, 2020]
meatpacking plants that need regular test- and by the White House—show only part of AS MEATPACKING PLANTS REOPEN, DATA
ing, and the numbers rapidly build. the picture, the report reads. ABOUT WORKER ILLNESS REMAINS ELUSIVE
‘‘Without having tested a single person for ‘‘The data is really kind of screwed up,’’ (By Michael Corkery, David Yaffe-Bellany
symptoms of Covid, we would quickly ex- Osterholm said. ‘‘It’s because the public and Derek Kravitz)
haust our entire national supply of testing if health system is overwhelmed.’’ The Smithfield Foods plant in Tar Heel,
all we have is 300,000 tests per day,’’ he said. The report has some specific recommenda- N.C., is one of the world’s largest pork proc-
The H.H.S. report noted that an analysis tions for diagnostic tests that check to see if essing facilities, employing about 4,500 peo-
by the Safra Center at Harvard estimated someone is currently infected with ple and slaughtering roughly 30,000 pigs a
the need at more than three million tests per coronavirus. day at its peak.
day. But the federal report said that esti- Testing is most useful for clinical care of And like more than 100 other meat plants
mate was based on faulty assumptions. patients, for disease surveillance and contact across the United States, the facility has
The Safra authors who crafted the esti- tracing and for monitoring frontline workers seen a substantial number of coronavirus
mate said that the federal report had cherry- such as emergency responders, doctors and cases. But the exact number of workers in
picked one simple example from their anal- nurses who may have been exposed, the re- Tar Heel who have tested positive is any-
ysis without considering other evidence. port recommends. People with symptoms one’s guess.
‘‘We ran multiple models, all of which should also be tested, it says. Smithfield would not provide any data
pointed to the same order of magnitude,’’ But coronavirus testing is not accurate when asked about the number of illnesses at
said Danielle Allen, director of the Safra enough yet to use in many other ways, the the plant. Neither would state or local
Center. ‘‘They’ve selected one non-primary CIDRAP team said. health officials.
model in an appendix and selectively ad- It recommends against: ‘‘There has been a stigma associated with
justed assumptions to generate a different Universal testing in hospital settings the virus,’’ said Teresa Duncan, the director
number.’’ Testing in schools or other low-risk set- of the health department in Bladen County,
Dr. Allen said millions of daily tests would tings where the plant is located. ‘‘So we’re trying
be required to have 4 percent of people test Widespread community-based testing to protect privacy.’’
positive with the coronavirus—the level they Antibody tests to decide who goes back to Along with nursing homes and prisons,
say is needed to halt the spread of the virus. work meatpacking facilities have proven to be
The administration’s target, 10 percent, Immunity passports places where the virus spreads rapidly. But
would allow only for mitigation. It might be useful to test asymptomatic as dozens of plants that closed because of
‘‘There is not a single country that I’m people in long-term care facilities in some outbreaks begin reopening, meat companies’
aware of that achieved disease suppression cases because they are likely to have many reluctance to disclose detailed case counts
with a positivity rate of 10 percent,’’ she cases, the report said. ‘‘Asymptomatic shed- makes it difficult to tell whether the con-
said. ding of the virus may be detected with a mo- tagion is contained or new cases are emerg-
And 300,000 daily tests would be insuffi- lecular test (which looks for the virus itself) ing even with new safety measures in place.
cient even for mitigation, Dr. Jha said, esti- or an antigen test (which looks for impor- The Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
mating that would require at least 900,000 tant pieces of the virus). It is not yet clear tion said there were nearly 5,000
tests per day. where, when and how asymptomatic individ- meatpacking workers infected with the virus
The proposal also leaves it to states to uals should be tested.’’ as of the end of last month. But the non-
plan for contact tracing and isolation, rap- The report also says that antibody tests profit group Food & Environment Reporting
idly identify new clusters of coronavirus in- should be used only with caution. These Network estimated last week that the num-
fection and adopt new technologies. It says tests check the blood for evidence of an im- ber has climbed to more than 17,000. There
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
the federal government is ‘‘supporting and mune response to the virus, and indicate have been 66 meatpacking deaths, the group
encouraging’’ states to rely heavily on guid- that someone has been infected for some said.
ance from the Centers for Disease Control days or has even cleared an infection. They And the outbreaks may be even more ex-
and Prevention. are most useful for identifying donors of tensive.
However, the C.D.C. has been slow to re- plasma used to treat patients or for deciding For weeks, local officials received con-
lease guidance for states during this out- on how to manage patients when standard flicting signals from state leaders and
break, Dr. Jha said. And the agency fumbled diagnostic tests are negative, the report meatpacking companies about how much in-
its role in testing strategy, most recently says. formation to release, according to internal
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H2352 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 28, 2020
emails from government health agencies ob- get in a position where we were overstepping to the Grand Island plant were infected. By
tained through public records requests by our bounds,’’ he said. May 5, at least 328 employees had tested
Columbia University’s Brown Institute for On May 5, the state health department, positive, according to the emails from Grand
Media Innovation and provided to The New which ultimately worked with Tyson to test Island, some of which were previously re-
York Times. The mixed messages left many employees, said 730 workers, or 58 percent of ported by ProPublica.
workers and their communities in the dark the plant’s work force, had tested positive A spokesman for JBS, Cameron Bruett,
about the extent of the spread in parts of for the virus. About two weeks ago, Tyson said the company did not want to publicize
Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. started to disclose the number of the number of positive cases at the plant be-
The emails also reveal the deference some coronavirus cases at a handful of its plants cause little testing was being conducted in
county officials have shown toward the giant around the country where there has been the broader area. Releasing the data, he said,
meatpacking companies and how little power widespread testing. ‘‘would distort any one company’s role in
they have in pushing the companies to stem In North Carolina, workers and community community spread.’’
outbreaks. advocates in the Tar Heel area started to The tussle over whether plants should test
‘‘Bad news spreads way faster than the raise the alarm in April, as local news out- workers has stretched for months in some
truth,’’ said a county health official in Colo- lets reported a string of infections linked to states, creating critical delays in isolating
rado of an outbreak at a Cargill plant, ac- the Smithfield plant. infected workers. Local health authorities
cording to notes from a conference call last In neighboring Robeson County, 59 resi- concede that asymptomatic employees are
month. ‘‘At this point, we are not doing any- dents who work at the Tar Heel facility have still coming to work with the virus, fueling
thing to cast them in a bad light. Will not become infected, out of a total of 669 cases in the spread.
throw them to the Press.’’ the community, according to Melissa Pack- As recently as May 14, health officials in
Questions about the transparency of gov- er, the county’s assistant health director. Wyandotte County, Kan., warned that the
ernments and companies about the But like the rest of the public, Ms. Packer virus was continuing to spread inside a Na-
coronavirus extend far beyond meatpacking. does not know the full extent of the out- tional Beef plant.
Chinese officials have been widely criticized break at the plant. ‘‘The outbreak has gone on for a month,’’
for not fully disclosing the extent of the In conversations with state officials this a county epidemiologist said in an email to
virus’s spread within their borders. And in month, Ms. Packer said, a number of county her colleagues.
the United States, President Trump has health directors requested that plantspecific ‘‘Should we bust in, show our badges and
questioned the official death toll from the numbers stay private. One of the reasons, she test everyone?’’ a colleague suggested. ‘‘Ha!’’
coronavirus, suggesting that the numbers said, was that the local officials wanted to A National Beef spokesman said the com-
may be inflated even as public health experts avoid antagonizing the meatpackers while pany was following the county’s health
and statisticians say the opposite is more they worked alongside them to curtail the guidelines.
likely true. outbreaks. Even when case numbers are disclosed,
The meat companies are not legally re- ‘‘A lot of the concerns were around frac- many health departments say they have lit-
quired to disclose how many workers are tured relationships,’’ Ms. Packer said. tle authority to act at meat plants.
sick. But legal experts say privacy is not a ‘‘Some local health directors from the coun- Last month, a worker in a Triumph Foods
valid reason for keeping the numbers from ties where there are processing plants ex- pork plant in St. Joseph, Mo., emailed the
the public. pressed some concerns about how that may city saying at least two employees were in-
‘‘Alerting a community about the number negatively impact the relationship they have fected and 90 percent of the staff was still
of cases in a particular place is a standard built with the management of the compa- working ‘‘less than a meter away’’ from one
public health response;’ said Nicole nies.’’ another.
Huberfeld, a public health expert at Boston A spokeswoman for North Carolina’s ‘‘Workers are scared,’’ the employee said.
University. ‘‘People need to act appro- health department, Amy Ellis, declined to ‘‘Can the government take action on the
priately if they are exposed.’’ reveal plant-specific data. She said the state matter for the protection of workers and the
The lack of full disclosure also dem- has recorded a total of 1,952 cases across city?’’
onstrates the industry’s sway as a major em- meat plants in 17 counties. A health official wrote back on April 21,
ployer in the Midwest and the South. Smithfield said it continued to ‘‘report all saying the city had ‘‘limited authority’’ in
While more than 80 percent of beef and Covid–19 cases to state and local health offi- closing a business and suggested that the
pork workers are unionized, even labor lead- cials, as well as the C.D.C.’’ and was working workers cover their noses and mouths and
ers acknowledge it is not as easy to shut to provide free testing to all its employees. use hand sanitizer.
down meat plants as other factories because This month, Gov. Pete Ricketts of Ne-
Since then, Triumph has supplied workers
they are essential to the food supply. Auto braska announced that the state would not
with masks, among other protective meas-
plants, for example, were shut down rel- disclose the number of coronavirus cases in
ures, according to the company website. But
atively early during the pandemic and have specific meat plants without the consent of
at the time, the plant worker was not com-
only just begun to reopen. the companies. The state is releasing aggre-
forted by the city’s assurances.
After some slaughterhouses did close, res- gate case numbers across the meat proc-
‘‘Are you telling me that it doesn’t matter
taurants and stores experienced significant essing industry, the governor’s spokesman
that two workers are infected,’’ he wrote.
shortages of meat, leading Mr. Trump to said. Some of Nebraska’s big meatpackers
‘‘Because the plant is worth more than the
issue an executive order designating meat have also started revealing less about case
workers’ health?’’
plants ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ that must numbers to their employees.
stay open. Eric Reeder, a local union president rep- Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, test-
But the order did not address crucial issues resenting workers in 14 plants around Ne- ing requires a national strategy, not a
like testing, leading many companies to re- braska, said that the larger the outbreak, 50–State, helter-skelter search for lim-
open plants or keep them operating without the less transparent some of the companies ited supplies. Without rigorous ex-
fully assessing whether employees had con- have become about the case numbers. panded surveillance testing, many
tracted the virus. ‘‘When a plant hits several hundred cases, more American lives are put on the
Across the country, many local health de- they get more tight-lipped, and that makes chopping block because of pure stu-
partments have encouraged companies to it difficult for workers to protect themselves
test employees—but stopped short of order- and their families,’’ said Mr. Reeder, presi-
pidity and callousness.
ing them to do so. dent of the United Food & Commercial If the President can find billions to
On April 21, health officials in Dallas Coun- Workers union local 293. build more nuclear weapons, then sure-
ty, Iowa, told Tyson Foods that they could Those transparency issues were on display ly we can find the money to protect
provide rapid testing kits for workers at its last month when Teresa Anderson, the direc- those who build them and all workers
local plant in Perry, according to the emails. tor of the Central District Health Depart- who dedicate their talents to moving
An early draft of that message to Tyson ment in Grand Island, Neb., told the meat our Nation to full throttle again.
managers underscored the urgency, saying, processor JBS that she planned to conduct
Mr. President, get a testing regimen
‘‘At this time, we strongly recommend this coronavirus testing at a park near the com-
option be implemented immediately.’’ pany’s plant, which employs 3,700 people. in place. It is your duty. No excuses.
But the county’s lawyer asked that the JBS wanted assurances that the test re- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Mem-
language be revised to read, ‘‘At this time, sults would not be made public. bers are reminded to address their re-
we ask you to consider this be implemented ‘‘We understand that you will be asking marks to the Chair.
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
as soon as possible.’’ and recording the employer,’’ Nicholas
f
In an interview, the county attorney, White, a compliance official at JBS, wrote in
Chuck Sinnard, said he recommended revis- an email to Ms. Anderson on April 15. ‘‘But VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTS TO
ing the language because he did not believe we would ask that you not disclose that in- REDUCE COVID–19 DEATHS
the health department had the authority to formation as part of any public disclosure of
order Tyson to conduct tests. the testing results.’’ (Mr. GROTHMAN asked and was
‘‘It was in the vein of choosing wording Six days later, though, Ms. Anderson an- given permission to address the House
cautiously and conservatively so we didn’t nounced that more than 200 people connected for 1 minute.)
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