[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 4, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                       LIARS CANNOT BE TOLERATED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Foster) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, I am a scientist, and if a scientist stands 
up and says something that they know is not true, it is a career-ending 
action. The reason for this is that science always operates at the edge 
of what is known, so we cannot tolerate liars.
  The world is now facing scientific uncertainty in the spread and the 
severity of the coronavirus. And when the leadership of China 
confronted the reality of the pandemic, they chose to suppress 
scientific truth and lie to their people. That cost China and the world 
the opportunity to slow down and perhaps contain this outbreak.
  In the U.S., we were recently exposed to the spectacle of our 
country's leader making self-serving pronouncements about the 
coronavirus outbreak that had no basis in scientific fact and that were 
immediately contradicted by his scientific experts.
  As our Nation faces the serious threat of coronavirus, the American 
people deserve to know that they can trust the information coming from 
their government, and that the public officials that they elected are 
putting science ahead of politics or deranged conspiracy theories.
  Unfortunately, after 3 years of consistently undermining scientific 
research and scientific fact, this administration is dangerously 
deficient in credibility, and that is directly putting the health and 
well-being of millions of Americans at risk with an opaque and chaotic 
response to this outbreak.
  Just a few weeks ago, the Trump administration presented a budget 
that would slash almost $700 million from the Centers for Disease 
Control, cutting a vital resource that is at the front lines of this 
public health emergency.
  This administration has left critical positions vacant at Homeland 
Security and the National Security Council, including positions 
responsible for managing pandemics.
  Americans need their elected leaders to spend less time tweeting and 
more time making sure that government resources are coordinated and 
fully funded and ready to combat this outbreak.
  Soon, the House will move forward to provide emergency funding that 
matches the scale and the threat of the coronavirus. We must make sure 
that the President and the administration uses these funds for what 
they are intended, a comprehensive and aggressive response to managing 
the coronavirus outbreak and making sure that any future vaccines or 
treatments are affordable and available to all who need them.
  We also must hold the President and his administration accountable 
for the information they share with the American people. Three years of 
keeping science and facts at arm's length have rightly made people 
suspicious of what comes out of the White House. And now, as Americans 
worry for the health of themselves and their loved ones, they 
unfortunately must also worry about whether the information coming from 
the people that they expect to manage this crisis will be distorted for 
the President's political purposes.
  When a leader lies to the public about important scientific facts, it 
is not acceptable. It is not cute. It is not just Trump being Trump. It 
is a dangerous act that puts our public health and our democracy at 
risk.

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