[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BIRD FLU AND COMMUNICATIONS FREEZE

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share a rising concern for 
public health.
  My State of Ohio is the second largest egg-producing State in our 
Nation. Nationwide, over 14 million egg-laying birds have been killed 
since December of last year due to the growing bird flu outbreak. That 
is why the cost of eggs is skyrocketing, and this is why we must get 
this outbreak under control as human infection rates rise.
  On January 6, the first American died from this infection. With each 
new human infection, the virus learns how to mutate and infect more 
people.
  When studying this tragic death, the CDC found the virus had started 
to mutate, which means split, in two different ways. For the record, we 
know from just one human infection, the number of infections jumped to 
66 human infections last year.
  History instructs us that it is only a matter of time until doctors 
see sustained human-to-human transmission increasing. Despite this 
reality, the new administration ordered all divisions of our Department 
of Health and Human Services to halt their external communications. Bad 
idea. If the FDA wanted to warn Americans about a recalled item, they 
can't do so. The CDC needs to report what is happening around the 
country so that the bird flu doesn't continue to kill not just flocks 
but Americans.
  As the bird flu continues to kill flocks and now cattle, impact 
grocery costs, infect our loved ones, and mutate, it is vital Americans 
have more access to information, not less.

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