The White House has blocked the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfield, from testifying in front of Congress next week on how to reopen schools safely.
House of Representatives Education Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia, requested that the CDC director testify amid reported cases of coronaviruses that shot up across the country, as President Trump pressures for schools reopen in the fall.
The hearing will be held in front of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives and the Subcommittee on Child, Primary and Secondary Education on July 23.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSE ASKS CDC BOSS TO TESTIFY THE RE-OPENING OF THE SCHOOLS BETWEEN CORONAVIRUSES
“It is alarming that the Trump administration is preventing CDC from appearing before the Committee at a time when its experience and guidance is so critical to the health and safety of students, parents and educators,” Scott said in a statement Friday. .
“This lack of transparency greatly hurts the many communities across the country that face tough decisions about reopening schools this fall.”
The White House rejected criticism from congressional Democrats.
“Dr. Redfield has testified on the hill at least four times in the past three months. We need our doctors to focus on the response to the pandemic,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News on Friday.
Trump has threatened to cut school funds if they do not reopen in person in the fall, despite CDC warnings, although the president does not have the power to unilaterally cut school funds.
CORONAVIRUS HOSPITAL DATA TO BYPASS CDC FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DATABASE IN WASHINGTON
Trump sees the reopening of schools as a way to boost the economy by bringing parents back to work, even as cases and death rates continue to rise in the U.S.
The president last week also criticized the CDC’s guidelines for schools to follow in order to reopen safely. Measures included disinfecting desks, social distancing, and suggested closure of playgrounds and cafeterias.
“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very difficult and expensive guidelines for opening schools,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “While they want them to open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will meet them! “
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The measures were originally released in May, but the CDC has said they will release additional literature to help school officials with more resources and address additional potential questions.
“The administration’s strategy of prioritizing policy over science has had a devastating impact on our country during this pandemic,” Scott said Friday. “You shouldn’t make the same mistake when it comes to reopening schools.”
