March 3, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 42 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page H1448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AMERICA WILL ADAPT TO MEET CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH CORONAVIRUS

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, as compared to other historic viruses and 
outbreaks in recent years, the coronavirus, so far, is a lesser threat.
  Let's compare it to H1N1, also known as the swine flu of 2009. The 
CDC has estimated that approximately 60 million people in the U.S. 
contracted H1N1 during that 2009 outbreak, leading to the death of 
around 12,000 Americans.
  Even more alarming, during this current 2019-2020 flu season, 
approximately 18,000 people, unfortunately, have died as a result of 
the more conventional flu. Currently, in the U.S., there are 105 
confirmed cases of coronavirus, resulting in the unfortunate death of 
six people so far. We expect these numbers will go up.
  While this outbreak is, indeed, a problem, the CDC, not politicians, 
continue to claim that the American public are unlikely to be exposed 
to coronavirus.
  During the Republican majority in Congress, we made several strategic 
investments in key health resources to prevent the spread of a virus 
like this one, including a 24 percent increase in CDC funding and a 70 
percent increase in infectious disease response.
  So, instead of sounding an alarm, I encourage my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to continue to remind Americans that our country 
will adapt to the challenges coming.
  For people, individually: Work on limiting your own risk by washing 
your hands frequently.

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