Bush Crony In Charge of Bird Flu Pandemic.

We've all heard the terrible warnings about the risk of an influenza
pandemic from an avian flu virus. But the Bush administration official
in charge of making sure America is ready has no experience related to
his job?he's a political appointee. And, a botched response could
affect millions of Americans.

Stewart Simonson is the Bush administration's point man for a flu
pandemic but he has no public health management experience. He got his
job because he is a close associate of former Health & Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson.1

Simonson is Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency
Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS). His job before joining HHS was as corporate secretary and
counsel for Amtrak when Thompson was chief of the rail service. Prior
to Amtrak, Simonson was staff lawyer for Thompson when he was governor
of Wisconsin.2 In short, he is not qualified for a public health job
that hundreds of millions of people are counting on.

This isn't just a case of resume inflation. Simonson doesn't seem to
have a grasp on the very important work he is supposed to be doing
right now. At a hearing in the House of Representatives in July,
Simonson claimed he had the money he needed to purchase influenza
vaccine and antiviral medication.3 The very next day, his office
submitted a funding request to Congress seeking an additional $150
million for flu vaccine and antiviral medication.4 Last month the
Congress gave another $4 billion for the effort.5

The Department of Health and Human Services is about to announce a new
influenza plan. They need a highly qualified and respected
professional at the helm when implementation of the plan begins. That
is why it is urgent that Leavitt replace Simonson immediately.

Many people are calling Simonson the "next Michael Brown" in reference
to the lack of experience of the former FEMA director who botched the
federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA)
released a fact *** about cronyism in the Bush administration that
blew the whistle on Simonson.8

The threat of an influenza pandemic is very serious. The 1918 flu
pandemic is estimated to have killed 50 million people?the largest
numbers dying in just weeks. In the 1950s and 1960s smaller flu
pandemics in the United States killed tens of thousands.9

Sources:

"Is this 'disaster leader' another Michael Brown?" Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinal, October 8, 2005.

"Can flu guru do the job? Critics question his credentials." Boston
Herald, October 7, 2005.

Stewart Simonson Testimony Before the Committee on Government Reform,
July 14, 2005

Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal 2006 Budget Amendments, July
15, 2005.


"Senate approves $4 bln to fight bird flu" Reuters, September 29,
2005.


"Bush Plan Shows U.S. Is Not Ready for Deadly Flu." The New York
Times, October 8, 2005.

Bio of Jerome Hauer. Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations. October
12, 2005

"Fact ***: Cronyism in the Bush administration." Rep. Henry Waxman,
Ranking Minority Member. Committee on Government Reform, U.S. House of
Representatives.

Wikipedia entry on Influenza. October 12, 2005
.