Re: another incompetent facing a crisis


Arthur Wouk wrote:
> 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]. Will you urge that Simonson be replaced with a more qualified
> person by signing our petition to Simonson's boss, HHS Secretary Michael
> Leavitt? Click below to sign.

Done, Arthur, and passed on to others. Good post.
Survivors of the bird flu epidemic will remember the gop's reign of
the bird-brains.

>
> http://political.moveon.org/flupandemic/?id=6115-410509-Tx8jnbEwuFJ7Tbvnkvjxdg&t=2
>
> Your action today will draw attention to Simonson when we deliver the
> petitions, and will pressure Leavitt into acting. After you sign please
> forward this e-mail to your friends, family and colleagues.
>
> 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. Why petition Leavitt? It is
> likely Leavitt will be more responsive than President Bush or even
> Congress. He wants a scandal-free campaign to prepare for a flu pandemic.
> Will you sign our petition to replace Simonson with somebody with expert
> credentials?
>
> http://political.moveon.org/flupandemic/?id=6115-410509-Tx8jnbEwuFJ7Tbvnkvjxdg&t=3
>
> The revelations about Simonson's lack of experience couldn't come at a
> more challenging time. On Saturday The New York Times reported that the
> nation is gravely unprepared for a flu pandemic after obtaining a draft of
> the HHS influenza plan. We have only 2 percent of the courses of antiviral
> treatments we'll need. The plan predicts a worst-case scenario in which
> nearly 2 million Americans would die and 8.5 million would be
> hospitalized. Costs would exceed $450 billion. Finally, the report says we
> need to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity by more than ten fold [6].
>
> There are qualified people who could do this important job. Simonson
> replaced a genuine expert, Jerome Hauer, who had served as Director of
> Emergency Management for New York City and led the George Washington
> University Response to Emergencies and Disasters Institute [7].
>
> 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]. Our government needs a serious
> response to this serious threat. Please act today.
>
> Thanks for all you do.
>
> --Tom, Matt, Adam, Carrie and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
> Wednesday, October 12, 2005
>
> P.S. Simonson's post as head of the Office of Public Health and Emergency
> Preparedness includes some very serious responsibilities. Here is the list
> right off of the Health and Human Services Department website [10]. In
> fairness a lot of this work is being done by long-time experts or career
> government employees who report to Simonson, but he's bottom-line
> responsible. Here are some things Simonson's office is supposed to do:
>
> * Execute Project BioShield--to accelerate the process of research,
> development, purchase, and availability of effective countermeasures
> against agents of bioterror.
> * Coordinate HHS-wide research and development program efforts that are
> focused on medical countermeasures to combat Weapons of Mass
> Destruction.
> * Provide coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
> the Department Of Defense (DOD) and other agencies on issues relating
> to Research & Development and acquisition of medical countermeasures.
> * Lead the U.S. Government efforts to identify requirements for medical
> countermeasures for defense against Weapons of Mass Destruction.
> * Provide risk management of medical countermeasures acquisition
> programs.
> * Leads the planning activities required to fulfill HHS responsibilities
> under National Response Plan.
> * Acquire medical equipment and supplies for use in the federal response
> to catastrophic public health and medical emergency preparedness.
> * Integrates mass casualty preparedness activities, through its surge
> capacity planning efforts, across all levels of government.
> * Works closely with the Health Resources and Services Administration on
> its programs for hospital bioterrorism preparedness, volunteer health
> professionals, and terrorism-related education and training for health
> care professionals.
> * Leads HHS response activities under the National Response Plan.
> * Manages the Secretary's Operations Center.
> * Trains and directs the Secretary's Emergency Response Teams.
> * Coordinates and executes the HHS Continuity of Operations (COOP) and
> Continuity of Government (COG) programs.
> * Plans, implements and evaluates Departmental and interagency response
> exercises.
> * Develops security related policies establishing procedures to manage
> the Department's risks, threats and vulnerabilities.
> * Serves as the focal point for all international activities related to
> public health emergency preparedness.
> * Coordinates overall influenza pandemic effort and with HHS components
> (e.g., CDC, NIH, FDA), the Department of State, the U.S. Department of
> Agriculture (USDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure
> that programs for dealing with avian influenza and plans for dealing
> with pandemic influenza are as effective as possible.
> * Oversee development of medical policies related to providing access to
> medical products that have not been approved for marketing in the U.S.
> but must be made available on an emergency basis as medical
> countermeasures to counteract terrorism or naturally occurring
> biological, chemical or radiological/nuclear threats.
> * Carry out special scientific and public health oriented projects to
> establish activities, programs, and standards to protect the public
> from bioterrorism and naturally occurring infectious disease threats.
> * Work with other nations and multilateral organizations in combating
> public health threats, emergencies, and bioterrorism by establishing
> bilateral and multi-national international partnerships to develop
> early warning surveillance capability for infectious disease
> outbreaks, including those involving potential bioterrorism agents.
> * Provides HHS leadership in the activities of the Biological Weapon
> Convention and the Global Health Security Action Group.
>
> Sources:
>
> 1. "Is this 'disaster leader' another Michael Brown?" Milwaukee
> Journal-Sentinal, October 8, 2005.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=973
> 2. "Can flu guru do the job? Critics question his credentials." Boston
> Herald, October 7, 2005.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=974
> 3. Stewart Simonson Testimony Before the Committee on Government Reform,
> July 14, 2005
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=975
> 4. Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal 2006 Budget Amendments, July
> 15, 2005.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=976
> 5. "Senate approves $4 bln to fight bird flu" Reuters, September 29,
> 2005.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=977
> 6. "Bush Plan Shows U.S. Is Not Ready for Deadly Flu." The New York
> Times, October 8, 2005.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=978
> 7. Bio of Jerome Hauer. Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations. October
> 12, 2005
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=979
> 8. "Fact ***: Cronyism in the Bush administration." Rep. Henry Waxman,
> Ranking Minority Member. Committee on Government Reform, U.S. House of
> Representatives.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=980
> 9. Wikipedia entry on Influenza. October 12, 2005
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=981
> 10. Website of Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, U.S.
> Department of Health and Human Services.
> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=982
> --
> getting out of bed in the morning is an act of false confidence
> - jules feifer
> to email me, delete syzygy. from my return address

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