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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, issued the following statement today to announce that he will hold an emergency hearing in his subcommittee on Thursday, April 30 at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing, will address the nationwide public health emergency declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) yesterday in response to an outbreak of the swine influenza virus.
"Yesterday, I was informed that the Department of Health and Human Services issued a nationwide public health emergency declaration in response to recent human infections with a newly discovered swine influenza A (swine flu) virus. In addition to the known cases in Mexico and Canada, the virus has infected 20 people throughout the United States so far from California to New York.
"I applaud our public health agencies for taking swift action to address this outbreak and I urge the public to report any possible incidents of swine flu to your local health authority. In response to the rising concern from the public over the possible spread and potential treatments, I have initiated an emergency hearing in the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee to be held this Thursday.
"This hearing will address the public’s concern over the potential outbreak of swine flu to the broader U.S. population and ensure that all the agencies responsible for protecting the public’s health are coordinating appropriately with all due diligence to avert a potential disaster."
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