"Unqualified Crony in Charge of Pandemic Response"

Read the full entry on Transparent Grid.

Function 8 of the Department of Homeland Security's "National Response Plan" (NRP), tasks the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with leadership in responding to a health crisis, such as a flu pandemic, through the Assistant Scretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness (ASPHEP).

"The former Assistant Secretary, Jerome Hauer, was also the director of the Response to Emergencies and Disasters Institute at The George Washington University. Prior to being appointed as assistant secretary, Hauer served as Director of Emergency Management for New York City. Hauer is a gradaute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and has served on the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's Committee to Evaluate R&D Needs for Improved Civilian Medical Response to Chemical and Biological Terrorism.

"His succesor, appointed in 2003 as ASPHEP, is Stewart Simonson. Like Michael Brown at FEMA, Brown is a lawyer who was close to a political benefactor. Simonson graduated from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1994 and served as legal counsel to Tommy Thompson while he was governor of Wisconsin from 1995 to 1999. Simonson then followed Thompson to Washington when the governor was appointed as head of HHS. Simonson's bio at HHS states that 'from 2001-2003, he was the HHS Deputy General Counsel and provided legal advice and counsel to the Secretary on public health preparedness matters. Prior to joining HHS, Simonson served as corporate secretary and counsel for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK).'"

As readers of this blog know, the threat of a global flu pandemic is real and immediate. One would surely hope for a fully trained and experienced public health expert to lead the United States' efforts to avert and respond to this threat. Apparently, we have a lawyer with ten years legal experience instead.


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