Posted on 04/05/2020 5:32:43 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON - As the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers.
Now, three months into the crisis, that stockpile is nearly drained just as the numbers of patients needing critical care is surging. Some state and local officials report receiving broken ventilators and decade-old dry-rotted masks.
“We basically wasted two months,” Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary during the Obama administration, told AP.
Trump and his appointees have urged state and local governments, and hospitals, to buy their own masks and breathing machines, saying requests to the dwindling national stockpile should be a last resort.
“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile,” Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, said at a White House briefing Thursday. “It’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use.”
Experts in emergency preparedness and response have expressed dismay at such statements, saying the federal government must take the lead in ensuring medical supplies are available and distributed where they are needed most.
“States do not have the purchasing power of the federal government. They do not have the ability to run a deficit like the federal government. They do not have the logistical power of the federal government,” said Sebelius, who served as governor of Kansas before running the nation’s health care system.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
The US may have but many of us astute FReepers didn’t.
This is just prep for the forthcoming Impeachment, Part II, that the democrats are going to subject us to when this horse$hit is finally over.
Evil Orange Man: Volume 11
I would say that the problem here is the federal and state contracting laws, which make ANY purchase take far longer than it reasonably should take. I’ve been a party to contracts that literally took years to finalize. Getting a large contract finalized between December and March is actually pretty rapid action for the federal government.
I wonder who is responsible for the cumbersome contract laws...
There is plenty of fraud, waste, and abuse at the state level, plenty of BS projects, trans reading adventures to children (the list is appalling) ALL of which costs money at the state level... and better spent on PPE.
Nice. 20-20 hindsight. The president limited flights from China on Jan 31. Meanwhile, the libtard demonrats are telling everyone that the coronavirus is no big deal and just go out and party. The mainstream media is infested with dim-witted or just plain evil people.
The AP is an American enemy and should be destroyed
The stocks were exhausted following the 2009 swine flu outbreak. Obama never replenished them, Trump never replenished them. I’d not be surprised if many nations around the world failed to replenish their stocks.
Why? I don’t know. It’s easy to point fingers in hindsight, but I don’t remember anyone arguing for the necessity, prior to this year.
As if any of that will matter in Impeachment 2.0
It’s the AP (mainstream media), so of course Trump is wrong.
Trump moves too fast. He’s reckless! Trump moves too slow. He’s incompetent!
On and on it goes.
CONGRESS wasted months on impeachment instead of getting ready, or was their delay intentional, with Schiff telling Pelosi that a failed impeachment conviction would still give Democrats an advantage after the coronavirus he had been briefed on would devastate the economy and remove Trump’s election advantage.
OFFS?! Guess obxxx and nuzzlin’/pedo joe tried to restock but got held up for some reason? Hey ‘ap’,——fah Q
ASS-ociated press. And what was the house of representatives doing??????????? impeachment! they are the waste and that was the waste!!
Did NOT read the article...I can imagine what it says...it’s AP
IF WE WERE TO PREPARE FOR EVERY POSSIBLE DISASTER, NOTHING WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED, EXCEPT WE ALL WOULD BE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF TERROR, FRIGHT, COMPLAINING, AND END UP HATING.
SO TYPICAL OF THE WAY AP OPERATES ON A DAILY BASIS.
Butt, butt, butt————high speed trains from sf-la............
Agents of China still want a crack at de-electing President Trump.
Red China’s coronavirus ploy WILL NOT defeat Prsident Trump beceuas ethe People know whats happening.
The agents of China, the MSM and the unpatriotic miasma of the socialist left do not want America to bceome great again.
Sonow they are creating another witch hunt, with Bolshevik leftist Jews Adam Schiff, Nadler,Soros , Schumer and the vast coolective of socialist pltocrats within the executive branch are now trying yet again to useat the greatest Presient that America has elected in 5 generations.
THEY WILL FAIL. And after the GOP takes the Presidency, the Senate and The House, we will have a majority that will send these leftsts socialist and their jingoistic media running dogs straight into the dust bin of history.
And Red China, like it or not, will be forced without any further bio war, to join the community of civilized nations.
This is the goal of patriotic Americans.
And there should be NO confusion about it.
President Trump and his administrtaion did everything they could to defend America with a desicated health system thanks to Obama’s lack of health system leadership, sanctuary states who did not prepare,and a continuing witch hunt frpm the left and their plutocrats designed to prevent President Trump from successfully prosecuting his policies to rebuild the economy.
And now the final phase of beating the left will begin as they see the President’s popularity soaring , as they begin yet again to try to vilify and destroy one of the best Presidents our country has ever had.
Crating disuinty out of unity on America is a goal of Red China, so as to interfere with our November election.
We supporters of the President must not fail to interdict this attempt, and emerge yet again Victorious.
Months? The whole thing happened in a few weeks.
They’ve already started on the Comfort and Mercy not being packed to the gunwales with sick and dying.
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