US medical mask maker: 'I've been ignored for so long'

[babylonsister]

US medical mask maker: 'I've been ignored for so long'
By Caroline Kelly, Amanda Watts and Cat Gloria, CNN
4 hrs ago


An executive for a US mask producer bemoaned, in heated and emotional testimony Thursday to Congress, how his warnings of insufficient domestic medical mask production had been ignored by the federal government for years until the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mike Bowen, the vice president of the Texas-based medical supply company Prestige Ameritech, said the US dependence on foreign masks has been a national security issue for years.

Bowen described conversations over the past 13 years in which he had offered manufacturing deals to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that included "mak(ing) sure that the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration always has masks," adding that "I couldn't get anybody interested in it."

"Forgive me for being angry; I'm angry because I've done this for so, so long," Bowen said, appearing to fight back tears. "And I've been ignored for so long. And I apologize."

"Well, Mr. Bowen, I don't think you need to apologize," said Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat who's the chairwoman of the committee, who called his testimony "some of the most important testimony that Congress could be hearing."

Bowen joins others -- including the hearing's other witness, Rick Bright, the ousted director of the office involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine -- who have alleged that relevant experience and expertise in health care and supply chains were not prioritized in the federal coronavirus response.

more...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-medical-mask-maker-ive-been-ignored-for-so-long/ar-BB145V9o?ocid=sf2

[mercuryblues]

1. Republicans made damn sure

Obama's Presidency would never get enough funding to prepare for this. trump doesn't give a fuck about anything unless he can skim the profits off it.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I was listening to this on C-Span yesterday, and this guy is in the business and really knows...

of what he speaks. He even got into the details of a short-term contract where he has to hire a hunded people, train them, and then some official cancels the contract.

This is why some of the better operators refuse gummint contracts. I have personally been involved with refusing many types of of bid business because we have to go through the shit again next year.

[jaxexpat]

3. Was always nervous when I won a government bid.

Scared that I had failed to recognize the trap and inflate cost accordingly.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

4. 13 years goes back to 2007.

H1N1 was 2009-10 height of financial crisis. It's no wonder Obama's hair turned white. It is truly criminal that Republicans opted to block everything and not even hear what he was saying.