DISASTERSDisaster Expert Testifies in Congress Regarding Future Pandemics
“The severity, the disruptions, the politicization of the response, the inequities, and the pandemics’ persistence were all predicted in various reports, studies, and historical records of prior pandemics. The shortage of ventilators, personal protective equipment, and healthcare system capacity was the subject of numerous reports, including from the federal government…. We didn’t want to spend the money on what was needed, so we are dealing with the consequences now. And our response is a lot more expensive and a lot less effective as a result”: Colombia University’s Jeffrey Schlegelmilch.
Last month, the Columbia Climate School’s Jeffrey Schlegelmilch presented at a hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Rules’ Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process. The hearing focused on “Using Budget Principles to Prepare for Future Pandemics and Other Disasters.”
Schlegelmilch is director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, where he and colleagues have led efforts to cope with and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the hearing, Schlegelmilch spoke with members of Congress about challenges with disaster response budgeting, the need for better preparedness before disasters strike, and how disasters will only grow in intensity and frequency under climate change.
“Those that say we could not have seen COVID-19 coming are simply wrong,” he noted in his written testimony. “The severity, the disruptions, the politicization of the response, the inequities, and the pandemics’ persistence were all predicted in various reports, studies, and historical records of prior pandemics. The shortage of ventilators, personal protective equipment, and healthcare system capacity was the subject of numerous reports, including from the federal government…. We didn’t want to spend the money on what was needed, so we are dealing with the consequences now. And our response is a lot more expensive and a lot less effective as a result.”
Watch the hearing and read Schlegelmilch’s prepared comments — including his recommendations on enhancing disaster preparedness to save money and lives, and reducing government bureaucracy for swifter disaster response — below.
Testimony to the House of Representatives Committee on Rules’ Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process for the Hearing: Using Budget Principles to Prepare for Future Pandemics and Other Disasters
By Jeff Schlegelmilch
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee today. In my role leading the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Climate School, as well as through other positions, I have dedicated my career to fostering the impact of disaster research in the fields of policy and practice. As everyone is well aware, the challenges we face from disasters are increasing in both severity and frequency. This is driven in part by human-caused climate change, as well as aging infrastructure, and a world that is growing smaller and more connected, virtually and physically. We are now entering an era in which disasters are the norm, and overlapping disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires during a pandemic are transpiring.
