美国国家公共电台 NPR 因反对特朗普推荐的药物 美国顶级科学家被调职(在线收听

Rick Bright alleges that the White House would not listen to him. Today he testifies before a House committee that says it will. Bright used to run a top federal health agency. He says he warned about the pandemic early to no effect. He says he warned against unproven drugs that the president was promoting, and he says that's why the administration transferred him to a different job. NPR health policy reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin is covering this story.

里克·布莱特声称白宫对他的建议不予理会。今天,他将在众议院委员会作证,该委员会将聆听他的证词。布莱特曾是一家顶级联邦卫生机构的负责人。他说,他早就对新冠肺炎疫情提出过警告,但没有任何效果。他说,他曾警告不要服用总统推荐的未经证实的药物,他称这就是政府将他调到另一个工作岗位的原因。NPR新闻的卫生政策记者赛琳娜·西蒙斯-达芬将带来详细报道。

Selena, good morning.

赛琳娜,早上好。

SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.

赛琳娜·西蒙斯-达芬连线:早上好,史蒂夫。

INSKEEP: What has Bright already said?

因斯基普:布莱特说过什么?

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Well, he filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel last week, and that details how, as director of BARDA, which is part of the federal health agency, he warned the Trump administration about the seriousness of the coronavirus. And he claims he pushed back against the White House's promotion of unproven COVID-19 treatments like hydroxychloroquine and that the administration put what he called cronyism over science. He was transferred, he says, against his will to the National Institutes of Health last month.

西蒙斯-达芬:上周,他向美国特别顾问办公室提起举报人申诉,详细说明了他作为联邦卫生机构下属部门生物医学高级研究与开发局(简称BARDA)的主管,曾向特朗普政府警告冠状病毒的严重性。他称,他反对白宫推荐的羟氯喹等未经证实的新冠肺炎治疗药物,而政府将他称之为的“任人唯亲”凌驾于科学之上。他说,上个月他在非自愿的情况下被调到了美国国立卫生研究院。

Now, President Trump has dismissed the allegations and painted Bright as a disgruntled employee. But late last week, Bright's lawyers said the Office of Special Counsel said there seemed to be reasonable grounds to believe he was retaliated against and that it recommended he be reinstated while his complaint is investigated.

现在,特朗普总统驳斥了这些指控,并将布莱特描绘成不满的雇员。但上周末,布莱特的律师表示,美国特别顾问办公室表示,似乎有合理理由相信布莱特遭到报复,并建议在调查他的申诉时恢复原职。

INSKEEP: OK. So there's a complaint now that involves both Bright and this other person, a man named Bowen, who is testifying today as well. Right?

因斯基普:好。现在有一个申诉涉及布莱特和另一个名为鲍温的男子,后者也将在今天作证,对吧?

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Right. So the other witness today is Mike Bowen. He's a businessman with a Texas-based face mask company called Prestige Ameritech. And both witnesses submitted written testimony to lawmakers. Bowen's statement outlines how, for years, he tried to get the federal government to engage with his company and other domestic mask-makers, arguing it was a national security issue and in a pandemic, like we are in now, it would be hard to get the needed supplies. He told NPR last month that no one took his warnings seriously.

西蒙斯-达芬:没错。今天作证的另一名证人是迈克·鲍温。他是一名商人,来自得克萨斯州一家名为Prestige Ameritech的口罩公司。两名证人都向议员提交了书面证词。鲍温在书面证词中概述称,多年来他一直试图让联邦政府与他的公司和其他国产口罩生产商建立友好关系,他认为这是国家安全问题,在像现在这样的疫情中,很难获得所需用品。他上个月对NPR新闻表示,没有人认真对待他的警告。

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

(NPR新闻节目录音档案)

MIKE BOWEN: Everybody ignored it. I mean, the reporters ignored it. The pandemic experts ignored it. Our government ignored it. Hospitals ignored it. Everybody ignored it. I don't want to say I told you so. I just want to help everybody.

迈克·鲍温:所有人都无视了我的警告。记者无视警告。流行病专家视而不见。我们的政府置之不理。医院也不闻不问。所有人都无视警告。我不想说我告诉过你们。我只想帮助大家。

INSKEEP: Although it is an opportunity for both Bowen and Bright to say I told you so, in a way.

因斯基普:尽管从某种程度上来说,这对鲍温和布莱特来说是说出“我告诉过你”这句话的机会。

OK, so that's Bowen. What is Bright likely to say?

好,这是鲍温所说。那布莱特可能会说什么?

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Rick Bright also submitted a written testimony to lawmakers, and he emphasizes he's a scientist and civil servant and that pandemic preparedness is his expertise. And the fact that his warnings went unheeded clearly pains him. Here he is on CBS' "60 Minutes" last week.

西蒙斯-达芬:里克·布莱特也向议员提交了书面证词,他强调他是科学家和公务员,预防流行病是他的专长。他的警告未被重视,这显然使他很痛苦。以下是他上周接受哥伦比亚广播公司《60分钟》节目的采访时所说。

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "60 MINUTES")

(电视节目《60分钟》音频)

RICK BRIGHT: We see too many doctors and nurses now dying. And I was thinking that we could have done more to get those masks and those supplies to them sooner. And if we had, would they still be alive today?

里克·布莱特:我们看到有太多医生和护士正在死亡。我在想,我们本可以采取更多措施,尽快将这些口罩和补给送到他们手中。如果我们这样做了,那他们今天还活着吗?

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: For today's appearance, though, Bright writes that he wants to be forward-looking. So he talks about the need for a clear voice from the federal government that is consistent and truthful even when that truth is difficult. And he says the truth is really difficult. He writes the coronavirus pandemic could be worse than the 1918 flu, which claimed over 50 million lives. And he says the window is closing to prevent things from being worse in the fall, writing, quote, "Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history."

西蒙斯-达芬:不过,对于今天的露面,布莱特写道,他希望有前瞻性。他提到,需要有来自联邦政府的明确声音,即使在很难查明真相时,也要保持一致和真实。他说,真相很难查明。他写道,冠状病毒大流行可能比1918年的大流感还严重,那次流感夺走了5000多万人的生命。他说,阻止事态在秋天变得更糟的窗口正在关闭,“如果没有我和其他专家所提出措施的明确规划和具体实施,那2020年将成为现代史上最黑暗的冬天。”

INSKEEP: Wow. Very briefly, what's the agenda of the lawmakers who will question him?

因斯基普:哇哦。还有个小问题,议员提问他的议程是什么?

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Well, anytime a whistleblower comes to testify before Congress, it's going to be political. Bright is a witness Democratic lawmakers want to hear from, and they hold the majority in the House. One thing to watch for is how Republicans on the committee engage with Bright and whether or not they use this as a platform to defend the president.

西蒙斯-达芬:任何时候有举报人在国会作证,都将成为政治性问题。布莱特是民主党议员想提问的证人,民主党在众议院占多数。值得关注的一件事是,该委员会的共和党人会如何与布莱特接触,以及他们是否会把这当作为总统辩护的平台。

INSKEEP: OK. NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin, thanks so much.

因斯基普:好。以上是NPR新闻的里克·布莱特带来的报道,非常谢谢你。

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Thank you.

西蒙斯-达芬:谢谢。

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/npr2020/5/503613.html