The COVID-19 pandemic was unnecessarily heartbreaking, and Arizonians continue to reel from a political agenda that was prioritized over scientific protocols and public health guidance, according to U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona).
Gosar, a six-term congressman and a dentist by trade, serves on both the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services.
“We deserve to know anything that was done incorrectly, meaning to determine what lessons can be learned and to ensure that censorship of medical views, alternative treatments and truthful data, are never suppressed again,” he said.
Gosar was among the politicians who addressed the Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee remotely May 25-26, in Senate Hearing Room 1 in Phoenix.
“Businesses collapsed,” he said. “Places of worship were locked down. Schools closed. Men, women and children were masked. People were forced to take the jab and many others, including doctors, nurses, and first responders who are brave members of our military, were fired for refusing to take the experimental vaccine.”
The two-day hearing, co-chaired by state Rep. Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park) and state Sen. Janae Shamp (R-Surprise), was organized to investigate Arizona's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This investigation will begin the important task of examining the failed policies at the federal, state, and local levels that brought our great state to its knees,” Gosar said. “Arizonians deserve to know the mistakes that were made in the way our government handled and responded to the pandemic.”
On March 13, 2020, to mitigate the national coronavirus outbreak, former U.S. President Donald Trump activated the National Emergencies Act (NEA), which allows 120 presidential authorities and provides a check and balance by mandating congressional review.
Gosar introduced legislation earlier this year that ended the three-year-old NEA declaration and terminated the temporary executive branch powers that it granted.
Other congressmen who lectured remotely on video at the Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee included Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.). All three U.S. Representatives are members of the committee, along with Montenegro and Shamp who organized the local event.
“It's important that all data be reviewed, including any incentives that promoted misinformation,” Gosar said. “We need to understand the devastating impact of the lockdowns and issues related to the vaccine. We need to get to the bottom of what occurred over the past two years, and that's why this committee is so important.”
In Arizona in 2020, of 75,700 total deaths, 25.2% were from heart disease, 16.7% from cancer, and 11.1% from COVID-19. In 2021, of 81,482 total deaths, 24% were from heart disease, 15.7% from cancer, and 15.6% from COVID-19, according to Senate data.
“We also deserve to know anything that was done correctly, meaning to determine what lessons can be learned and to ensure that censorship of medical views, alternative treatments, and truthful data, are never suppressed again,” Gosar added.
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