A House lawmaker is pushing the Obama administration to give emergency funds to victims of a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that killed more than 70 people and sickened more than 700.
Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Mich., said Wednesday the administration hasn’t answered his questions about why it didn’t grant emergency funds to victims in a 2012 outbreak of meningitis. The outbreak was linked to contaminated drugs shipped out by a New England compounding pharmacy.
“These victims and their families have gone through a world of suffering, and the administration’s inaction simply isn’t good enough,” Bishop said in a statement Wednesday.
So far, about 14 people have been charged in connection to the outbreak. The scandal eventually led Congress to boost the Food and Drug Administration’s authority over compounding pharmacies.
The Department of Justice, which oversees funding allotted through the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program, wanted to get funds to victims of the outbreak.
The Office of Management and Budget denied the request, and Bishop and 17 lawmakers sent a letter to the agency last month asking why. Bishop sought a deadline of May 31 for an answer but said he hasn’t received one.
About nine people of the 19 victims in Michigan were from Bishop’s district.
