Coronavirus Disease Outbreak (COVID-19): CRS Experts

Updated March 16, 2020 (R46209)

On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Illnesses have since been linked to a new strain of coronavirus, designated Coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. The disease has spread to many other countries, including the United States. The situation is rapidly changing, and both WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) post frequent updates.¹ CRS products on the outbreak are available on the "COVID-19" Hot Topic at https://www.crs.gov/.

The following table lists names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns involving the COVID-19 outbreak. Policy areas identified include

public health, virology, and epidemiology;
international response activities;
domestic response activities; and
legal issues.

Legislative Issue	Name/Title		Phone	Email
Public Health—General
	Sarah A. Lister Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
	Kavya Sekar Analyst in Health Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Public Health—Disease and Epidemiology
	Laurie A. Harris Analyst in Science and Technology Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Sarah A. Lister Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
International Response Activities
General, outbreak response	Sara M. Tharakan Analyst in Global Health and International Development		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
General, World Health Organization (WHO), international authorities	Tiaji Salaam-Blyther Specialist in Global Health		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
State Department	Cory R. Gill Analyst in Foreign Affairs		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
China: Economics and trade	Karen M. Sutter Specialist in Asian Trade and Finance		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
International economic effects	Andres B. Schwarzenberg Analyst in International Trade and Finance		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Multilateral Economic Institutions: World Bank, International Monetary Fund	Martin A. Weiss Specialist in International Trade and Finance		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Legal and illegal wildlife trade and zoonotic diseases	Pervaze A. Sheikh Specialist in Natural Resources Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Katarina C. O'Regan Analyst in Foreign Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Domestic Response Activities
Health: Public health, Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), funding	Sarah A. Lister Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Kavya Sekar Analyst in Health Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Laurie A. Harris Analyst in Science and Technology Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Medical countermeasures (tests, vaccines, treatments, patent issues)	Agata Dabrowska Analyst in Health Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Amanda K. Sarata Specialist in Health Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Frank Gottron Specialist in Science and Technology Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Kavya Sekar Analyst in Health Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Laurie A. Harris Analyst in Science and Technology Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Biodefense	Frank Gottron Specialist in Science and Technology Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Private health insurance, essential health benefits	Vanessa C. Forsberg Analyst in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Private health insurance, surprise medical billing	Ryan J. Rosso Analyst in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Noah D. Isserman Analyst in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Nursing home and home health agency oversight	Phoenix Voorhies Analyst in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Benefits	Evelyne P. Baumrucker Specialist in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Medicaid and CHIP Financing	Alison Mitchell Specialist in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Telehealth Medicare	Jim Hahn Specialist in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Telehealth Medicaid	Alison Mitchell Specialist in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Medicare Physician Issues	Jim Hahn Specialist in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Medicare Hospital Payments	Marco A. Villagrana Analyst in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Medicare Advantage	Paulette C. Morgan Specialist in Health Care Financing		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Food: child nutrition programs during school closures, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)	Kara Clifford Billings Analyst in Social Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Food: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)	Randy Alison Aussenberg Specialist in Nutrition Assistance Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Paid and Unpaid Leave	Sarah A. Donovan Specialist in Labor Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
School and University Closures and Online Operations	Rebecca R. Skinner Specialist in Education Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Alexandra Hegji Analyst in Social Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Cassandria Dortch Specialist in Education Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Immigration: Border screening, Customs and Border Protection (CBP)	Audrey Singer Specialist in Immigration Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Transportation: Aviation	Rachel Y. Tang Analyst in Transportation and Industry		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Bart Elias Specialist in Aviation Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Broadband and Digital Divide	Colby Leigh Rachfal Analyst in Telecommunications Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Temporary Assistance: Short-term loans for repatriated U.S. citizens	Karen E. Lynch Specialist in Social Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Economics: Economic effects	Marc Labonte Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Economics: Tax and spending options	Mark P. Keightley Specialist in Economics		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Don Marples Specialist in Public Finance		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Molly F. Sherlock Specialist in Public Finance		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Economics: Small Business Administration (SBA)	Bruce R. Lindsay Analyst in American National Government		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Tax Credits, Paid Sick Leave, and Paid Family and Medical Leave	Molly F. Sherlock Specialist in Public Finance		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Election Administration and Voting	R. Sam Garrett Specialist in American National Government		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Emergency Management: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)	Bruce R. Lindsay Analyst in American National Government		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Erica A. Lee Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Elizabeth M. Webster Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Employment, Labor: Unemployment Insurance (UI), Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)	Katelin P. Isaacs Specialist in Income Security		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Julie M. Whittaker Specialist in Income Security		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Employment, Labor: Occupational safety and health, workers' compensation	Scott D. Szymendera Analyst in Disability Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Employment, Labor: State Temporary Disability Insurance	Will Morton Analyst in Disability Policy		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Legal Issues
Isolation and Quarantine	Edward C. Liu Legislative Attorney		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Health: Vaccines, Treatments, Patent Issues	Kevin J. Hickey Legislative Attorney		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Immigration: Border Screening, Customs and Border Protection (CBP)	Ben Harrington Legislative Attorney		[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]

Author Contact Information

Matthew B. Barry, Section Research Manager ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.	WHO, "Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports," https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports; and CDC, "Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Summary," https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html.