The Corona Virus and Interagency Cooperation
As I write this, President Trump is reporting on the work of his Caronavirus (COVID-19) Task Force as they seek to identify, isolate, treat, and control the spread of this disease. Fundamental to this process is the necessity of cooperation between and among the various departments and agencies of the federal government who may have a direct and/or indirect role of providing support.
To say that this is a complex undertaking is an understatement. As always, politics is at play. Local and State politicians seeking to look good in the eyes of their constituents try to deflect blame for their own shortcomings and politicians of all stripes seek political advantage, especially in an election year. As unseemly as it appears, those seeking political power rarely subordinate their lust for power to the collective needs of the people they are elected to serve.
Back to the issue at hand.
Tackling the spread of a deadly virus is an exercise in inter-agency cooperation. Left to themselves, agencies and departments rarely subordinate their interests to a collective body. In this case the president provides a forcing function; it’s called leadership. His daily meetings with his task force and periodic reporting to the press demands the collection and analysis of information from around the globe to access the impact of the virus on the interconnected global economy. The U.S. House of Representatives also plays a critical role in the allocation of resources. Additionally, governors from fifty states lead their respective public health agencies but also rely on the United States Public Health Service to respond to local concerns. Like national defense, the control of the spread of infectious diseases is a core function of the federal government but the States play a critical role because they are the closest to those affected by the disease.
So, what’s the bottom line? Leadership during crises matters. Only the president, sitting atop the federal bureaucracy can muster the resources necessary to mitigate the impact of the events beyond his control. While politicians talk, the president acts.
