U.S. lawmakers held a number of hearings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, aimed at clarifying Washington’s response to COVID-19.

A House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in the morning was cut short, after members of the president’s task force on coronavirus--who were answering questions from lawmakers--said they were needed back at the White House for an emergency meeting.  

More than 1,000 Americans, in nearly 40 states, have now tested positive for COVID-19, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is America's top authority on infectious diseases and a member of the White House task force.  "I can say we will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now," Fauci warned. "How much worse we'll get will depend on our ability to do two things: to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside, and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country."

Doing so, many argue, requires more frequent testing across the country.  Many local and state agencies complain the federal government has not provided them with the proper resources to keep up with demand. "I've got an email right here from the city council, mayor and leadership in San Antonio saying they don't have adequate plans on what to do with those who have been who have tested positive,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy, whose Texas district includes the city where evacuees from a cruise ship were being sent. As the committee's witnesses prepared to leave early, a clearly frustrated Roy added, “I expect you all to come back down here today."

"The U.S. Center s for Diseases Control (CDC) has sent material to test 75,000 people through the public health system," said Dr. John Redd of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at an afternoon House Homeland Security subcommittee  hearing. "And there are over a million tests available through the commercial system."

But  accumulating all of the data has proven to be a challenge. Indeed, some lawmakers said it is difficult to get a full understanding of the extent of infections in the U.S. because commercial labs are not required to report their cases to any centralized public system. 

While the number of cases are trending downward in China, health officials said their concern now has shifted. "Europe is the new China," said Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the CDC.

That statement prompted lawmakers to ask why the same travel restrictions were not being put in place on Europeans, following a spike in infections and deaths in Italy.

"Europe presents a unique problem, because of the Schengen zone and their borders," said Ken Cuccinelli, the Acting Deputy  Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, referring to Europe's freedom of movement policy that did away with most intra-European border controls. "There are 29 countries here. Does treating Italy as an individual entity even make sense?" he asked.

Cuccinelli said the Europeans are sufficiently conducting airport screenings on those exiting, at least enough to assure American officials. And because the number of travelers has significantly dropped, screening arriving  passengers from Europe--or altogether restricting them--would require significant resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

Later in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump met with bank executives behind closed doors at the White House. Trump is pushing Congress to pass an economic relief plan that will help Americans financially affected by the spread of COVID-19 and the ensuing responses. He is hoping American banks can also help mitigate the economic uncertainty that has left many Americans worried.  Trump also announced he would make a further statement on the U.S. response to the outbreak later Wednesday evening.