FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2003
Contact:  Marie DesOrmeaux
(202) 225-3772
 
House Passes Project Bioshield Act
Ross: Administration missing opportunity with Pine Bluff Arsenal
 
(Washington, D.C.) Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) today entered the following statement in the Congressional Record as the House of Representatives voted to approve spending on President Bush’s Project Bioshield initiative:

“I rise today to point out an opportunity within Project Bioshield that the Administration refuses to consider – I’m referring to the wealth of expertise, the top-notch security, and the long-established excellence of the Pine Bluff Arsenal, located in my district.

“During my first term in office, I began meeting with officials at the Pentagon and working with the Pine Bluff Alliance and the Pine Bluff Arsenal to lay the necessary groundwork for bringing a vaccine production facility to the Arsenal.  Now, as we stand ready to approve billions of dollars to develop this Bioshield, the Pine Bluff Arsenal stands ready to help. 

“Unfortunately, my fellow members of the Arkansas Delegation and I met with officials from the Pentagon earlier this year to discuss the Arsenal’s potential role in Project Bioshield – and we were told that the administration is opposed to anything other than working through privatized contractors.  

“The President’s designation of vaccine production as a spending priority provides a landmark opportunity for Arkansas, and despite the Administration turning its back on the Pine Bluff Arsenal, I’m not giving up - for the sake of the jobs and economic development it will provide to Southeast Arkansas as well as its importance to the security of our nation.”


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