Obama Praises Senate Passage of Amendment to Combat Deadly Avian Flu Pandemic
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Obama Contact: Robert Gibbs or Tommy Vietor, (202) 228-5511
Illinois Contact: Julian Green, (312) 886-3506
Date: September 29, 2005
Obama Praises Senate Passage of Amendment to Combat Deadly Avian Flu Pandemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today praised the Senate's passage of legislation to provide nearly $4 billion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to combat a deadly avian flu pandemic. The amendment, introduced by Obama and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), was included in the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill and would provide more than $3 billion to build a stockpile of antiviral drugs.
"America is already behind in recognizing and preparing for a potentially deadly and economically devastating avian flu pandemic that public health experts say is not a matter of if but when," said Obama. "We must face the reality that in this age when you can get on a plane in Bangkok and arrive in Chicago in hours, this is not a problem isolated half a world away but one that could impact us right here at home. Today was an important step in recognizing the threat avian flu might pose."
Since the first cases of avian flu were reported in humans last year, an alarmingly high percentage of those infected have died. Thus far, the only humans infected with the disease have had prolonged contact with infected birds, or have eaten raw, infected chicken. However, health experts agree that the threat posed by a mutated strain of the disease that could be passed from human to human could cause a pandemic. The 1918 flu pandemic killed more than 50 million people worldwide, more than any other disease in history. In the U.S., one out of every four Americans got sick and 675,000 died.
The amendment calls for greater investment in our preparedness efforts by providing more than $3 billion to build a stockpile of antiviral drugs and necessary medical supplies. The bill would also increase U.S. investment in vaccine production, as well as global surveillance and detection of avian flu outbreaks. Currently, the United States has only two million doses of antiviral medicine, enough for one percent of the population.
Obama introduced legislation in April requiring the United States to stockpile antiviral drugs.
The legislation was cosponsored by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Ted Stevens (R-AK).
Previous Obama efforts to combat the avian flu:
- In March, Obama introduced legislation that was included in the Foreign Assistance Act to authorize $25 million in immediate additional spending to prevent and respond to an outbreak of the avian flu. The legislation would establish a high-level, inter-agency task force to formulate a strategy and coordinate the U.S. government response to this threat and require periodic reports to Congress on progress made by the task force.
- In May, Obama worked with a bipartisan group of Senators to appropriate $25 million called for in the Foreign Assistance Act authorization bill. This money is currently being used by U.S. agencies in South East Asia to combat and contain possible outbreaks of avian flu.
- In July, Senator Obama worked to include an additional $10 million in the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The legislation is awaiting action in the conference committee.
- On August 9, Obama sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, requesting that the Bush administration immediately begin creating a stockpile of avian flu vaccines and antivirals sufficient to protect 25 percent of the U.S. population