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| Wilson Provisions Added to House Bio-terrorism Bill |
December 10, 2001 |
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| Bill will Improve the Security of our Nation’s public health system
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Heather Wilson today announced that the House will consider a bio-terrorism bill that includes several provisions she spearheaded. This bill will provide badly needed support for public and private health care systems throughout America’s communities, ensuring our national capacity to respond to public health emergencies, including bio-terrorism. The bill will improve communication among all levels of government, public health officials, first responders, and health care facilities, and will direct resources to the education and training of health care personnel.
The bill also authorizes a stockpile of drugs, vaccines, and other supplies for the nation’s health security. It will encourage and expand research and development of drugs, vaccines, devices, and other emerging technologies to combat bio-terrorism and other potential disease outbreaks. This legislation will increase inspections at our borders and includes targeted enforcement authorities to increase the safety of our food and drug supplies. In addition, the security of drinking water systems will be evaluated and improved.
“America is fighting a war today on many fronts and we can’t ignore the fact that all Americans are now on the front lines as we go on about our daily lives,” said Wilson. “In the past three months, we have come to realize that the threat of bio-terrorism is very real, and it’s time to fill the gaps in our nation’s bio-defense, surveillance systems, and public health infrastructure.”
The recent anthrax attacks through the mail overwhelmed the few labs that exist to handle bio-terror agents. Wilson’s proposal would expand the capabilities of existing laboratories across the nation and provide a network of support between these laboratories.
The bill would also establish a genome sequencing project and require that those who possess or use dangerous biological agents provide cultures of these materials so that we have an “encyclopedia “of DNA samples. A registry of the genetic sequence of the bio-agents is equally important in order to be able to identify the source of materials and deter terrorism.
This legislation is an important and timely response to the increased threat of bio-terrorism,” said Wilson. “Our nation faces an unprecedented challenge and we must work tirelessly toward securing the safety of our citizens.” |
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