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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOLDS HEARING ON PANDEMIC FLU READINESS
May 16, 2006
Congressman John Linder (R-GA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack, participated in the Committee on Homeland Security’s hearing entitled “Are We Ready?: Implementing the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza.”
“Today marks another step in our nation’s preparation for the possibility of a deadly outbreak of avian influenza, or H5N1, in the United States. To date, the virus has not yet evolved into a form that is easily transmissible between humans, but we must continue to be vigilant in our preparation and anticipate the worst.”
The Committee examined the President’s recently-released National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza. This plan addresses a potential influenza pandemic by enumerating the respective roles and responsibilities of Federal departments and agencies, and defining expectations of State and local governments, the private sector, nonprofits, communities and individual citizens, should a pandemic occur. Today’s hearing examined the Federal agencies’ roles and responsibilities in the plan.
“My subcommittee, along with the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology, began this discussion in February of this year when we held a joint hearing to examine the nature of a pandemic threat and the importance of early detection. That was a good first step, and this has been a solid second, but we still have a lot of work left to accomplish to ensure the safety of the American people should the worst occur.”
Congressman Linder went on to express his appreciation for the witnesses who testified before the Committee. The witnesses included The Honorable Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., Acting Undersecretary for Science and Technology and Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; The Honorable John Agwonobi, Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services; The Honorable John Clifford, DVM, Deputy Administrator for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services’ Program and USDA’s Chief Veterinarian; and The Honorable Peter F. Verga, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, U.S. Department of Defense.
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