Strengthening Biodefense
As a nation, we are underprepared to address the next biological or pandemic threat to our country. I am focused on changing that. Specifically, I’ve introduced legislation to address our inability to mobilize quickly and effectively to identify, contain, treat and eliminate any kind of biological threat to people in the United States.
We know that terrorist organizations, including ISIS, are actively pursuing chemical and biological weapons, and that we remain vulnerable to naturally occurring epidemics and pandemics which pose a risk to national security and to public health. Right now, despite the steps taken during and after the Ebola epidemic, we remain largely reactionary in our response to pandemics and biological threats. DHS, the FBI, and the CIA, work to protect our nation from biodefense threats, but Congress has a pivotal role in strengthening our defense efforts. As a former U.S. Attorney, former chair of the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee, and member of the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I am working in Congress to lead proactive efforts to protect and defend our country and its citizens from the threat of outbreak, epidemic or an act of biological terror in the United States.
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense released a report in 2015 that found that our national biodefense strategy and efforts need significant improvement. I have been leading efforts in Congress to act on the 33 recommendations presented in the Panel’s final report. To put some of these recommendations into practice, I introduced H.R. 3299, the Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act, with Rep. Anna Eschoo (D-CA) to improve U.S. biodefense efforts and incentivize the development of vaccines for dangerous and deadly pathogens as identified by the Department of Homeland Security. This bill was signed into law as part of the 21st Century Cures Act. I look forward to continuing work to prepare for and to protect our country from biological threats.
Additionally, I co-sponsored H.R. 4400 with Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), legislation that added Zika virus to the FDA Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher Program and incentivized the development and distribution of a vaccine for the Zika virus. The Zika virus, which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and can be transmitted sexually, can infect pregnant women and result in birth defects, including microcephaly and neurological disorders in newborns. Companion legislation to H.R. 4400, S. 2512, was signed into law in 2016.
To read an op-ed I wrote about why strengthening our national biodefense is so important to our security and to public health, click here.
To read an op-ed I wrote about how 21st Century Cures will help people get the treatment and care they need, click here. For more information on the 21st Century Cures act, click here.
More on Strengthening Biodefense
U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) is pushing for the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (PAHPA), which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in September, to be signed into law this year.
Federal officials are pushing for the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (PAHPA), which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in September, to be signed into law this year.
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the Alliance for Biosecurity hosted Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dr. Robert Kadlec, and the Director of the Biomedical Advances Research and Development Authority Dr. Rick Bright for a discussion with members of the Congressional Biodefense Caucus about our biosecurity preparedness and ensuring the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (PAHPA) is signed into law this year. Congresswoman Susan W.
Seventeen years ago, on 9/11, nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of three unforgettable terrorist attacks on American soil. But it is commonly overlooked that more than 6,000 other people were injured, many of them first responders.
On September 25, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed without objection the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness And Advancing Innovation Act of 2018. Introduced on July 16, 2018, by Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-IN), this Act reauthorizes certain programs under the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act, and amends the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Streamlining how hospitals and the Centers for Disease Control handle terror attacks, natural disasters and disease outbreaks would be made possible through a bill that has passed the U-S House and was co-written by Fifth District Congresswoman Susan Brooks.
The Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act would provide more federal money for vaccines, equipment such as hazmat suits and allow more money for researching diseases such as Ebola and Zika.
Bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) to bolster America’s preparedness and response to public health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, bioterror attacks or chemical incidents, received approval on Sept. 25 from the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) to bolster America’s preparedness and response to public health emergencies, including biological threats like emerging infectious diseases, as well as chemical, bio or nuclear terrorist attacks.
H.R. 6378 will bolster U.S. biodefense preparedness and response capabilities
WASHINGTON, DC – Streamlining how hospitals and the Centers for Disease Control handle terror attacks, natural disasters and disease outbreaks would be made possible through a bill that has passed the U.S. House and co-written by Indiana Congresswoman Susan Brooks.