Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - October 05, 2005)

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Mr. REID. Mr. President, four years after 9/11, the government was supposed to be prepared for a crisis like Hurricane Katrina. Yet as we all saw, the government was not. We owe it to the American people to do better in the future.

Once again, the experts are warning us. This time, it's not about levees or terrorists. It's about another pandemic flu.

According to the experts, another pandemic flu is not a matter of if but a question of when. As Dr. Julie Gerberding of the Centers for Disease Control put it: ``..... many influenza experts, including those at CDC, consider the threat of a serious influenza pandemic to the United States to be high. Although the timing and impact of an influenza pandemic is unpredictable, the occurrence is inevitable and potentially devastating.''

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina would pale in comparison to the potential consequences of a global pandemic. A respected U.S. health expert has concluded that 1.7 million Americans would die in the first year alone of an outbreak. A pandemic flu outbreak in the Untied States today could cost our economy hundreds of billions of dollars due to death, lost productivity and disruptions to commerce and society.

Perhaps the only thing more troubling than contemplating the possible consequences of an avian flu pandemic is recognizing that neither this Nation nor the world are prepared to deal with it.

Our National Pandemic Plan is still in draft stages. We lack the capacity to rapidly manufacture vaccines in mass quantities. We barely have enough antiviral medication for 2 percent of our population. Our health care infrastructure is not prepared to handle a pandemic. And the medical community, businesses, and general public need to be better prepared.

These are just a few ways we are not as prepared as we should be.

America can do better. An avian flu pandemic may be inevitable, but the devastating consequences are not. We need to heed the warnings and take action immediately.

Last week, the Senate unanimously approved an amendment offered by Senators Harkin, Obama, Kennedy, Durbin and me that will begin to provide the resources necessary to protect Americans against this looming threat.

Today, I am proud to introduce, along with Senators Obama, Bayh, Kennedy, Harkin and Durbin, the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act of 2005. This legislation builds on our commitment to protecting Americans by preparing for the possibility of a pandemic.

Specifically, the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act will ensure that we have a national plan to address a flu pandemic. Under our bill, a new Director of Pandemic Preparedness and Response within the Executive Office of the President will be responsible for finalizing and carrying out the National Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan. There should be no question about who is in charge of preparing our nation for this looming threat. This new position will also ensure that, in the event of a pandemic, we will have a single senior official whose primary responsibility is to coordinate the federal government's response and ensure coordination between local governments and the private sector. This is serious responsibility, and our bill will ensure that the new Director is held accountable for preparing and protecting Americans against the threat of a pandemic.

Our bill will improve surveillance and international partnerships so we may detect the emergence of a flu strain with pandemic potential immediately. Specifically, our bill establishes and implements a comprehensive diplomatic strategy targeted at nations most at risk for an epidemic of avian influenza. It also provides assistance for international surveillance and medical care, and creates an International Fund to support pre-pandemic influenza control and relief activities in countries affected by avian influenza.

Domestic surveillance efforts will also be bolstered by our legislation. Our bill improves state surveillance capacity, and expands efforts by the Department of Agriculture to prevent pandemic avian influenza.

The Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act will improve our capacity to develop, produce and distribute a vaccine that will be effective against a pandemic flu. It will expand research at the National Institutes of Health so we may develop more efficient methods of producing vaccines. Our bill would enhance our vaccine production capacity by creating a guaranteed market for seasonal flu vaccine through a federal buyback program for a portion of unsold doses. And among other provisions, our bill will improve access to vaccinations during a pandemic by enhancing annual flu vaccination coverage for uninsured and underinsured adults and children.

Our legislation will ensure that we have enough antivirals, vaccines and other essential medications and supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile. Specifically, our bill requires that we procure enough antiviral medication to cover a minimum of 50 percent of the population for the Strategic National Stockpile. This legislation will protect Americans from the price-gouging of medications during a pandemic, and establishes a mass tracking and distribution system for vaccines and antiviral medications so we can direct medications and vaccines to where they are needed the most.

The Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act will also improve our surge capacity so that the American people can be assured there will be an adequate supply of health care providers and institutions to care for them in the event of a pandemic. Our bill will also ensure that public education and awareness campaigns targeted to businesses, health care providers and the American public related to pandemic preparedness are conducted.

And finally, the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act will ensure that adequate resources are available to address this looming threat.

I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation so we may ensure that we do everything possible to prepare and protect Americans from the threat of a global flu pandemic.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

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