October 5, 2001

Senate Hearing Addresses Bioterrorism Preparedness

A hearing on the threat of bioterrorism and preparedness of the public health system was held Oct. 3 by the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee. The first panel featured Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), cosponsors of the Public Health and Emergencies Act of 2000, which passed last year as part of a larger public health package.

They outlined the $1.4 billion bill, which provides assistance in three areas in case of a biological attack: detection, treatment, and containment. When asked by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the full appropriations committee, where the $1.4 billion would go and when it would be needed, Sen. Kennedy explained that half is needed immediately for local public health preparedness and the remainder should be allotted in the next year or so for hospital improvement and intelligence building. He emphasized the necessity of upgrading our labs, expanding the number of hospitals and their capacity for emergencies, and improving training for health personnel to identify and treat severe diseases in the wake of a biological or chemical attack.

Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.) outlined their recently introduced $1.6 billion anti-bioterrorism bill (S.1486), which provides $550 million for block grants to state and local health agencies and funding to combat "agriterrorism" by bolstering food inspection at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Sen. Hagel agreed with Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) that it is necessary to combine the food inspection service under one agency, as it now is split between U.S. Department of Agriculture and the FDA.

The second panel featured Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, accompanied by the bioterrorism initiative director at HHS, Dr. Scott Lillibridge. The Secretary emphasized that they were prepared to respond to an attack, using the national network between local, state, and federal public health agencies. He listed three areas HHS plans to be more aggressive: local public health infrastructure, specifically more training for health professionals and epidemiologists; enlarging the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile; and improving food safety inspection.

Information: Erica Froyd, AAMC Office of Governmental Relations, 202-828-0525.