“It is abundantly clear that we are no longer immune to the threat of bioterrorism,” Chairman Tauzin said. “In a post-September 11^th world, it is essential that Congress strengthen our public health infrastructure at the national, state and local levels to better protect the American people.   

“After months of vigorous debate and countless hours of negotiations, the House-Senate Conference Committee has agreed upon a sweeping package that I believe clearly enhances our national security. 

“This critically-important legislation includes everything from beefed up food safety regulations to tightened controls on deadly biological agents.  In short, this landmark bill, which President Bush is expected to sign into law, will improve our ability to respond effectively and quickly to bioterrorist threats and other public health emergencies.” 

Note:  The House Rules Committee has scheduled a meeting on the H.R. 3448 Conference Report for this evening (Tuesday, May 21, in H-313 of the Capitol).  A summary of H.R. 3448 follows: 

Protecting America From the Threat of Bioterrorism 

• In a post September 11^th world, the threat of a bioterrorist attack on American soil has become very real.  

• In recent months, Members of the House-Senate Conference Committee, chaired by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA), have worked tirelessly in a bipartisan fashion to merge competing versions of legislation that deal with these growing threats in order to dramatically improve public health infrastructure at the national, state and local levels. 

• “The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act” combines smart policy and additional resources to prepare this nation better for bioterrorist threats or other public health emergencies, and improves our ability to respond effectively and quickly to such threats. 

• This sweeping legislation, which President Bush is expected to sign into law, covers everything from public health preparedness and improvements, to enhancing controls on deadly biological agents, to protecting our food, drug and drinking water supplies.  

Specifically: 

ü     The bill authorizes more than $1.5 BILLION in grants to states, local governments and other public and private health care facilities and other entities to improve planning and preparedness activities, enhance laboratory capacity, educate and train health care personnel, and to develop new drugs, therapies and vaccines. 

ü     The bill authorizes $300 MILLION for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to upgrade and renovate their facilities to deal with public health threats and additional sums, as needed, to improve CDC capabilities. 

ü     The bill authorizes more than $1.15 BILLION for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand our current national stockpiles of medicines and other supplies, including the purchase of additional small pox vaccines. 

ü     To help prevent bioterrorism and to establish a national database of dangerous pathogens, the bill requires the HHS Secretary to impose new registration requirements on all possessors of the 36 biological agents and toxins most dangerous to humans and mandates tough new safety and security requirements.  The bill also grants authority to USDA to similarly regulate those agents that are most devastating to crops and livestock.  Additionally, the bill creates tough new criminal penalties to enforce both of these important new regulatory regimes. 

ü     To further protect America's food and drug supply, as well as to enhance agricultural security, the bill authorizes $545 MILLON for FDA and USDA to hire hundreds of new inspectors at our borders, develop new methods to detect contaminated foods, work with state food safety regulators and to protect crops and livestock. The bill also provides new regulatory powers to FDA to detain suspicious foods for inspection, to require prior notice of all food imports, to improve access to records to investigate the source of contamination and to require foreign and domestic food facilities to register with the FDA.  These new resources and authorities will substantially improve the Secretary's ability to ensure the safety of America's food supply. 

ü     To help bring safer, more-effective medicines to market, the bill reauthorizes the Prescription Drug User Fees Act (PDUFA) through FY 2007, authorizes additional funding for FDA’s Office of Drug Safety, the Office of Generic Drugs and the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications. Additionally, the bill provides FDA the authority to notify physicians when clinical studies of new drugs have not been completed. 

ü     And finally, in order to better protect against chemical, biological or radiological attacks on America’s drinking water supplies, the bill authorizes over $100 MILLION for the development of vulnerability analyses and emergency response plans for drinking water systems.