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[Page H4648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BIODEFENSE MUST BE BIPARTISAN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Indiana (Mrs. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in recognition of
the passage of H.R. 7574, the Strengthening America's Strategic
National Stockpile Act, which builds on the bipartisan work done by the
Energy and Commerce Committee on pandemic preparedness issues.
I am honored to have co-led this bipartisan bill with my colleague
Congresswoman Slotkin from Michigan. I also thank Ranking Member
Burgess and Chairwoman Eshoo, who has been a longtime champion on
biodefense issues, and importantly, the Energy and Commerce Committee
staff for their tireless bipartisan work on this legislation.
I think all of us can agree that biodefense must be a bipartisan
issue. COVID-19 has clearly exposed weaknesses in our Nation's public
health infrastructure.
I have spent a good part of my career in Congress focused on
biodefense and pandemic response legislation.
I became a U.S. attorney back in 2001, just one month after the 9/11
attacks on our country. Shortly after that were the anthrax attacks
here on our Nation's Capitol. In my U.S. Attorney's Office, we actually
received a hoax anthrax attack, which served as a stark reminder of the
importance of staying vigilant and the threat that even a single
individual can pose.
As former chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, we worked on
things like Project BioShield.
When we talk about biodefense, people often think about things more
commonly known: chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats.
Pandemic threats though are yet, as we are learning, some of the most
dangerous threats to everyday Americans.
Every bit as complex as cyber threats, more of an imminent threat in
the 21st century than even conventional conflicts, biothreats can come
from anywhere. Bad actors, malicious organizations or nation-states,
random industrial accidents, or even an act of nature can be the
original source. And once events like this begin to unfold, they can be
extremely hard to predict and respond to.
That is why I am glad that we continue to focus on this and have been
proud to have been part of coleading the package, which we hope will
dramatically improve our Nation's ability to respond to these threats.
I am very proud that Congress came together to get this done.
The Strategic National Stockpile is a cornerstone of our Nation's
biodefense infrastructure. It is responsible for keeping large
quantities of pharmaceuticals, medical countermeasures, personal
protective equipment, and other lifesaving products for rapid
deployment in the event of an emergency.
This bill builds on the bipartisan work done by the Energy and
Commerce Committee when last year, in June 2019, the Pandemic All-
Hazards Preparedness Act was reauthorized and signed into law by
President Trump. Our committee's work has continued to improve our
Nation's response to pandemic events.
I commend Ranking Member Walden and Ranking Member Guthrie of the
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for their incredible work on
Energy and Commerce Committee's Second Wave Preparedness Project. This
critical report will serve as the most detailed analysis thus far of
our Nation's public health response to date, and some of their
recommendations were in this legislative package.
The Strengthening America's Strategic National Stockpile Act
addresses these shortcomings and will improve the ability of the SNS to
manage and maintain its inventory, empower it to partner with industry
to reshore some of our most critical manufacturing infrastructure,
dramatically increase transparency of the stockpile, and create
innovative new programs to help States create their own stockpiles.
I thank all the Members of the House for their unanimous support of
this important legislation because biodefense must be bipartisan to
keep this country safe.
____________________