[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S63-S64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BUDGET IMPASSE AND CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, I have made it clear in previous remarks and 
other public statements that I oppose shutting down portions of the 
Federal Government as a tactic in the budget debate. I have supported 
the continuing resolutions that would restore funding for full 
Government operations as we continue to move toward the objective of a 
balanced budget.
  I applaud the leadership of Senator Dole, Senator Daschle, and others 
in this body who have concluded that the current situation is 
artificially created, it is unnecessary and is a wasteful burden on 
Federal workers and on the taxpayers they serve.
  Mr. President, I recall here over the last 20 years, several debates 
on holidays, whether we ought to add another holiday to the overall 
holidays the Federal Government observes. I remember people totaling up 
the amount of money it costs to have one holiday and projecting that 
over 20 years and talking about the astounding cost when you pay people 
for a holiday. If anyone stops and thinks about what we are doing now, 
I believe we are about on day No. 20--there may be a few more days in 
that counting the previous shutdown--we really have had 20 to 25 
additional holidays this year where the taxpayers of this country are 
paying for people who want to work but who are not allowed to work, but 
they are 

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going to be paid. And that is, to me, a real paradox, as to how you 
possibly can start off a quest to save $1.2 trillion over 7 years by 
declaring over 20 paid holidays for workers.
  And then, it is not only the workers themselves--it is unfair to them 
because they want to work, they are not getting paid now, and that is a 
hardship--but also it is terribly unfair to literally hundreds of 
thousands and growing to be millions of Americans who are suffering 
because of this shutdown.
  Mr. President, there are many examples of the harm being done by the 
shutdown. One example which has not drawn much attention is the fact 
that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC in 
Atlanta, GA, is virtually shut down. Today is the 50th year of 
operation of the Communicable Disease Center, and it is effectively 
closed. Except for a skeleton staff, no personnel are available to 
fulfill the functions of the CDC.
  This is bound to have an impact on the health and safety of the 
American people and, indeed, citizens around the world. The workers at 
the CDC are the same Federal workers who pinpointed the cause of 
Legionnaire's disease and toxic shock syndrome. These are the same men 
and women who risked their lives to investigate the recent outbreak of 
ebola and track the course of influenza, AIDS, and TB across the Nation 
and indeed the world. Their job is to investigate, to define, to 
monitor and to prevent disease--to get out in front of emerging 
infectious diseases, food and waterborne diseases, respiratory 
inspections, birth defects, lead poisoning, air pollution, radiation, 
and other environmental health emergencies.
  The problem in this area is you do not know it is an emergency if you 
are not out in front of it before it is too late. We will be lucky if 
we get by with this shutdown and closedown of the CDC without having 
some serious problem and erosion in the health of the American people.
  In some cases, the CDC implements control measures during a critical 
time when minutes and even seconds count. Rarely a week passes by 
without the CDC directing the Nation's attention to important new 
research findings on public health issues. At this point, we do not 
know what public health crisis will emerge in 1996. With a CDC 
shutdown, we do not know what might be happening right now. What we do 
know is that the CDC plays a critical role in watching for signs and 
sustaining sophisticated surveillance and monitoring communications 
with medical health officers in our Nation and throughout the world. We 
do not know the impact of the Government shutdown on the health of the 
U.S. citizens. We may not know it until it is too late.
  Like other Federal employees, the people in CDC are deeply dedicated, 
hard-working persons, scientists, physicians, and public health 
professionals. Some even risk their lives to investigate outbreaks of 
unknown, sometimes even deadly diseases. These people are protecting 
the Nation's health and they are anxious to return to their jobs.
  In addition, the CDC personnel who are not at work, who would 
otherwise be there, they would be providing critical funding for 
technical assistance to State and local programs for sexually 
transmitted diseases, TB, HIV, childhood immunization, environmental 
health, national and international chronic and infectious disease 
prevention, breast and cervical cancer. We all need to recognize they 
are not on the job.
  Mr. President, diseases, viruses, bacterial infections, and cancers 
do not stop because of a Government furlough or a partisan political 
and budget debate.
  CDC grants to State health agencies to fund prevention programs that 
are fundamental to saving lives and maintaining the health of our 
population are also being affected adversely. Programs in 20 States for 
rape prevention are in danger, and funds for staffing hotlines for 
public health emergencies, such as violence, STDs, and HIV, may halt 
operations. All of this is in great risk.
  We cannot afford to wait to open the doors at the CDC. The health of 
the Nation and the world could be at stake.
  I urge our colleagues in the House to think again about the tactics 
they are using. They are trying to get the budget balanced, and that is 
a goal that all of us should work toward. And I hope we can achieve 
that. But the tactics being used are totally counterproductive to the 
taxpayers and to the country and to the health of our citizens. We must 
not continue to hold hostage the health and safety of American citizens 
who are paying for a service that is not being rendered.

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