[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E870-E871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS RESEARCH, 
           EDUCATION, AND BIOTERRORISM PREVENTION ACT OF 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 20, 2002

  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the events of September 11th and the 
subsequent anthrax attacks have forced us as a country to reevaluate 
our ability to respond to chemical, biological, and radiological 
contingencies. As a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee 
(HVAC) Subcommittee on Health, I participated in a hearing to assess 
the readiness of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to be a third 
line responder in the event of a threat of this sort. The news was not 
good. This is why I am an original co-sponsor of HR 3253, the Emergency 
Preparedness Research, Education, and Bio-Terrorism Prevention Act of 
2002. Through the establishment of National Medical Emergency 
Preparedness Centers, we would enhance the work that the DVA is already 
engaged in, and strengthen our national homeland defense efforts.
  In recognizing that the DVA is the nation's largest health care 
system and engages in some of the most promising research, and provides 
first-rate medical training and education should signal to us all that 
herein lies an opportunity. Considering all that the DVA already does 
successfully, I see no reason why they cannot be positioned as a first 
responder in the event of a biological or chemical attack. With the 
proper allocation of resources and support, those provided by the 
passage of HR 3253, many DVA medical centers will be well positioned to 
provide our country with the necessary support in these crisis 
situations.
  In my district, the 28th Congressional District of Texas, the South 
Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L. Murphy Division, already 
engages in shared teaching and research arrangements with medical 
schools and has been able to attract several high-level scientists in 
fields relevant to bio-chemical and radiological threats. This facility 
is among the top ten research and development facilities within the DVA 
and is a tribute to the rewards of collaborative research efforts like 
those suggested by this legislation.
  I am excited about the prospect of National Emergency Preparedness 
Centers, which would not only engage in research to develop methods of 
detection, inoculation, and treatment, but also coordinate research 
with universities and federal agencies in the dissemination of the 
latest information to healthcare workers at public and private 
hospitals across the country.
  Through the passage and enactment of this measure the DVA will become 
a key partner in our nation's homeland defense efforts.

[[Page E871]]



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