[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 54 (Thursday, April 3, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SMALLPOX, EMERGENCY PERSONNEL PROTECTION ACT OF 2003

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                               speech of

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 31, 2003

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4613.
  It is imperative as we prepare our communities for biological and 
chemical warfare that we do all that we can to encourage health 
professionals to be vaccinated for smallpox and ensure that they are 
taken care of if they fall ill or die due to the vaccination. That is 
the least we can do for those who may be called upon to protect us at 
home.
  I support a smallpox vaccination compensation policy--but it has to 
be done right the first time. The bill before us does not provide for 
adequate education, prescreening, and surveillance for nurses, first 
responders and other health care professionals who take the vaccine. 
For example, members of the armed services who received the smallpox 
vaccine were entitled to personalized education and free and 
confidential prescreening prior to the administration of the vaccine. 
This important process properly screened out one-third of the potential 
recipients. The recent deaths of vaccine recipients with heart disease 
only underscore the need for a strong education, prescreening, and 
surveillance effort--the CDC and government agencies need to be given 
the tools to track and eventually screen out individuals who are at 
risk.
  As the husband of a nurse, I understand the commitment that health 
care professionals have to their patients and their communities. I know 
that most of them are eager to provide their expertise to help protect 
their neighbors should the unthinkable occur. It is unreasonable and 
unfair, however, to ask them to risk their lives and health, and that 
of their families, without guaranteeing that the federal government 
will take care of them in the event of an adverse event. Health care 
professionals are anxious about taking the vaccine--and for good cause. 
The smallpox vaccine has a long record of negative side effects to both 
vaccinated individuals and secondary contacts. It is absolutely 
essential those individuals who are vaccinated understand the risks of 
the vaccine and have confidence in their government to care for them 
should they become ill or die--this is the least we can offer them.
  H.R. 1463 includes an unacceptable lifetime cap on wage replacement 
and fails to ensure that funds will be available in the future for the 
compensation fund. It does not guarantee that states will have the 
money to implement the program or that compensation benefits will be 
paid--instead, this legislation forces these health care workers to 
fight for funds each year in the appropriations process. It is unfair 
and insulting to ask them to compete each year with other national 
spending priorities and our ever-growing national debt.
  I support a substitute that would provide guaranteed funding to 
individuals injured by the smallpox vaccine. It would also implement a 
strong screening and follow-up regime, and includes language that will 
alert workers to the most likely side effects and speed up the 
qualification process. This proposal provides greater security, both 
psychological and financial, for health care workers and other first 
responders who are being asked to take this vaccine to help their 
communities.
  It is a shame that the House leadership would not allow this 
substitute to be debated on the floor. I believe that bringing up such 
important legislation on the suspension calendar, which is ordinarily 
reserved for non-controversial legislation, is a thinly-veiled partisan 
ploy. This important issue deserves a robust debate. Nurses, first 
responders, and other health care professionals who volunteer to take 
the smallpox vaccine, at great risk to themselves and their families, 
deserve more than lip service and empty promises.

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