[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H4881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SUPPORT GLOBAL PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE ACT

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, today the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. 
Tauscher) and I will introduce the Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 
2003. Identical to the Biden-Lugar bill in the Senate, it will assist 
in fighting the threats of bioterrorism and naturally-occurring 
infectious diseases.
  International trade and travel offer new opportunities for pathogens 
to cross national borders. Infectious disease epidemics, wherever they 
occur, are a potential threat to all nations. Americans have become all 
too familiar with the threat from bioterrorism and deadly agents 
capable of spreading death, anthrax, Ebola, smallpox, and SARS. They 
are just the most recent examples.
  The Kirk-Tauscher bill authorizes $150 million over 2 years to assist 
developing countries to train personnel in epidemiological techniques, 
acquire laboratory equipment, and obtain equipment to communicate 
inside the country and with the World Health Organization. Our 
legislation has the strong support of Dr. David Heymann, the highest-
ranking American at the World Health Organization. It will contribute 
to our homeland security while at the same time making other countries 
safer for Americans traveling abroad. I thank the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Tauscher) for cosponsoring this important bill.

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