[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9968-S9969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Reed, and Mr. 
        Bingaman):
  S. 1460. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to 
preserve the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics used in 
the treatment of human and animal diseases; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join Senator Snowe, 
Senator Reed, and Senator Bingaman in introducing The Preservation of 
Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.
  Our legislation is both important and timely because we face 
unprecedented challenges to our health and safety from deadly diseases. 
As we have seen from SARS, new diseases can arise naturally and spread 
rapidly around the world. As we have seen from the anthrax attack, 
diseases can also be spread by terrorists.
  We rely heavily on miracle drugs and vaccines to protect us against 
both of these threats. In fact, antibiotics are our strongest weapon in 
combating deadly bacterial diseases. But we have failed for too long to 
deal with a related and increasingly serous aspect of the problem the 
indiscriminate use of antibiotics for livestock and poultry which is 
reducing the effectiveness of these indispensable drugs that have 
become the crown jewels of modern medicine.
  Every year, literally tons of antibiotics are routinely added to 
animal feed to enhance growth, fatten animals, and fatten profits too. 
Mounting scientific evidence, though, shows that nontherapeutic use of 
antibiotics in agricultural animals can lead to the development of 
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These resistant bacteria are easily 
transferred to people by tainted food, making it very difficult or 
impossible to treat deadly infections.
  The use of antibiotics in medicines began in the 1940s, and in the 
last 60 years, many different antibiotics have been discovered and 
widely used in treating patients. But the race has accelerated between 
patients and bacteria. Miracle drugs have saved countless lives but, 
inevitably, as their use in medicine increased, bacteria have developed 
resistance as well. Already, some older antibiotics have become useless 
in medicine.
  There have also been cases of infections resistant even to some of 
the newest and most powerful antibiotics. According to the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, thousands of Americans die each year 
from antibiotic-resistant diseases. The widespread use of antibiotics 
in agriculture was clearly contributing to this serious problem. In 
1997, the World Health Organization recommended that antibiotics should 
not be used to promote animal growth, although they could still be used 
to treat sick animals. Last month, McDonald's Corporation took a major 
step in dealing with this problem. It announced a directive to its meat 
suppliers to stop or reduce the use of antibiotics for growth promotion 
of livestock.
  The legislation we propose will phase out nontherapeutic uses of 
medically important antibiotics in livestock and poultry production, 
unless their manufacturers can demonstrate that they are no danger to 
public health.
  The bill applies the same strict standard to applications for 
approval of new animal antibiotics. It does not restrict the use of 
antibiotics to treat sick animals or to treat pets and other animals 
not used for food.
  There may well be certain circumstances in which the use of 
antibiotics briefly to prevent the spread of a specific disease in a 
limited area is legitimate. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues as we move ahead on this legislation to ensure that we 
properly distinguish the different uses of antibiotics for disease 
prevention.
  The bill also recognizes that FDA is conducting needed studies to 
analyze the risks of using specific antibiotics in raising animals. The 
agency's current risk analysis focuses on the antibiotic known as 
virginiamycin. Our legislation allows such studies to be conducted in 
determining whether antibiotics can be used with a reasonable certainty 
of no harm, and we welcome FDA's scientific analysis of the use of 
these products.
  In addition, the bill authorizes Federal payments to small family 
farms to defray the cost of compliance, and also authorizes research 
and demonstration projects to reduce the use of antibiotics in raising 
food-producing animals. Finally, the bill provides a needed mechanism 
for collecting data to monitor the use of antibiotics in animals, so 
that we can stay ahead of the growing public health threat of 
antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
  The American Medical Association and 300 other organizations support 
our legislation. At a time when the nation is relying heavily on 
antibiotics to protect our security from bioterrorism, we can't afford 
to squander these essential defenses. I urge my colleagues to support 
this legislation, and I look forward to its enactment.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from 
Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, in introducing legislation addressing 
the critical issue of bacterial resistance to antibiotics arising from 
overuse of these valuable drugs in humans and animals.
  Alexander Fleming's discovery of the antibacterial effects of 
penicillin in 1929 represented the dawning of a new era in medicine. In 
the decades after its discovery, penicillin became a miracle drug--
allowing physicians to cure diseases that previously would have been 
untreatable--and literally saved millions of lives.
  Antibiotics are crucial in curing a variety of common diseases that 
could result in severe illness or even death if left untreated. The 
anthrax attacks

[[Page S9969]]

after September 11 showed us another need for antibiotics that sadly is 
a continuing threat in our global community--bioterrorism. Many of us 
in the Capitol relied on the effective treatment of antibiotics to 
counteract exposure to the anthrax spores and maintain our health 
during those weeks and months when our Nation was grieving the horrible 
impact of terrorism in our homeland.
  Unfortunately, decades after the discovery of penicillin and other 
antibiotics, diseases of bacterial origin remain a real and increasing 
threat to public health. Overuse of medically important antibiotics in 
humans and animals promotes resistance in bacteria. Infections caused 
by resistant bacteria cannot be treated with traditional antibiotics. 
If left unchecked, the problem of bacterial resistance represents an 
impending public health crisis.
  Recogizing the public health threat, Congress already took steps to 
curb antibiotic overuse in humans by amending the Public Health Service 
Act and the Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act. Unfortunately, 
the issue of antibiotic overuse in animals has not been addressed in 
Federal law.
  We recognize the value of antibiotics in treating disease in humans 
and animals. Unfortunately, it is common practice to put antibiotics, 
which are similar or identical to those used in human medicine, in the 
food or water of healthy animals intended for human consumption to 
promote these animals' growth and compensate for their unsanitary 
conditions. This practice poses an environmental threat and jeopardizes 
the effectiveness of these drugs in treating ill people and animals. 
Our legislation provides for the phased elimination of nontherapeutic 
use of medically important antibiotics in food animals unless such 
usage is deemed safe through rigorous scientific evaluation.
  Foodborne illness affects millions of Americans each year and is 
estimated to cost the economy up to $35 billion annually in medical 
expenses and lost productivity alone. Tragically, the worst foodborne 
illnesses cause thousands of deaths and disproportionally target the 
very young and the elderly each year in the United States. The impact 
of foodborne illness in developing countries is even more severe. By 
itself, the magnitude of this public health hazard necessitates action 
to ensure the safety of our food supply. I hope the improved data 
collection and monitoring of antibiotics used in food animals included 
in our legislation will help provide a more complete picture of the 
contributing factors to these devastating illnesses.
  Our legislation provides for research and demonstration grants to 
colleges and universities to exploit advances in biotechnology and 
animal science to discover new, safer methods of inexpensive, 
responsible agricultural productivity. We appreciate the good 
intentions of the many farmers across our Nation, and our legislation 
establishes transition funds to help these families and businesses 
implement changes that will benefit us all.
  I have received numerous letters from groups and individuals in Maine 
who were concerned that the overuse of antibiotics in animal 
agriculture was not being actively addressed by Congress. I appreciate 
all who took the time to voice their concerns to me. I extend my 
personal thanks to all who have invested so much time and energy in 
educating Members of Congress as well as the public on this critical 
issue.
  I am pleased to join Senator Kennedy in introducing legislation today 
that will address this crucial issue. I applaud the steps that some 
businesses have taken voluntarily to discourage use of antibiotics in 
healthy animals. It is my hope that our legislation as well as the 
voluntary efforts by businesses across the Nation will help to ensure 
that we have drugs available that are effective in treating diseases 
for many years to come.
                                 ______