[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 130 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8800-H8801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AVIAN FLU: WE MUST ACT NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, in the midst of a press conference this 
past Tuesday, President Bush responded to a question relating to a 
possible outbreak of avian flu here in the United States by stating 
that he was considering the use of the American military to enforce 
quarantine measures in cases of a pandemic.
  While a number of public health experts and civil liberties advocates 
quickly criticized the President for suggesting that the military be 
deployed to control a flu outbreak, his public musing about the need 
for such a drastic step was a strong and long overdue indication that 
the U.S. Government is beginning to take seriously the prospect of a 
flu pandemic.
  For several years now, epidemiologists and public health officials 
have been warning of a possible global pandemic of bird flu that could 
rival or surpass the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed as many as 
50 million people worldwide. We have been fortunate that none of the 
existing strains of avian flu that have infected thousands of birds and 
some 65 people in 11 countries have mutated into a form that can spread 
from human to human; but that threat is real, and there is growing 
evidence that we do not have much time to prepare.
  This week's issues of the journals Nature and Science have published 
the results of work done at the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of 
Pathology here in Maryland that shows that the 1918 Spanish flu was 
actually a type of bird flu and was similar to the flu now affecting 
Asia. The research also suggests that samples of today's avian flu have 
begun to develop genetic changes that may allow it to spread from 
person to person.
  Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center For Disease 
Preparedness at Columbia University, recently told The New York Times 
that a flu epidemic was the ``next big catastrophe that we can 
reasonably expect, and the country is phenomenally not prepared for 
this.''
  Yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt 
acknowledged our lack of preparation, but seemingly tried to absolve 
the administration by saying that ``no one in the world is ready'' for 
a flu pandemic.
  That may be true, but some countries have taken greater steps to 
prepare than the United States. At present we have only 2 million doses 
of Tamiflu, an antiviral medication that has been shown to be effective 
against the H5NI flu virus. The Australian Government, on the other 
hand, has stockpiled 3.5 million courses of treatment, white Britain 
has ordered enough of the drug to cover a quarter of its population.
  Clearly, we are lagging behind other developed countries in preparing 
for an outbreak here. And as ABC's ``Primetime'' reported last month, 
the Roche Company, which produces Tamiflu, is filling orders on a 
first-come, first-served basis. The United States, I am sorry to say, 
is nowhere near the top of the list.
  Quote: ``Do we wish we had ordered it sooner and more of it? I 
suspect one would say yes,'' admitted Secretary Leavitt. When asked why 
the U.S. did not place orders for Tamiflu sooner, the Secretary told 
ABC: ``I can't answer that. I don't know the answer to that.''
  The American Government has finally begun to take action to prepare 
to confront a pandemic. The Department of State is hosting a meeting of

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health officials from 80 countries today to map out a strategy for 
minimizing the deaths and destruction that an outbreak might wreak. At 
the same time, White House officials will meet today with 
representatives of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry to encourage them 
to get involved in the manufacture of a flu vaccine.
  But, Madam Speaker, Congress needs to do more. My colleague, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), has been a leader in trying to 
push the Congress and the administration to do more to prepare. In late 
July, Mrs. Lowey introduced H.R. 3369, the Attacking Viral Influenza 
Across Nations Act, the AVIAN Act, which provides for a comprehensive 
national effort to prepare for a flu outbreak. The AVIAN Act requires 
the Federal Government to create plans for and respond to a pandemic 
outbreak. It orders the procurement of antiviral treatments and 
vaccines for a Strategic National Stockpile.
  The bill also promotes increased research in the pandemic flu, its 
vaccines and treatments, and expands efforts to prevent pandemic avian 
flu both domestically and internationally. I am a proud cosponsor of 
the AVIAN Act, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join us.
  I was heartened to see last week that the Senate voted to add $4 
billion to the U.S. fight against deadly avian flu by stocking up on 
antiviral drugs and increasing global surveillance of the disease. The 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) and I are circulating a letter 
to ask House conferees to support the Senate request, and I hope our 
colleagues will join in that effort.
  Madam Speaker, I have spoken many times in this Chamber about the 
danger we face from nuclear terrorism, which I believe is a primary 
threat to our way of life. The only other threat that remotely 
approaches a nuclear attack is that posed by a global flu pandemic, one 
which could kill tens of millions of people. We failed to prepare for 
9/11. We failed to prepare adequately for Hurricane Katrina. We must 
not fail to prepare for a flu pandemic.

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