[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 136 (Wednesday, December 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PANDEMIC AND ALL-HAZARDS PREPAREDNESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2006

  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and specifically the 
Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act.
  I would like to thank Chairman Barton, and the Energy and Commerce 
Committee staff for their support. I would also like to extend a 
special thanks to my colleague Congresswoman Anna Eshoo for her work on 
the issue.
  Biological weapons have been proven to work, are capable of causing 
massive disaster, are relatively cheap, and are increasingly easy to 
design, build and disseminate.
  The materials and technical know-how needed to make a bio-weapon that 
could infect hundreds of thousands of people are already widely 
distributed around the planet, and the number of people who possess the 
expertise needed to create bioweapons is rapidly growing as 
biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and production expand into 
developing countries.
  Preventing either a natural epidemic or a bioterrorist attack is, 
unfortunately, unlikely. Therefore, the Nation's ability to rapidly and 
effectively respond in the face of a bio-security crisis must be a 
central pillar in our bio-security strategy.
  Medicines and vaccines that can counter illnesses caused by exposure 
to bioterror agents are obviously an essential component of biodefense 
and would be critical to controlling the spread of contagious disease.
  This legislation will enable the government to better develop, 
procure, and make available countermeasures to chemical, biological, 
radiological and nuclear agents for use in a public health emergency.
  Bioterror countermeasures for agents of terrorism have no market 
other than the government. This legislation will provide assurance to 
companies that the government is fully engaged and a willing and able 
business partner.
  This legislation will speed up the development and procurement 
process by reorganizing and enhancing these responsibilities into the 
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency, BARDA.
  1. BARDA would create a single point of authority within government.
  2. BARDA would streamline the approval and acquisition process to 
help bridge the ``valley of death'' for bio-pharmaceutical research.
  3. BARDA is an aggressive partnering with universities, research 
institutions and industry on the advanced development of promising 
drugs and vaccines and would of these countermeasures.
  As the Chairman and my colleagues on both sides of our aisle know, 
the House passed version of this legislation also included specific 
authority under BioShield for HHS to enter into procurement contracts 
with multiple companies for multiple products and technologies.
  We all know from lessons learned that this is a complicated and 
uncertain process. These vaccines and other medical countermeasures are 
only in the early stage of development and history suggests that most 
will not be successfully developed or only a few will receive FDA 
approval.
  That is why the House-passed bill included a provision intended to 
direct a risk mitigation strategy that the Department not put all their 
eggs in one basket.
  Is it the understanding that while the bill passed by the Senate had 
no similar provision, that currently the BioShield statute provides 
authority for the Department to enter into multiple procurement 
contracts for products and technologies for the development and 
acquisition of countermeasures and that this is an important risk 
mitigation strategy for the government.
  I have been in communication with Senator Burr and he agrees with 
this policy.
  I urge your support of this important piece of legislation.

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