[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 121 (Thursday, July 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HAGEL (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Biden, and Mrs. 
        Boxer):
  S. 1882. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish 
various programs for the recruitment and retention of public health 
workers and to eliminate critical public health workforce shortages in 
Federal, State, local, and tribal public health agencies; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the last few years, our Nation's public 
health has been threatened repeatedly. We have faced natural disasters 
like the horrific damage done by Hurricane Katrina. We have endured 
human-led catastrophes like the tragic September 11 attacks. Only a 
couple of months ago, a man infected with a potentially lethal strain 
of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis was able to travel from his 
home in Atlanta to France, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Canada, 
before ending up at a center in Denver for treatment.
  These emergencies have made it clear that our public health system 
must be prepared for the unexpected.
  Our ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from incidents like 
these depends upon an adequately staffed and well trained public health 
workforce. But if we look at our public health workforce today, what we 
see is alarming: an aging staff nearing retirement with no clear 
pipeline of trained employees to fill the void.
  The average age of lab technicians, epidemiologists, environmental 
health experts, microbiologists, IT specialists, administrators, and 
other public health workers is 47. That is 7 years older than the 
average age of the Nation's workforce. Retirement rates are as high as 
20 percent in some State public health agencies. Nearly half of the 
Federal employees in positions critical to our biodefense will be 
eligible to retire by 2012. The average age of a public health nurse is 
near 50 years.
  These statistics are sobering. As the responsibilities of our public 
health workforce are growing, their ranks continue to shrink. These are 
shortages that impact not just for the security of our health, but our 
national security.
  We can't afford to overlook this problem any longer. For the third 
consecutive Congress, Senator Hagel and I are introducing the Public 
Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2007. This is a bill 
that will increase the pipeline of qualified public health workers at 
all levels--Federal, State, local, and tribal. It offers scholarships 
and loan repayment as recruitment and retention incentives for students 
who enter and stay in the field of public health. It also provides 
opportunities for mid-career public health professionals to go back for 
additional training in public health preparedness or biodefense.
  The time to prepare for a public health emergency, whether that be a 
natural disaster or one of our own making, is not tomorrow, nor next 
month, nor a year from now, but today. Looking forward we must 
strengthen our public health workforce. I urge my colleagues to join me 
and the Senator from Nebraska in taking up and passing the Public 
Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act. We must all make a 
commitment to securing the safety of our nation, and that security 
begins with our public health.
                                 ______