[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21009]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  BIOTERRORIST ATTACKS AND ANTIBIOTICS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, we in Congress cannot go home to our 
districts and say we have taken the steps necessary to prepare for 
future bioterrorist attacks unless and until we confront the issue of 
antibiotic resistance. The links between antibiotic resistance and 
bioterrorism are clear. Antibiotic resistent strains of anthrax and 
other microbes are among the most lethal of biological weapons, and 
they are a reality. There are published reports of an anthrax strain 
engineered by Russian scientists to resist the penicillin and 
tetracycline classes of antibiotics. We can only assume that anthrax 
and other lethal agents will be engineered to resist new antibiotics 
like Cipro.
  Antibiotic resistance is significant in other important ways. Overuse 
and misuse of antibiotics will render most microbes resistent to our 
current stockpile of drugs, potentially leaving the Nation poorly 
prepared in the event of biological attacks. To some extent this is a 
vicious cycle. Bioterrorist threats can lead to overuse of current 
antibiotics, which in turn render these antibiotics less effective 
against the lethal agents used in bioterrorism.

                              {time}  1915

  Look at Cipro, for example. Widespread use of Cipro, a broad-spectrum 
antibiotic, would kill bacteria that are susceptible to Cipro. The 
bacteria that are not killed will be those that evolve resistance to 
Cipro. Those Cipro resistant bacteria then flourish unchecked unless an 
even stronger antibiotic is available to kill them.
  Many bacteria that cause severe human illness are already resistant 
to older antibiotics like penicillin. That is one reason the drug of 
choice is often one of the newer antibiotics like Cipro. If the U.S. 
and the rest of the world begin using Cipro indiscriminately, then 
Cipro, that antibiotic, will lose its effectiveness also.
  To adequately prepare for a terrorist attack, State and local health 
departments must be equipped to rapidly identify and respond to 
antibiotic resistant strains of anthrax and other lethal agents. And to 
ensure the continued efficacy of our antibiotic stockpile, we must 
isolate emerging antibiotic resistant pathogens, track antibiotic 
overuse and misuse, and monitor the effectiveness of existing 
treatments over time.
  Surveillance provides the data needed to prioritize the research and 
the development of new antibiotic treatments. Drug resistant pathogens 
are a growing threat to each of us as Americans. Examples of important 
microbes that are rapidly developing resistance to available 
antimicrobials include the bacteria that cause ear infections, that 
cause pneumonia, that cause meningitis, and skin and bone and lung and 
blood stream infections. Importantly, this list also includes food 
borne infections like salmonella.
  The Nation's food supply has been identified as a potential vehicle 
for future bioterrorist attacks. Experts across the public health 
spectrum have testified to the seriousness of antibiotic resistance. 
Congress should respond appropriately and quickly to these warnings 
before the threat of what could be becomes what is.
  Under last year's Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act sponsored 
by my colleagues, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak), Congress authorized a grant 
program that equips State and local health departments to identify and 
to track antibiotic resistance. My friend, the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Boehlert), and I are requesting that the Committee on 
Appropriations include at least $50 million for this grant program in 
the Homeland Security supplemental appropriations bill, which this body 
will take up later this week.
  I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to weigh in on this issue. 
Let the appropriators know that funding this is absolutely critical to 
our Nation. We must help State and local health authorities and State 
and local health agencies combat antibiotic resistance. Our ability to 
fight bioterrorism absolutely depends on it.

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