[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 21998-21999]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     MEDICAL EDUCATION FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE ACT IN THE 21ST CENTURY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Otter). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, today, I have introduced the Medical 
Education for National Defense Act in the 21st Century, H.R. 3254. I 
would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. McHugh), the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder), and the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns). These are Members of the House 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Committee on Armed Services and 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, with whom we have coordinated on this 
bill.
  This legislation would authorize funds to establish partnership 
between the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the VA, and the Department 
of Defense, we call DOD, to develop education and training programs on 
medical responses to the consequences of terrorist activities.
  We are fighting a war on terror on two fronts, domestically and 
overseas. Unfortunately, as a Nation, we are not prepared for the new 
face of terror that we have been exposed to in the aftermath of the 
September 11 attacks. What has become all too clear is that our health 
care providers are not armed with the proper tools to diagnose and 
treat casualties in the face of nuclear, biological, and chemical 
weapons.
  The events of September 11 have forced the American people to 
reexamine many facets as to how we live our lives. We have been forced 
as a Nation to become more aware of our surroundings and more vigilant 
in the defense of our freedoms.
  Most recently, we have come under attack through our own mail systems 
by terrorists who have used its efficiency to spread the deadly disease 
of anthrax. The difficulty experienced by government officials and our 
health care community, in responding to this attack, use infectious 
diseases rarely seen by medical personnel that should serve as wake-up 
call for us all.
  A Washington Post article on November 1, 2001 by Susan Okie is a 
perfect illustration of the urgency of our medical community's lack of 
preparedness to deal with biological, chemical, and nuclear attacks. 
Ms. Okie reports the accounts of two of the heroic physicians who 
treated victims of the anthrax attacks: Dr. Susan Matcha, a Washington, 
D.C. area physician, and Dr. Carlos Omenaca, of Miami, Florida.
  Dr. Matcha was quoted as saying, ``We're really in uncharted 
territory here. As much as we want to have literature to look at, we 
really have nothing to guide us.'' According to the article, Dr. 
Omenaca, who encountered a rare form of inhalation anthrax in the case 
of Ernesto Blanco, found the description of the symptom that Mr. Blaco 
displayed in a 1901 textbook.
  Just think, a doctor in the United States of America, home of the 
best medical system of the world, this doctor had to use a medical 
textbook from the first half of the last century to acquire information 
that he sought on the diagnosis and prognosis of the anthrax. I find 
that not only unbelievable but unacceptable.
  As disturbed as this makes me, we are not here to try to place blame 
on this predicament to any group or organization. The reason why so 
many of our medical personnel feel uncomfortable about their ability to 
respond to these situations is because very few of them were taught how 
to diagnose and give a prognosis for these types of rare diseases in 
medical school.
  In fact, out of all of the medical schools in our country, only one, 
the Department of Defense Uniform Services University of Health 
Science, USUHS, has in its core curriculum a program to teach its 
medical students how to diagnose and treat casualties that have been 
exposed to chemical, biological, or radiological agents.
  That, Mr. Speaker, is why I have introduced legislation to create a 
partnership between the Department of Defense and the Department of 
Veterans' Affairs that tasks these two agencies to develop and 
disseminate a program to both our current medical professionals and 
current medical students in the Nation's medical schools. We already 
have a nexus in place between our medical universities, where there is 
a VA hospital in close proximity. That nexus is already in place and 
that is what we plan to tap into.
  The combination of DOD's expertise in the field of treating 
casualties resulting from an unconventional attack and the VA's 
infrastructure of 171 medical centers, 800 clinics, satellite broadcast 
capabilities, and a preexisting affiliation with 80 medical schools 
will enable the current and future medical professionals in this 
country to become knowledgeable and medically competent in the 
treatment of casualties that we all hope will never materialize.
  However, Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to assume that our country 
will never have to experience a massive biological, chemical, or 
radiological attack on the American people. We must, as elected 
Members, sent by our constituents to Washington to represent their 
interests, act to ensure that if the worst of fears are realized, our 
medical professionals will be ready and able to deal with these 
situations.
  Mr. Speaker, I will insert the rest of the statement in the Record.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot impress upon you enough the urgency of making 
sure this proposal is adopted. Both the American Medical Association 
and the American Association of Medical Colleges have thrown the full 
weight of their support behind this plan. These two organizations, made 
up of the doctors who will be on the front lines of this new war, know 
how vital it is to receive this educational package that the Uniformed 
Services University of Health Sciences and the VA are currently 
developing to disseminate to the Nation's medical community.
  It is often said that knowledge is power, and in this instance 
nothing could be truer. The knowledge resulting from the implementation 
of this act is critical. Our medical professionals need to be exposed 
to training methods that would enable them to save lives, and I can 
think of no greater power than that.
  Please, join with me and support this important piece of legislation.

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