[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM COUNTERMEASURES ACT OF 2001

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask for Members' 
support for the Agricultural Bioterrorism Countermeasures Act of 2001, 
H.R. 3293.
  The tragic events of September 11 have made all Americans appreciate 
our freedom and democracy more than ever. As we continue to get our 
lives back to normal, we must also realize how much this has changed.
  Terrorism does not have to be directed towards people; it can be 
directed at our modes of transportation, our communications 
infrastructure, or even our food supply.
  The United States Department of Agriculture, along with the Food and 
Drug Administration, is in charge of ensuring that Americans have a 
safe and abundant food supply.
  I would like to make it absolutely clear that because of USDA and FDA 
Americans enjoy the benefit of the safest food supply in the world. 
However, USDA and FDA have not had to clearly focus on how to prevent 
terrorism, bioterrorism, agriterrorism, or whatever term one prefers to 
use in describing the threats to America's food supply.
  Prevention is the key and long-term planning should be the goal to 
continued food safety. Congress needs to take positive steps to help 
USDA perform what we ask of it.
  Today, I am dropping a bill to help with prevention and long-term 
planning. H.R. 3293 authorizes money to be spent on USDA's agricultural 
research laboratories so that there is adequate plant and animal 
research being performed to combat bioterrorism. Some of USDA's most 
important research facilities need to be modernized in order for the 
U.S. to stand ready for our new fight.
  The bill also provides money for the Oklahoma City National Memorial 
Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, for research to make sure 
that USDA, the Department of Agriculture, and other law enforcement and 
emergency preparedness organizations cooperate and have the proper 
techniques in place in the event of bioterrorism events.
  Further, Oklahoma State is authorized to receive a grant to establish 
a food safety research center. OSU is the ideal location for a food 
safety center that is needed in our new struggle. This proposed food 
safety center will utilize state-of-the-art detection methods to 
determine the critical points in the food chain, from production, 
harvest, processing, and distribution, to consumption, where 
interventions could be applied to eliminate the known hazards for 
humans.
  The Secretary of Agriculture will develop rapid response field test 
kits that can quickly be deployed to State and local agencies to 
determine if an act of bioterrorism has occurred. These are intended 
for quick discovery and to confirm outbreaks of plant or animal 
diseases, pathogens, or other bioterrorism agents.
  The intramural agricultural bioterrorism research and development 
section of this bill will make USDA's ARS programs focus on enhancing 
regulatory agencies' response time, encouraging academic and private 
sector partners to work together to maximize research benefits, 
strengthening the links with the intelligence community to learn what 
research needs are most important, and encouraging ARS to work with 
international operations to control the spread of plant and animal 
diseases.
  The consortium for countermeasures against agricultural bioterrorism 
is truly valuable. Those colleges and universities that turn out animal 
and plant doctors will coordinate with the Federal agencies, such as 
USDA, to develop the long-term program needed to combat bioterrorism.
  Furthermore, competitive grants will be provided through USDA which 
are directed towards the protection of the domestic food supply. The 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS, will be authorized 
to receive more funds to increase inspections at points of origin and 
to improve surveillance at points of entry. They will also be required 
to develop new and better techniques of working with State and local 
agencies to control the outbreaks of plant and animal diseases.
  The Food Safety Inspection Service, FSIS, will be charged with 
enhancing its ability to inspect the safety of meat and poultry 
products. Like APHIS, FSIS will be expected to work with State and 
local agencies to create the best possible means of sharing information 
and technology in order to reach the best results possible.
  This legislation is designed for the long-term benefit of producers 
and consumers alike. Please support H.R. 3293.

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