[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14444-14445]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     GLOBALIZATION AND BIOTERRORISM

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity in morning 
business to comment on issues of current events but also tied to the 
events of the last several years. The issues relate to the natural and 
the unnatural emergence and use of biology and microbes that have 
resulted in a convergence of two issues. One is this natural occurrence 
and one is the use of microbes, bacteria, viruses potentially as 
bioterror agents, all of that coupled with another nexus, 
globalization, the realization and evolution of a much smaller world in 
which we all live.
  Globalization is generally addressed in the context of economics, 
economies of countries, information technologies, coffee shop 
franchises, luxury hotels, luxury clothing--what labels are on the 
backs of those sweaters and shirts--Internet surfing, instant messages.
  Globalization has helped democratize faraway countries. It has 
brought wealth and comfort to many of the world's peoples. But it has 
always exposed us to new vulnerabilities which we have read about in 
recent years and, indeed, we read about each day in the papers. 
Specifically, globalization has brought us much closer to the threat of 
natural disease as well as disease used potentially as an instrument of 
terror.
  We can take, for example, the outbreak of monkeypox about which we 
are reading and listening today. We know monkeypox causes fever, 
headache, cough, and an extremely painful rash with pus-filled sores 
that can spread across the body. We know in children and those 
individuals who have a suppressed immune system, whether it is because 
of cancer or treatment for cancer or other autoimmune diseases, it can 
cause death.
  Monkeypox is suspected to have originated with the importation of an 
exotic pet, actually a rather popular exotic pet called the Gambian 
giant rat. Then the monkeypox virus apparently jumped to infect the pet 
prairie dogs, and then jumped to infect human beings. We know there are 
37 suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox that are currently being 
investigated by the Centers for Disease Control. Public health 
officials, we learn, fear the prairie dog owners will release their 
infected pets into the wild and, thus, spread the disease through 
communities, regions, and, indeed, throughout North America.
  Some also believe that this outbreak of monkeypox is the tip of a 
growing problem of infectious diseases being brought into the country 
through the importation of exotic animals.
  Not too long ago--and, in fact, even right now--we focused on SARS. 
As we have seen with SARS, international travel by humans is also 
proving to be a conduit of disease. As I speak, Toronto is struggling 
with yet another

[[Page 14445]]

suspected outbreak of SARS and at any point could go back on the World 
Health Organization's travel advisory list.
  The SARS epidemic continues to disrupt international travel, 
continues to affect and, indeed, depress national economies.
  Monkeypox, SARS, West Nile virus, which we know is seasonal--it has 
been 4 years since it first arrived in New York, and it has claimed 284 
deaths and 4,156 infections. Several years ago, people did not know 
what West Nile virus was. Several months ago we did not know what SARS 
was, and several days ago we did not know what monkeypox was. Last 
year, just in this region of Maryland, Virginia, and the District, the 
West Nile virus killed 11 people. After what has been a wet spring in 
this region, where mosquito breeding is facilitated, officials fear--
again not to be an alarmist--there will be another explosion of 
infections this summer. West Nile has spread across the United States 
of America. It is now firmly established, entrenched as a North 
American disease. West Nile, SARS, and now monkeypox--we will see 
emerging infections continue to appear, at least at this rate. These 
are the natural health threats.
  Equally alarming is this whole arena of bioterrorism, the use of 
microbes, viruses, bacteria, and other microbes as biological weapons 
to threaten others. This very body, the Senate, has been attacked with 
anthrax. We know there is an entity called the plague which, indeed, 
wiped out about a third of Europe in the 1300s.
  We know the risk of smallpox. We know one gram of botulinum toxin, if 
aerosolized, has the potential for taking the lives of a million and a 
half people.
  I mention all of this not to be an alarmist but to give some 
definition to what I think we all know today but we did not think very 
much about 3 or 5 years ago, and that is these threats, those of 
bioterrorism and the naturally occurring, are real.
  With regard to bioterrorism, I do commend President Bush for 
successfully leading America and indeed the world to face these new 
realities of terrorists. We have disrupted terrorist networks. We have 
frozen terrorist assets. We have removed terrorist leaders and indeed 
have arrested more than 3,000 individual terrorists worldwide. We have 
toppled two of the world's most notorious terrorist regimes in 
Afghanistan and Iraq with decisive victories.
  With regard to our domestic response, we are finally rebuilding our 
public health system after a long period of neglect. As a nation, this 
has enabled us to respond, in an appropriate way, to the potential 
spread of SARS much more effectively than other countries. We must 
continue to invest in and enhance our public health system to detect 
and respond to such emergencies, for, as I said earlier, we will see 
more.
  We must actively lead the way to develop new treatments in vaccines, 
and that is why when I come to the floor each morning and mention the 
importance of vaccine research, vaccine development, and specifically 
bioshield legislation, which is sitting before this body perched and 
ready for us to act upon it, but there are certain problems we have had 
among ourselves in coming to an agreement, how best to bring that to 
the floor--but that bioshield legislation is in exact response to these 
issues I mention today.
  I should also add that we, and our friends and allies across the 
world, must not allow other countries to pursue biological weapons 
programs. President Bush has set the United States, with the help of 
our allies, along a proper course to ultimately win the war on terror. 
I, for one, am grateful he and his national security team have answered 
the call to serve in this perilous time. We will defeat the forces of 
terror. We must take our enemies seriously, but because of 
globalization they are closer than ever. I am optimistic. We have an 
obligation in this body to respond and indeed prepare for and prevent, 
whether it is those naturally occurring infections or any attempt of 
others to use these biological agents as weapons of mass destruction.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. THOMAS. We are in morning business, is that correct?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. That is correct.

                          ____________________