[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               AVIAN FLU

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, the President has finally discovered that 
there is a threat of an avian bird flu pandemic despite the fact that 
it was discovered about 8 years ago. Experts have been talking about 
the threat of the pandemic for a number of years. Last year the 
President in his budget spent $182 million on chastity education and 
$100 million on preparation for a pandemic. That is for all investment 
in flus, vaccines, and antivirals and research.
  I am glad that he has had a change of heart now. Now he is going to 
begin to adequately fund the threat, but it is getting pretty late. The 
U.S. does not make the vaccines. In fact, there is not a very good 
vaccine available. And we do not make the antivirals. And we are going 
to have to get in line behind every other country in the world that had 
better foresight than this administration.

                          ____________________