[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Page 29247]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               FULL FUNDING FOR PANDEMIC FLU PREPAREDNESS

  Mr. REID. Earlier today, Senator Frist spoke about the importance of 
preparing our Nation for the serious and growing threat of an influenza 
pandemic.
  Members of this body made pandemic flu a priority when it unanimously 
adopted an $8 billion amendment to combat avian flu offered by Senate 
Democrats.
  I hope that Senator Frist will join me in standing by this commitment 
and will work to ensure that Congress provides for the full $8 billion 
America needs to begin addressing this critical issue before we 
adjourn.
  The avian flu has spread to 15 countries and killed 70 of the 137 
individuals it has infected. Scientists are warning that it is only a 
matter of time before this virus mutates to a new strain that will 
allow for sustained human-to-human transmission and cause the next 
pandemic.
  The human and economic impact of an influenza pandemic on our Nation 
would be devastating.
  According to a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office, a 
severe flu pandemic could infect 90 million U.S. residents and 2 
million would die.
  Thirty percent of the workforce would become ill and those who 
survived would miss 3 weeks of work. This lost productivity and 
decrease in consumer spending could cause a $675 billion reduction in 
U.S. gross domestic product and move the Nation into a recession.
  Perhaps the only thing more troubling than the human and economic 
consequences of an avian flu pandemic is the fact that our Nation is 
dangerously unprepared to deal with it.
  We are not dedicating enough resources to global surveillance 
activities that allow us to detect and contain an outbreak of avian 
flu.
  If we are unable to contain a pandemic overseas, our strongest 
defense at home will be an effective vaccine. However, our domestic 
vaccine manufacturing capacity is so inadequate it could take nearly a 
year to produce and distribute a vaccine.
  Effective drugs that can slow the spread of a pandemic until a 
vaccine is developed are only available for 2 percent of our 
population.
  Finally, all of these problems are compounded by the fact that our 
public health infrastructure cannot handle a pandemic and the medical 
community, businesses, and general public must be better prepared for a 
pandemic.
  All of these facts are reasons why Congress must immediately address 
the avian flu threat and why the Senate voted to do just that earlier 
this year.
  I am troubled by reports that congressional Republicans are on the 
verge of approving about half of the amount approved by the Senate.
  Senator Frist rightly pointed out that the threat of pandemic flu is 
not and should not be a partisan issue. A pandemic strain of flu will 
not distinguish between Democrats or Republicans.
  That is why I hope that Senator Frist will stand with me and will 
continue to fight for the full funding level approved by the Senate so 
our Government may begin to prepare and protect our Nation from this 
looming threat.

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