[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                FUNDING TO CDC FOR POSSIBLE FLU PANDEMIC

  (Ms. SPEIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, we are still learning the details of the new 
influenza outbreak threatening our country. I want to take a moment to 
praise our colleague, Chairman Obey, who tried to make sure that the 
Centers for Disease Control were prepared for a possible pandemic by 
providing funding in the stimulus package for flu vaccines and 
preparation.
  Unfortunately, the politics of ``no'' trumped common sense when, in 
order to get three Republican votes, the Senate removed $462 million 
for the Centers for Disease Control and $900 million for pandemic flu 
preparations.
  Mr. Speaker, the choices we make here in Congress are more than just 
cable news sound bites. Our choices have consequences. Let me remind my 
colleagues that the 1918 flu epidemic killed more people than all of 
World War I. We must reconsider and revisit the funding issue for 
pandemic flu preparation. It could mean the difference between life and 
death.

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