Project Bioshield Act of 2004

PROJECT BIOSHIELD ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - July 14, 2004)

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of Tuesday, July 13, 2004, I call up the Senate bill (S. 15) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide protections and countermeasures against chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents that may be used in a terrorist attack against the United States by giving the National Institutes of Health contracting flexibility, infrastructure improvements, and expediting the scientific peer review process, and streamlining the Food and Drug Administration approval process of countermeasures, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time; and I want to also thank Members on both sides of the aisle on this very, very important issue.

This legislation will greatly strengthen our Nation's capability to protect our military, first responders, and U.S. citizens from the real threat of biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

I am very pleased that this expands the definition of eligible countermeasures and would permit funding and procurement for certain FDA-licensed vaccines as well as experimental products for inclusion in the Strategic National Stockpile. I cannot say how important that is.

We find heroes and patriots both abroad and at home risking their lives in defense of freedom in this war on terror, but there are patriots and unsung heroes in my community who, under withering criticism, toiled to make their product better and get it into the hands of those who needed it most. Thanks to the employees of Bioport in Lansing, Michigan, since 1998, more than 1.1 million military and civilian personnel have been safely vaccinated with more than 4 million doses of the vaccine, including both pre- and post-exposure vaccinations of many of our own congressional colleagues and staff members after the October, 2001, anthrax attacks.

These existing products, like BioThrax vaccine, will provide our Nation with the insurance policy to strengthen its immediate bioterrorism preparedness capability in conjunction with working on new experimental vaccines.

Mr. Speaker, I would even go further and urge the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to consider the immediate procurement of millions of additional doses of the FDA-licensed anthrax vaccines, as well as additional doses of antibiotics for the Strategic National Stockpile. These doses are essential to improving our capability and responding to another potential anthrax attack.

I want to again thank the President of the United States for making this a priority and sending a very clear and strong message that our Nation is serious about protecting the citizens and first responders from deadly terrorist threats with proven countermeasures.