Dale Bumpers: “let me first extend my sincere and profound gratitude to Senator Bond for creating and being the originator of this…”

“let me first extend my sincere and profound gratitude to Senator Bond for creating and being the originator of this legislation. I am honored he has asked me to be his chief cosponsor. I just want to say for the Record and for those who may be watching, I remember when I was Governor of my State and my wife, Betty, was first lady. She had spent 2 years laying the groundwork for a statewide immunization program. It was a howling success. We immunized 300,000 children one Saturday without a single reaction. That evening I said, ``Betty, you ought to take great pride in what you just accomplished today.'' She said, ``I do. Of course, this is good for your political career and it is good for the babies who were immunized today, but it is certainly no final solution because we will lapse right back into the lethargy we have experienced and watched for years with low immunization rates among children who are yet to be born.'' She said until we institutionalize a program that can track each child's immunizations from birth through early childhood we will not have succeeded. Thanks to her efforts and many others, including Rosalynn Carter, and the program Every Child By Two, immunization levels in this country are now at an all-time high. The same principle applies in this case.…”