I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong support of this amendment, the Beyer-Eshoo-Esty amendment, which restores funding to make it equal to the fiscal year 2018 level agreed to by Congress earlier this year for ARPA-E, which…

The threats we faced in 2001 have not gone away. They have evolved and new threats have emerged.

I think it's important for all members to know that the stockpile isn't moving anywhere. It's going to remain with the CDC.

I think that even in the meeting that we had we came over to the agency, you sensed my lack of confidence in what ASPR is doing.

The official government death count for Hurricane Maria, relative to Puerto Rico, was 64.

We need to give the agency the tools that they need and the resources they need to respond to the threats that confront us.

It's important that this committee work to reauthorize PAHPA in a timely manner before it expires at the end of this fiscal year.

Now the New England Journal of Medicine last week, one of the most prestigious publications in our country, they concluded that the death toll was 70 times higher than the official estimate.

Tell us what you're doing in Puerto Rico right now.

I want the members to have a deep appreciation of what BARDA has accomplished--35 approved measures in 10 years.

I authored legislation with then Representative Richard Burr, who was a member of the Committee, that established the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response

I took these issues seriously more than a decade ago, and I still do today.