John Shimkus: “the committee and our work, especially the Committee on Energy and Commerce, is two-for-two, 2 days in a row, two good…”

“the committee and our work, especially the Committee on Energy and Commerce, is two-for-two, 2 days in a row, two good bills, bipartisan agreement. I want to applaud both our majority side and our colleagues on the other side for two good pieces of legislation. Since the attacks of September 11 and the recent anthrax exposures, our Nation has had to reevaluate its ability to respond to a bioterrorism attack. The anthrax attacks, though small in scale compared to the scenarios envisioned by bioterrorism experts, strained the public health system and raised concern that the Nation is insufficiently prepared to respond to bioterrorist attacks. Improving public health preparedness, food safety protection, and response capacity offers protection not only from bioterrorist attacks but also from naturally occurring public health emergencies. This conference report substantially improves our country's ability to plan and prepare for such an emergency. It increases the ability of the Federal Government and communities to plan for any future biological emergencies. This includes improving communications and the public information flow, updating lab capabilities, authorizing a national stockpile, and assisting our health care providers to be prepared to provide care. In particular, Mr. Speaker, title II of this legislation creates a list of all biological agents and toxins and regulates which individuals can work with them.”