William Tauzin: “I think it is as important to our country as perhaps the Manhattan Project was. I remember when Speaker O'Neill used to…”

“I think it is as important to our country as perhaps the Manhattan Project was. I remember when Speaker O'Neill used to remind this House that partisanship ended at the water's edge. He meant to tell us that when it came to protecting our country, we were not Democrats or Republicans, we were Americans. And where the water's edge used to be the boundary of the threats against our country, because of 9-11, we now understand the water's edge is no longer the boundary. Within our country we now face these potential threats. So I thank the gentleman. And, indeed, the bill is designed to do exactly that, to balance those important elements of the equation and to make sure we incentivize the private marketplace, but also provide the public monies, $5.6 billion over 10 years, to make sure we have the available money in a trust fund, through our budget resolution, appropriated through our process, to make sure we can acquire those countermeasures, stockpile them, distribute them around the country, as the Secretary is prepared to do, to make sure that those countermeasures are available.”