Political Quotes

“The United States, and the global community, can only benefit from the development of bioterrorism countermeasures. By rendering biological attacks less lethal and, therefore, less attractive to would-be terrorists, new countermeasures serve a dual purpose. They are both an antidote and a deterrent to future attacks. For the sake of national and international security, it makes sense to invest in both basic and advanced research aimed at producing new bioterrorism countermeasures. When an opportunity to produce one of these countermeasures presents itself, it makes sense to capitalize on that opportunity quickly. That is the logic behind this legislation. It establishes an expedited process for Federal support of countermeasure research and a procurement process to encourage private sector investment. But Project Bioshield is not a blank check. Congress has a responsibility to weigh competing priorities and set funding levels appropriately. In that context, Congress cannot rest easy once we have passed this bill. Bioterrorism funding is certainly important, the legislation before us today is certainly important, but our investment in bioterrorism must not come at the expense of research on cancer and research on Alzheimer's and muscular dystrophy and AIDS and other significant health threats.”