Kay Bailey Hutchison: “the National Biocontainment Lab, NBL, at the University of Texas Medical Branch, UTMB, in Galveston is an important tool…”

“the National Biocontainment Lab, NBL, at the University of Texas Medical Branch, UTMB, in Galveston is an important tool in our continued fight against bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases. As a Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research, RCE, for Federal Region VI, UTMB's lab is able to research and develop new therapies, vaccines, and tests for microbes that might be used as weapons by terrorists, as well as naturally occurring diseases such as SARS and West Nile virus. I was happy to support UTMB in 2003 in their efforts to establish the NBL in Galveston. In letters and conversations with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of National Institutes of Health, I conveyed the importance of this facility and the benefits to housing the NBL at UTMB. Once again, I am pleased to support the NBL and UTMB with this amendment. By understanding the staffing and training requirements needed at this new facility, our doctors and scientists will be better prepared and more able to recognize a bioterrorist attack. Amendment No. 4222”