Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I also want to start by thanking our chairman, Chairman Upton, Mr. Waxman, the ranking member, Mr. Rogers, as well as our staff, Clay Alspach with the majority staff, for all their help in assuring that this bill, H.R. 6672, came to the floor. In an emergency we need all hands on deck. In the aftermath of an attack, natural disaster, or pandemic, we need to be assured that there is an adequate supply of countermeasures to meet our Nation's needs. This program has also proven itself effective and deserves to be reauthorized and strengthened, as this bill does. Our Nation will never reach the surge capacity it needs without utilizing all personnel in our health care workforce. The committee has worked with me to ensure maximum capacity by correcting an oversight in the original law and now clarifies that dentists and dental facilities have the opportunity to be included in the first responder framework by incorporating earlier legislation, H.R. 570. Dentists are willing and trained to support the medical and public health response to a disaster, and this legislation allows States the option of incorporating dentists into their disaster response framework. In addition, the legislation expands on a long-held priority for me by strengthening our Nation's commitment to trauma care and its continued necessity in the aftermath of a disaster.…”