Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, today we are talking about bioterrorism and how to protect the American people against this nightmare, and that is an appropriate subject of discussion and something that the American people want us to address. But we must be frank and say that if, God forbid, this country was ever subjected to a major terrorist attack in terms of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, we must admit that we currently do not have the public health infrastructure to deal with such a crisis. This bill contains many important provisions to fill that gap, and I support those provisions, but it still leaves a very large hole. Mr. Chairman, 44 million Americans have no health insurance or any primary care physician, and tens of millions more are inadequately insured. In the event of a national medical emergency, where would these people turn for medical assistance? How, in an orderly and effective way, would millions of people receive the medications and medical care they need on the same day? In my view, the United States Government must make certain that every community in America, in our large cities and in our rural small towns, have a public health capability for treating all people, regardless of income, regardless of geographical location.”