MEETING OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 3448
THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECURITY AND BIOTERRORISM
RESPONSE ACT OF 2001

May 16, 2002

I am pleased to join you, Mr. Chairman, and colleagues of the House and Senate in this important conference. I commend each of you for the commitment of time and thought that has brought us to this point. We have made excellent progress. Now we must finish the job.

Several months ago, the life of every American was changed forever. Shortly after the tragedy of September 11, we were attacked again, albeit in a different manner, through the mail. Under normal circumstances our airlines and our postal system make our lives more productive and enjoyable. Nevertheless, these conveyances of people and goods were, in an instant, transformed into instrumentalities of terrorism.

Other common conveyances and necessities are potential instrumentalities of terrorism. Recognizing that fact, we set about the task of crafting legislation that would reduce the risk to the food we eat and to the water we drink. We also have sought to enable our Nation’s first responders, and our communities, to plan, prepare, prevent, and if need be, respond to acts of terrorism, whatever their source. Accordingly we have added resources to our public health infrastructure and, over time, will provide personnel with access to the equipment, training, scientific knowledge, and communications that they told us they would need.

Since September 11, this Congress has been united in a bipartisan response to terrorism. Mr. Chairman, though the Senate and House passed different bills, they both arose from a common purpose. Meanwhile the Administration has supported significant resources primarily in the form of grants to states and hospitals. Therefore, for a good reason, the conference has been complicated by the need to harmonize two different bills with the programs currently being administered by the Administration. Care must be taken so that we do not delay, diminish, or deny resources that our communities are already relying upon and expect to receive under current programs.

Care must also be taken to provide strong measures to protect our Nation’s food supply. I am confident that we are crafting legislation that will improve our security, yet continue to provide the world’s most safe, diverse, and affordable food supply.

Mr. Chairman, I am also confident that we will find a way to resolve remaining issues in other titles, and that we will resist adding controversial and complicated extraneous provisions looking for a home. I do hope, however, that we could come to a consensus on a prescription drug user fee bill in time to move it here.

Although this is our first formal conference meeting, for the past several months our staffs have been meeting to resolve many differences. I think we all understand that we and the American people will be well served if we pass a strong bill as quickly as possible. I look forward to working with you and all the conferees to that end.

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