*EPF308 05/22/2002
House Approves Bill on Bio-Terrorism Prevention and Preparedness
(H.R. 3253 passed by voice vote May 20) (630)

By Stephen La Rocque
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The House of Representatives passed by voice vote May 20 a bill to enhance U.S. preparedness to respond to biological terrorism.

H.R. 3253, the "Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Preparedness Research, Education, and Bio-Terrorism Prevention Act of 2002," now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Representative Christopher Smith (Republican of New Jersey) introduced H.R. 3253 into the House November 8, 2001, and the proposed bill was referred that day to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The bill passed a mark up session May 9 of this year and was voted on favorably by the panel in a voice vote.

The bill would provide for the establishment of four emergency medical preparedness centers in the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

According to H.R. 3253, the Under Secretary for Health in the Department of Veterans' Affairs would be responsible for supervising the operation of the centers, and for providing for ongoing evaluation of the centers.

The four centers would be tasked with carrying out research on and developing methods for the "detection, diagnosis, vaccination, protection, and treatment for chemical, biological, and radiological threats to the public health and safety."

The proposed centers would also provide "education, training, and advice to health-care professionals, including health-care professionals outside the Veterans Health Administration," and would provide "contingent rapid response laboratory assistance and other assistance to local health care authorities in the event of a national emergency."

H.R. 3253 requires that the centers selected to be part of the program shall be located in different regions of the United States, and that the centers may be part of consortiums of more than one medical center.

H.R. 3253 also says "at least one of the centers shall be established to concentrate on chemical threats, at least one shall be established to concentrate on biological threats, and at least one shall be established to concentrate on radiological threats."

The bill authorizes the appropriation of $20 million a year for the centers from fiscal year 2003 to 2007 (October 1, 2002 - September 30, 2007).

The proposed law would allow the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to provide assistance to federal, state, and local civil and criminal authorities "in investigations, inquiries, and data analyses as necessary to protect the public safety and prevent or obviate biological, chemical, or radiological threats."

H.R. 3253 also calls for the establishment of an emergency medical education program. This would be a joint program between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans' Affairs to help health care professionals deal with the new threat of chemical, biological, and radiological attacks on the general population.

Within the Department of Defense, the joint program would be carried out through the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, according to H.R. 3253.

The education and training programs to be developed would be aimed at health care professionals to provide them with the capability for "recognition of chemical, biological, and radiological agents that may be used in terrorist activities."

The proposed training programs would feature the identification of potential symptoms of those agents, along with the understanding of the potential long-term health consequences resulting from exposure to those agents.

The health care professionals would also be taught emergency treatment for exposure to those agents, along with the appropriate course of follow-up treatment, supportive care, and referral for patients.

The programs would also tackle the issue of what can be done while providing care for exposure to those agents to protect against contamination, and on how to seek consultative support and to report suspected or actual use of those agents.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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