Senate Proceeding on May 1st, 2009 :: 2:55:50 to 3:15:35
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2:55:42 to 2:56:03( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the pr senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president, i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: today i am introducing the

2:55:50 to 3:15:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Tom Harkin

2:56:04 to 2:56:24( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: seasonal influenza and pan preparation ac this bill would establish a nationwide free voluntary influenza vaccination program under which any individual in this country may receive annual influenza vaccine shot

2:56:25 to 2:56:47( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: free of charge. mr. president, i offered this bill three years ago -- three years ago -- because at that time we started the process of building up our vaccine capacity. i'll have more to say about that. but

2:56:48 to 2:57:10( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: h1n1, pandemic flu being almost at a pandemic stage now, brings home again what we need to do in this country to be prepared. and that's what this bill is about. offering free flu shots to everyone in the united states is a good idea in and of itself. the center for disease control and prevention says there's an

2:57:11 to 2:57:34( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: average of more than 40,000 americans die each year from flu-related think about that, 40,000 americans die every year due to flu-related causes. seasonal flu is responsible for

2:57:35 to 2:57:57( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: more than 31 million outpatient visits and more than 3 million days annually in the hospital. seasonal flu costs the u.s. economy nearly $90 billion annually. and clear $10 billion in direct medical costs. $10 direct medical costs.

2:57:58 to 2:58:18( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: so think about that. 40,000 people dying every year. $10 billion in direct medical costs, $90 billion annually in lost productivity to our onomy, over 3 million days in the hospital every year. and this is seasonal flu.

2:58:19 to 2:58:40( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: now we can significantly reduce all of those numbers. in addition, there is some evidence that people who are seasonal flu viruses actually build up a limited degree of resistance to pandemic viruses. so strictly, as a matter of

2:58:41 to 2:59:03( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: prudent prevention, it is desirable to maximize the number of americans who are vaccinated against flu each year. and by offering the vaccinations for free and making them conveniently available, we would remove major barriers to widespread participation. mr. president, there is

2:59:04 to 2:59:24( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: precedence for this. medicare -- medicare -- right now will pay for one seasonal flu shot for every medicare every year. so we already have that out there. we just now need to get to the rest of the there are other compelling reasons for establishing a

2:59:25 to 2:59:46( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: nationwide voluntary free -- free, free -- vaccination f program. let me explain. as the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds health programs, i've taken the lead in providing funding to prepa a future flu pandemic. since 2006, my subcommittee has provided more than $6 billion

2:59:47 to 3:00:07( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: for these activities. as a consequence, while public health authorities in the united states may have been surprised by the h1n1 virus outbreak, they have not been to the contrary, since 2006,

3:00:08 to 3:00:28( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: we've undertaken very robust measures to prepare for this kind of outbreak and potential pandemic. first, in antivirals that can be given to a person once they are exposed and show signs of the illness. we've made major investments in

3:00:29 to 3:00:52( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: medical equipment which are right now as we speak are distributed nationally to our local public health authorities across our country. many of them are now in place. many of them started going out earlier this week. and i dare say most of not all, are probably out there right now.

3:00:55 to 3:01:16( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: from the stockpiles that we of tamaflu and haven that has gone around the country to be prepared. second hi, we stepped public health activities which

3:01:17 to 3:01:37( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: helped us to detect the h1n1 vie russ than we might have third, we inrecessed the capacity of the center disease control prevention to identify viruses and respond aggressively and very immediately including producing what's called a seed virus

3:01:38 to 3:01:58( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: necessary for the development of a vaccine. that's being done now. fourth, we made major investments in building the vaccine production capacity near the united states. mr. president, when we started on this i there was at that time only one plant in the entire united

3:01:59 to 3:02:20( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: states of america that could produce flu vaccines i believe it was located in pennsylvania. and that an old methodology of age and so

3:02:21 to 3:02:41( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: it would take a long time. there has been in the -- in the research -- in development now processes by which we cell-based vaccines. we can shorten the time frame. that's nice but we don't have any cell-based plants in the

3:02:42 to 3:03:02( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: united states. in the fiscal year of 2006 we have put over $3 billion out to build these plants and they are being built now. they're being built now. so we are buildin vaccine production capacity and doing in a way in which we can

3:03:03 to 3:03:24( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: get the vaccines produced more rapidly. fifth, we have into that increase the vaccine's effectiveness. if you one dose of a vaccine, you might actually be able to cut that dosage down and maybe

3:03:25 to 3:03:45( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: for -- give that one dose it four or five people by adding an adgement to it. lastly we worked with state and public health capacities to build the ability to respond to it a flu pandemic. we have done that, but because

3:03:46 to 3:04:07( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: of the economic downturn many of our state budgets have been slashed and in our states we were told at our hearing the other day that some over 60,000 people have been laid off from our public health agencies in our states around this country. that makes it more difficult to

3:04:08 to 3:04:31( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: get the antivirals out to people who may come down with h1n1 or any other so because of all of these things that we did, i can safely say that there is no reason for any one anywhere in the united states to panic

3:04:32 to 3:04:53( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: because of the h1n1 flu virus. as i said, one of the most important things we've done is to build up our -- manufacturing capacity. here's the problem. here's the problem, and this really is the crux of this bill that i introduced today. so we build up the vaccine

3:04:54 to 3:05:15( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: manufacturing and we build these can respond aggressively and immediately to a pandemic outbreak. well, what happens the rest of the time? what happens the rest of the time? they sit there idle? not being

3:05:16 to 3:05:37( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: we cannot have that. what you neeto do is to use plants to make more of the seasonal flu vaccines every year. well, if you have the plants out there and they make more of the seasonal flu everyone's using them, what do you do?

3:05:38 to 3:05:59( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: do you just throw it so we want the plant capacity to prepare for any pandemic in the future. but they need to be rack associated. they need -- they need to be activated. they need to produce annually. if they're going to produce annually, then we have to find something to do with these vaccines.

3:06:00 to 3:06:20( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: well, vaccines to every single person in america, we will keep our vaccine production capacity up and running. and it will be ready to shift at a moment's notice when necessary from producing seasonal flu

3:06:21 to 3:06:42( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: viruses to a mass production of vaccines to fight any outbreak or pandemic. now there's another reason for this bill. if we are faced with a pandemic, a flu virus pandemic, we are going to have to mobilize people.

3:06:43 to 3:07:07( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: we are going to have to get vaccines out in a hurry and we're going to have to get the vaccines right down to the individual person all over this country. people in small towns and communities, people in rural areas, people in cities. well, by

3:07:08 to 3:07:28( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: flu sack natio vaccination, we will give public health officials across the nation valuable experience in issuing vaccines to people. in will be local officials capable of administering vaccines. we will also develop an established network -- an

3:07:29 to 3:07:50( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: established network of sites. it might include grocery store shopping malls, schools, places of worship, senior centers where people can conveniently go to get vaccinated in case of an outbreak.

3:07:51 to 3:08:12( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: these annual activities will significantly increase state and local public health readiness to fight a pandemic. now, not all of going to be -- employed by the government. these will be volunteers. but they will be trained. they will know where to they will know how to administer a vaccine because they will

3:08:13 to 3:08:35( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: administer these vaccines on an annual basis free of charge to people. so we'll build up a network of sites, we'll build up a cadre of people that will be relied upon in case we do face a pandemic. mr. president, in rponse to

3:08:36 to 3:08:56( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: the h1n1 outbreak, i hearing. we heard assessments of the outbreak from top experts including dr. anthony fouchi, the renowned director of infectious diseas at the national institute of health. he repeated again, but years ago

3:08:57 to 3:09:17( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: when we first started this back in 2005, dr. fouchi, he warned us, he said it is not a m of whether there will be a flu pandemic, but when it will happen. no whether

3:09:18 to 3:09:38( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: when so-called stimulus bill, i included an additiona additional $270 million for pandemic preparedness. most of that funding was going to be used to complete -- to complete the work of building up our vaccine in other words, to get these plants built more rapidly.

3:09:39 to 3:10:01( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: unfortunately it was taken out in the final bill. again, what we're trying to do is to shift cell-based production. but taking it out in the final stimulus bill was the kind of typical

3:10:02 to 3:10:23( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: that i some years ago of crying wolf. well, the wolf is here. and one encounter an even worse wolf, like the flu pandemic of 1918, the so-called spanish flu which

3:10:24 to 3:10:45( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: infected one out of fleeple worldwide. more than 50 million people. it would be the height of folly not to do what prepare for the harsh reality is that we have repeated by experienced flu pandemics. i mentioned the one in 18 and 19.

3:10:46 to 3:11:07( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: but there was the asian f pandemic of 1957 and 1958 that killed over 1.5 million people. the hong kong flu pandemic 1968 and 1969, again, killed over one million people. not only did it million people, it caused hundreds of millions of

3:11:08 to 3:11:29( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: illnses, hospital stays all across the globe. so, mr. president, we cannot predict future course or severity of the c outbreak. we can't predict it. but, clearly, it is one more wakeup call. one more wakeup call. so, again, i am reintroducing

3:11:30 to 3:11:51( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: again, as i did three years ago the pandemic act as a stand alone bill. i first but it's a stand alone bill. we either pass it that way or, if not, i plan to incorporate it into the prevention and public health title o

3:11:52 to 3:12:13( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: health reform legislation that hopefully we will pass this a program offering annual free flu shots to every american is exactly the kind of smart, cost-effective, prevention focused public health that must be at the center of our reformed health system in america. it will save lives.

3:12:14 to 3:12:35( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: and it will save and when a -- and when -- and when, not whether. and when a pandemic the united states in the future, we will be ready. so, mr. senators to co-sponsor legislation. as i said, i think that this is

3:12:36 to 3:12:58( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: one more wakeup call that we have to move ahead very aggressively in preparing for these pandemics. as dr. fouchi said it is not a question of question of when. how severe, we don't know? i reminded people when we

3:12:59 to 3:13:19( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: started this back in 2005, we were fronting the the possible pandemic of the avian flu, h in southeast asia, thanks to the center for disease control and prevention, a lot of people working on this, we we able to

3:13:20 to 3:13:40( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: contain it before it got out too far. but this h5n1 avian was one of the most deadliest that we confronted. over 50% mortality. over contracted it died. now we've contained it, we

3:13:41 to 3:14:01( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: camped it down. but the periodicallye pick it up here and there places like that. there was some thought because of migratory birds that it might be spread to other places. we don't know we d

3:14:02 to 3:14:22( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: but because it's reared its ugly head. because we know that virus is out there someplace, it behoofs us to do us to protect everyone we and prepare. i hope it doesn't happen.

3:14:23 to 3:14:43( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: i hope when there is a pandemic flu it will be a mild one and won't kill people. we don't know. and the best way to prepare for it is to build up our vaccine manufacturing capacity as fast as possible. secondly, make sure that the public health agencies on state and local levels are yesterdayy

3:14:44 to 3:15:05( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: to go, that -- ready to go, tha they're trained and equipped and, thirdly, we have some experience, that we know how to do this. and one of the best ways is to give everyone a free flu shot every everyone. a voluntary free flu shot every year. to me, that will -- that will and to protect the american

3:15:06 to 3:15:28( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: people. -- against any flu pandemic that may come our so, mr. president, with that i yield the floor and absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

3:15:29 to 3:15:34( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: will call the roll.