Dhs Medical Countermeasures Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 3263, the DHS Medical Countermeasures Act.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the world, causing countless deaths, both from COVID and from unexpected causes unrelated to COVID, businesses shuttering, job loss, and our everyday way of life almost coming to a halt. While I am pleased that the United States is heading back to normalcy with three excellent and widely available vaccines, we cannot forget the great struggles that we encountered just last year.

Every day, countless Americans put their lives on the line for others, including the men and women in the Department of Homeland Security. Throughout the pandemic, the agencies and officers at CBP continued to protect our borders; TSA officers secured our transportation system; and representatives from FEMA, who took a lead role in the government's response to the pandemic, still had to deploy when disaster struck in other areas.

My bill, the DHS Medical Countermeasures Act, supports the DHS workforce and Department mission continuity by requiring the Secretary to establish a medical countermeasures program to protect employees and working animals in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives attack; naturally occurring disease outbreak; or pandemic.

This legislation requires the chief medical officer of the Department to maintain a stockpile of medical countermeasures and to develop Department-wide standards for storage, security, placement, dispensing, supply diversity, and documentation of countermeasures.

This bill requires the establishment of a medical countermeasures working group comprised of representatives from relevant Department components and offices to ensure medical countermeasure standards are maintained and guidance is consistent.

Finally, the bill requires the chief medical officer to develop an integrated logistics support plan for medical countermeasures that includes a methodology for determining types and quantities of countermeasures, inventory tracking, and a replenishment plan for existing stockpiles.

Mr. Speaker, as a doctor, former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, and military veteran, I can assure you I know full well the necessity of medical countermeasures for treatment, diagnosis, and maintaining the safety of our community.

The Department of Homeland Security has over 240,000 employees tasked with jobs ranging from border and aviation security to emergency response and cybersecurity, with one common goal: keeping America safe. It is imperative that materials and processes are put in place to protect the safety and welfare of employees and to ensure effective pandemic and disaster planning and response for mission continuity.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this commonsense bill, H.R. 3263.

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