Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - July 26, 2007)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the last few years, our Nation's public health has been threatened repeatedly. We have faced natural disasters like the horrific damage done by Hurricane Katrina. We have endured human-led catastrophes like the tragic September 11 attacks. Only a couple of months ago, a man infected with a potentially lethal strain of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis was able to travel from his home in Atlanta to France, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Canada, before ending up at a center in Denver for treatment.

These emergencies have made it clear that our public health system must be prepared for the unexpected.

Our ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from incidents like these depends upon an adequately staffed and well trained public health workforce. But if we look at our public health workforce today, what we see is alarming: an aging staff nearing retirement with no clear pipeline of trained employees to fill the void.

The average age of lab technicians, epidemiologists, environmental health experts, microbiologists, IT specialists, administrators, and other public health workers is 47. That is 7 years older than the average age of the Nation's workforce. Retirement rates are as high as 20 percent in some State public health agencies. Nearly half of the Federal employees in positions critical to our biodefense will be eligible to retire by 2012. The average age of a public health nurse is near 50 years.

These statistics are sobering. As the responsibilities of our public health workforce are growing, their ranks continue to shrink. These are shortages that impact not just for the security of our health, but our national security.

We can't afford to overlook this problem any longer. For the third consecutive Congress, Senator Hagel and I are introducing the Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2007. This is a bill that will increase the pipeline of qualified public health workers at all levels--Federal, State, local, and tribal. It offers scholarships and loan repayment as recruitment and retention incentives for students who enter and stay in the field of public health. It also provides opportunities for mid-career public health professionals to go back for additional training in public health preparedness or biodefense.

The time to prepare for a public health emergency, whether that be a natural disaster or one of our own making, is not tomorrow, nor next month, nor a year from now, but today. Looking forward we must strengthen our public health workforce. I urge my colleagues to join me and the Senator from Nebraska in taking up and passing the Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act. We must all make a commitment to securing the safety of our nation, and that security begins with our public health.

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