Flu Outbreaks

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we were all saddened this morning to hear
that a Texas child has died from the recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu. This is a very worrisome situation, and we are all following it very closely.

Yesterday, Secretary Napolitano briefed Republicans on this matter, and we appreciate the administration's coordination with Congress. The administration has said that it currently has all the personnel and equipment it needs to handle the situation, but going forward, Congress is prepared to work on the request for additional funds in the supplemental.

I would note that Congress is in a much better position to deal with outbreaks such as this as a result of the hard work of Senator Burr and others, who have done a great deal on the issue of biopreparedness and on coordinating all of the relevant Government agencies. We stand ready to closely work with the administration to protect the American people as this situation unfolds.

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