Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Carter) as well. I also want to thank the ranking member
for doing such a great job and working on this piece of legislation.

I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 361, the Medical Preparedness
Allowable Use Act. This legislation would amend the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 to clarify that grant funds under the State Homeland
Security Grant Program and the Urban Area Security Initiative may be
used to enhance medical preparedness and purchase medical
countermeasures.

I originally introduced the Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act in
2012 after a series of hearings on medical countermeasures when I
proudly served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency
Preparedness, Response, and Communications.

At these hearings, the need for this legislation was highlighted when
we received numerous testimonies from the emergency response community on the importance of stockpiling medical countermeasures in the event of a WMD attack.

This includes predeployed medical kits for first responders, as Mr.
Carter said, their families, and immediate victims of widespread
terrorist attacks on our homeland and natural disasters, resources
similar to those provided to postal workers participating in the
national U.S. Postal Medical Countermeasures Dispensing Pilot Program.

The grant guidance for the State Homeland Security Grant Program and
the Urban Area Security Initiative currently permits this funding to be
used to procure medical countermeasures. It also allows for other
medical preparedness and medical surge capacity equipment and
activities.

However, this guidance is developed on an annual basis. There is no
guarantee that these uses will be authorized in the future.

To be clear, as Mr. Carter said, no new funding is authorized in this
bill. However, the expenditures authorized and codified by the bill we
are considering today can make a big difference in protecting the
public.

If we are not safe, Mr. Speaker, nothing else matters.

Codifying this authority will assist emergency responders in the
event of an attack, providing certainty that grant funding may be used
to support them now and in the future. We must have certainty.

I consistently find myself in awe of our first responders and the
sacrifices that they make on the public's behalf. In the wake of recent
terrorist attacks, such as the Boston Marathon bombing, I am committed
to ensuring Congress fulfills its obligation to support those brave men
and women responding to these various threats.

I thank my colleagues, Representative Susan Brooks and Representative
Peter King, for being original cosponsors and for their continued
support with this legislation. I would also like to commend the
chairman of the full Homeland Security Committee, Chairman McCaul, for
his leadership in making this initiative a priority and also for being
a cosponsor of this good bill.

Finally, I would like to note that the Emergency Services Coalition
for Medical Preparedness continues to endorse this bill and its intent.

The Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act passed the House with
overwhelming bipartisan support in the last two Congresses; however,
the Senate never acted on this measure. With new leadership in the
Senate, Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that they can take this measure up
quickly so that we can get this before the President to be signed into
law.

We have a responsibility to ensure our communities are prepared,
equipped, and capable of executing countermeasures for future terrorist
threats and natural disasters. Passage of H.R. 361 would truly aid our
first responders in this endeavor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of this great
bill.

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