THE RAW DEAL: Kerry Ignores President Bush's Historic Biodefense Funding Increases

George W. Bush ^ | June 2, 2004

[RWR8189]

This is the second time this week that John Kerry has embraced policies that were initiated by President Bush to fight and win the War on Terror. John Kerry's speech was more me-tooism and ignored the reality that funding for biodefense has increased 1,600 percent since President Bush took office."

-Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman

President Bush's Historic Funding Increases For Biodefense
President Bush Has Increased The Federal Bioterrorism Budget By More Than 1,600 Percent, From $294 Million In FY 2001 To $5.2 Billion In FY 2004. He has expanded bioterror research by an even greater margin, from $53 million in FY 2001 to $1.7 billion in FY 2005, an increase of more than 3,100 percent.

President Bush's 2005 Budget Calls For Increasing Spending On BioDefense At HHS To $4.110 Billion, From $3.949 Billion in 2004. This includes $130 million for a new Biosurveillance Initiative, $20 million of which will go to upgrading laboratory capacity across the US, and $100 million of which will go to BioSense, a new human health surveillance project. It also includes $121 million in increased funding for NIH biodefense research and other counterterrorism activities.

President Bush Continues To Increase The Amount Of Funds Devoted To Homeland Security. Since 2001, President Bush has nearly tripled the amount of funds devoted to homeland security. In his 2005 budget, President Bush has called for a $3.6 billion (9.7 percent) increase over funding levels for DHS from 2004. (http://www.ruralwater.org/Homeland1.pdf)

Kerry's "Homeland Health" Initiative Has Already Been Implemented By The President

Kerry Is Proposing A "Real-Time Detection System" To Report Disease Outbreaks And Monitor Health Trends. "This initiative would apply the benefits of 21st century modern technology to provide real time reporting of disease outbreaks and track and monitor health trends. Most bioterror illnesses initially look like the flu, and health professionals may not realize a trend. A new real time detection system would pool confidential patient data and pharmacy usage across the country to alert public health officials when disease is on the rise." ("Plan to Make America Stronger and Safer," http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/homeland/plan.html, Accessed 5/27/04)

But President Bush Has Already Instituted Real-Time Reporting Of Outbreaks And Monitoring Of Health Trends. President Bush's BioSurveillance Initiative is designed to "detect disease outbreaks and exposure to contaminants." The $130 million investment will "enhance the early warning of potential emerging biological threats through the BioSense program" and "[strengthen] the Laboratory Response Network in a push toward real-time laboratory reporting." ("Budget Request Summary Fiscal Year 2005," http://www.cdc.gov/fmo/budgtsum05web.pdf, Accessed 6/2/04)

President Bush Is Already Training Health Providers For Biological Attacks

Kerry Says Doctors And Nurses "Not Adequately Trained." Today, most doctors and nurses are not adequately trained to detect many biological weapons and hospitals are not prepared to respond to a mass crisis. This initiative would provide training to health providers and assist hospitals and other providers in developing plans for a surge in patients." ("Plan to Make America Stronger and Safer," http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/homeland/plan.html, Accessed 5/27/2004)

President Bush Is Making Billions Available For Hospital Preparedness. Since 2001, $4.5 billion has been made available for state, local and hospital preparedness, with a further $1.3 billion proposed for FY 2005. Funds are initially passed through state public health agencies, but 75 percent ultimately go for direct or indirect support of local public health departments and hospitals. As a result of the President’s programs, all 50 states now have bioterrorism response plans in place (few states had such planning in 2001), including mass vaccination plans, and 90 percent of CDC awardees report that they could initiate a field investigation within six hours of receiving an urgent disease report. [SOURCES: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=137-04282004; Testimony of Tommy Thompson, available at http://hhs.gov/asl/testify/t020716b.html; President’s Budget for FY 2005; http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20030902.html]

President Bush Is Already Funding Designer Antidotes

Kerry Has Proposed The Development Of Designer Antidotes. "We need to bring together the best of the public and private sectors to develop broad-spectrum designer antidotes so that our first responders -- and our population -- can be protected and treated from the widest possible range of attacks." ("Plan to Make America Stronger and Safer," http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/homeland/plan.html, Accessed 5/27/04)

President Bush Has Already Funded A Comprehensive New Initiative To Develop And Stockpile Vaccines And Antidotes. In his State of the Union address in 2003, President Bush announced Project BioShield, "a comprehensive effort to develop and make available modern, effective drugs and vaccines to protect against attack by biological and chemical weapons or other dangerous pathogens." ("President Details Project BioShield," White House Press Release, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030203.html, Accessed 5/28/04)

President Bush Has Made An Unprecedented Commitment To Research And Development As A Tool For Combating And Blunting Biological Attacks. The President’s FY 2005 budget for the National Institutes of Health funds biodefense research at $1.7 billion, an increase of $121 million over funding from FY 2004 and a whopping 3,100 percent increase over the $53 million allocated to biodefense research in FY 2001 -- the largest increase in resources for an initiative in the history of NIH. He has increased the size of the Strategic National Stockpile of vaccines and countermeasures by 50 percent since 2001, and he has further secured more than $5.5 billion to enhance the stockpile and to encourage the development of new vaccines and countermeasures.

[muawiyah]

Kerry's just looking for a job for his old buddy Barbara Hatch Rosenberg.

[happydogdesign]

[NavySEAL F-16]

The problem is that the media never reported W's speeches on this and many other good things that are happening in this country and in our war on terrorism. Just like they are not reporting on the great news of the economy -- the best one in 20 years. People are still negative because of the news from the MSM. They are somehow able to put a negative spin on the best of news. This has to be countered by the White House. Everyone needs to get out there on the programs and shout it from the roof.

[Condor51]

You have to correct the graphic.

His bicycle costs $8500. He wouldn't be caught dead on a $6000 piece of junk!

:-)

[samtheman]

Kerry's campaign theme song can be: "Everything he can do I can do better."

In the background the chorus can chant: "It's all Bush's fault. It's all Bush's fault."