House Democrats Introduce $7B Bioterrorism Bill
House Democrats yesterday "unveiled" a $7 billion bioterrorism package yesterday that includes "far more funding for state and local preparedness than the Bush administration has proposed," CongressDaily reports. The legislation will provide "at least $2 billion" directly to state and local agencies to "beef up their ability" to prepare for and react to a bioterrorist attack. The legislation will also offer funds to "boost the amount of drugs and vaccines in the national pharmaceutical stockpile," and increase protections for food and water safety. Meanwhile, negotiations continue in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee over a bipartisan bioterrorism bill. Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has lowered his proposal from a $10 billion package to "around $6 billion" -- but that amount "remains too high for most Republicans," CongressDaily reports (Rovner/Hagstrom, CongressDaily, 10/25).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.