| Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced the introduction of the Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2001. Kildee is an original cosponsor of this legislation that was developed by the House Democratic Homeland Security Task Force. In response to recent bioterrorism events, the Homeland Security Task Force designed legislation that would help keep America safe from biological terrorism.
“We must work together to design a comprehensive plan to prevent additional bioterrorist attacks across the country,” said Kildee. “In order to win this war on terrorism, we must encourage our local, state and federal agencies to develop new and improved preventative and precautionary measures to reduce the threat of bioterrorism.”
“We are fighting a high-tech war in Afghanistan, but we are fighting a low-tech war at home primarily because we have neglected our public health system and medical research,” said Kildee. “This legislation will reassure every American that our government is committed to eliminating all biological and chemical threats.”
The Bioterrorism Act of 2001 will boldly address the threat of bioterrorism in America by providing additional resources and assistance to those agencies that protect Americans from terrorist attacks. A significant investment will be made to improve the public health infrastructure and its emergency response to bioterrorism. In order to effectively combat bioterrorism, we must strengthen our intelligence through full coordination and cooperation. This legislation will remove the barriers that hinder information sharing between the intelligence community and law-enforcement agencies.
As the number of bioterrorism incidents rise, we must be able to respond immediately to avoid additional exposure. It is imperative that we provide funding for emergency response and support systems. Therefore, it is essential that we continue to train and educated medical personnel about early detection and rapid treatment. Most importantly, these funds will help ensure that an adequate supply of vaccines and treatments will be available for all Americans.
All of the provisions of this legislation focus primarily on the prevention, organizational structure and response of local, state and federal agencies that handle bioterrorism. The Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2001 is expected to cost approximately $7 billion dollars for nationwide prevention and protection against the threat of biological terrorism. | 
![[News from Congressman Dale Kildee]](letterhead.gif)