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FC: Democrats' new "bio" bill links police to SABRE, Amtrack systems

------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 08:52:22 -0400 To: politech@politechbot.com From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> Subject: FC: Democrats' new "bio" bill links police to SABRE, Amtrak systems Send reply to: declan@well.com

A more detailed summary of the Bioterrorism Protection Act is available here --- final bill has not been written yet -- though the pages are not sequential, so it's only for the brave: http://vorlon.mit.edu/~declan/biobill/

Excerpts from that summary: * "Evaluate need to vaccinate first responders against smallpox" * "Utilize biometric techniques to identify suicide-biological-bombs" * "Increase surveillance through development of sentinel strain. Create a network of interconnected databases for near-real time integration of threat indicator data" * "Establish a perception management and economic market mitigation plan and resources" * "Ensure isolated, genetically diverse pools of seed and livestock to replenish stocks destroyed in disease containment" * "Assess and harden physical security of water-bottling facilites" * "The handoff between intelligence and law enforcement agencies must be made smoother" * "Use GPS and wireless identification systems to monitor commercial traffic in high-risk and border areas" * "Ensure that private databases (SABRE, Amtrak reservations, etc.) are able to interface with law enforcement information stores immediately"

-Declan

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http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47898,00.html

Dems Ready Bioterrorism Bill By Declan McCullagh and Ben Polen 2:00 a.m. Oct. 26, 2001 PDT

WASHINGTON -- In an attempt to differentiate themselves from their GOP counterparts, House Democrats are preparing legislation they say will shield America from biological terrorism.

As anxieties about anthrax mushroomed on Capitol Hill -- with the deadly bacteria discovered in five congressional office buildings so far -- House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri) said Thursday that new spending and police powers are necessary to protect the public.

At a press conference held in the open air away from any of the polluted buildings, Gephardt said his "Bioterrorism Protection Act" would earmark $7 billion for homeland security -- including $1.4 billion on vaccines and antibiotics -- and provide police with instant access to private databases such as the airline's SABRE system and Amtrak reservations.

[...]

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http://menendez.house.gov/speaks/viewrelease.cfm?id=337

HOMELAND SECURITY TASK FORCE CHAIRMAN MENENDEZ ANNOUNCES BIOTERRORISM LEGISLATION WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus and Chairman of the House Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security, joined by Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt and Members of the Task Force, today announced the Democratic proposal to protect communities throughout America against future bioterrorist threats or attacks. The Democratic Bill, the Bioterrorism Protection Act (BioPAct) of 2001, seeks to eliminate biological threats, secure our borders on land and at sea, protect our food and water, equip our communities with the resources to prevent and respond to bioterrorism, and strengthen our Intelligence through full coordination, using our most advanced technology to fight bioterrorism. Menendez made the following remarks: "I'm Bob Menendez, the Chairman of the House Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security, and I first want to thank the chairs and vice chairs of the working groups that helped write this plan: Bill Pascrell, Sanford Bishop, Bobby Scott, Jane Harman, Ike Skelton, Bob Borski, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Ellen Tauscher, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Mike Honda, Jim Turner, and Jerry Costello - and I want to thank the incredible work of over 80 Members of our Task Force on this bill. These aren't just Members of Congress, they're husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, working to make our country and their communities safe and secure. And I think they've done a great job. "What we've learned in the last few weeks is that no matter what we as a people are confronted with, we will overcome and defeat our adversaries. No attack, no threat, no evil will undermine our resolve and our strength. America stands proud and firm - our country and our people have served as an example to all of humanity. America has reacted to this unspeakable inhumanity with resiliency & humanity - humanity in the face of evil. "We call the Bioterrorism Protection Act "BioPAct" because we know that every American needs to be a part of the fight, part of a pact to protect our Homeland. And if we're asking the public to be 'vigilant', then they need and deserve to be informed in full and given the chance to be a part of a dialogue with the officials who work for them. This bill does that. (more) "BioPAct is a pact between the American people and their government, working together, called to national service, marshaling our vast resources, to keep America safe from bioterrorism. The plan doesn't just draw on government programs, but on the American spirit, intellect & creativity, breaking new frontiers, setting an example the world can follow in this new age. "We're here to tell our fellow citizens that we can beat this foe - and we can protect our Homeland. "The BioPAct will proactively assess the new threats and risks we face, so we make sure we target our funding where it's needed most. It will eliminate biological threats at the source, by helping countries like Russia and the other former Soviet states prevent their biological agents from getting into our enemies' hands. We will secure our borders on land and at sea by adding thousands of new border agents and by putting our most advanced technology at work to screen out terrorists and the weapons they might try to bring with them - whether they try to enter our nation at airports, on ships, by foot, or in a car. And BioPAct will keep our food and water supply safe and secure by putting a comprehensive new inspection protocol in place. "We will make sure our local communities have all the resources they need - from greater hospital capacity, to police and firefighters trained in counter-terrorism. "We can prevent disease outbreaks through early and rapid detection; and can save lives by making sure we have the vaccines and medicines to treat people - and a plan in place to get them where they need to go on a moment's notice. This bill does that. And BioPAct strengthens our Intelligence by ensuring our many government agencies coordinate information and planning. We need one comprehensive strategy - not a dozen different ones. "This bill is a commitment to do all this, and a lot more - because we know there is nothing more important than keeping American families safe. "This is the first in a series of proposals this Task Force and we Democrats in the House are putting forward to address Homeland Security. My colleagues and I look forward to working with the President and the Republicans to get the job done - in fact we met with Director Ridge yesterday, and I'm confident we can work together as one American team. "And as part of that team effort, we also call on the President to use the funding already allocated to fight terrorism to begin a national threat assessment; to help local communities cover the unexpected overtime costs they have already borne in response to the new threat environment since September 11th; and to rapidly dedicate new resources to our Coast Guard, our border security, and our postal service. We can and will protect our Homeland. "I'm now proud to introduce our Democratic Leader, Dick Gephardt, who had the foresight early on to work with our Caucus Chairman, Martin Frost, to create this Task Force - bringing so many Members together to work on an issue that's on the mind of every American. He's been an inspiration to this Congress and to our nation - Ladies and Gentlemen: Dick Gephardt - "Thank you."

Executive Summary of the BioPAct: HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS HOMELAND SECURITY TASK FORCE THE BIOTERRORISM PROTECTION ACT (BioPAct) of 2001 A $7 Billion Pact with America Public Health Infrastructure and Response to Bioterrorism ($3.5 billion) Improving Community Emergency Response Capacity and Preparedness -- $1 billion Increasing hospital capacity, educating medical personnel, increasing nursing and clinical lab personnel, and providing training to first responders. Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Vaccines and Treatments for All Americans -- $1.4 billion Increasing the national stockpile of anthrax antibiotics, developing and acquiring additional doses of smallpox vaccines, researching and developing new vaccines and antibiotics, training and equipping health professionals to provide antibiotics and vaccines, and expediting FDA approval of new products. Enhancing Community Planning and Intergovernmental Coordination -- $600 million Providing planning grants to local communities and health care providers to develop emergency response plans that meet certain minimum federal guidelines, requiring states to submit medical response plans to the federal government, funding state trauma care systems, and strengthening intergovernmental coordination. Enhancing Surveillance, Improving Communications, and Strengthening Technology Infrastructure -- $500 million Improving state and local surveillance, training health care personnel in the detection of illnesses related to biological attacks, upgrading laboratories, ensuring a 24-hour public health system is available to local providers, improving and expanding CDC surveillance capabilities, building local technology and communication systems, enhancing communications among agencies, and requiring state and federal agencies to share with first responders important information about the potential dangers of an emergency site. Protecting Our Food And Water ($800 million) Keeping Our Food Safe -- $725 million Protecting crops and livestock through increased surveillance and research, strengthening both physical and information security at key agricultural facilities, increasing inspections of imported food shipments with additional inspectors, increasing the inspections of domestic production plants, coordinating and testing federal emergency response plans, and helping states track foodborne agents. Keeping Our Water Supply Safe -- $75 million Reviewing emergency preparedness and vulnerabilities of water systems, providing resources to address deficiencies in security, developing improved monitoring systems to track water quality, improving security of information systems, improving security of water-bottling facilities, and implementing background checks for quality testers at treatment plants and bottling facilities. Enhancing Law Enforcement's Ability to Protect the Nation ($870 million) Providing the right tools to law enforcement agencies -- $275 million Expanding federal authority over biological agents and toxins; establishing new criminal offenses involving the possession and unsafe handling of biological agents; developing and deploying new screening hardware, software, computer infrastructure, and training to support biometric technology; creating new COPS grants to local communities for counter-terrorism training and equipment; giving grants to local governments for strategic planning and intergovernmental coordination related to terrorism preparedness and response; providing funds to eliminate the backlog of convicted offender DNA samples yet to be entered in the FBI database. Securing Our Borders at Land and Sea -- $345 million Increasing the size of the United States Border Patrol Force and the number of INS and Customs Inspectors at ports of entry; implementing biometric scanning techniques at border checkpoints; funding development and deployment of scanning technology capable of detecting explosive devices, biological and chemical contaminants; mandating better INS tracking of visas and integrating visa monitoring with federal watch lists; providing Coast Guard with enhanced training and equipment. Addressing Threats to Mail Delivery Services -- $250 million Developing and deploying faster scanning technologies, implementing improved mail tracking abilities to track suspicious packages to their source, and investigating procedures to treat mail and mitigate threats posed by contaminated mail. Strengthening Our Intelligence Through Full Coordination ($1.1 billion) Improving Organization and Coordination of Intelligence Community -- $270 million Conducting a threat assessment to identify vulnerabilities and provide a basis for a national strategy for homeland security; removing barriers to efficient information sharing between intelligence collection and information use by law enforcement and first responders; conducting a public education campaign to alert Americans to the threat and appropriate responses for biological weapons. Improving Intelligence Capabilities -- $850 million Deploying biological and chemical detectors for site analysis, continual surveillance of fixed sites, and improved identification of foreign biological agent possession; increasing language translation skills and improving usage of language resources across agencies; increasing human intelligence assets. The Military: Preparing, Responding & Assisting Communities ($720 million) Initial Crisis Response and First Responder Support -- $420 million Increasing military domestic crisis response teams, creating and training additional Civil Support Teams, and training and equipping military and civilian emergency responders with interoperable communications equipment. Interagency Crisis and Consequence Management Exercises -- $100 million Implementing a uniform government-wide evaluation system to ensure proficiency and achievement of military domestic crisis response, increasing training of military personnel for response to weapons of mass destruction incidents, and increasing resources for military involvement in consequence and crisis management exercises. Research and Development -- $100 million Accelerating technology development in chemical and biological research (prevention and treatment), advanced sensors, and other promising technologies. Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) -- $100 million Securing the supply of biological and chemical weapons-grade material from the former Soviet Union, improving Russian and former Soviet Union border and export controls, and increasing support for the Material Protection, Control and Accounting Program. ###

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