Hi All Recipients,  I thought you might enjoy this morsel of our
government spending policies.  Gordon
####
Exactly!  You know the game.  Recently I was at a meeting where the
Under
Secretary for Health was commended by a VSO for approving $20 million
dollars for Gulf War Research.  The Under Secretary was quick the
correct
the representative, correcting that it was actually UP TO - $20 million
dollars...Gotta love the government.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Rebecca
-----Original Message-----
From: Gordan Wahl [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 9:44 PM
To: Rebecca Vinduska
Subject: Re: FW: BUSH SIGNS VETERANS' DEPARTMENT TERRORISM PREPAREDNESS
LAW


Gosh, 100 million dollars sounds like a lot of money.  But a little
arithmetic is in order.  Four Centers would recieve 25 million dollors
each and they would have 5 years to spend the funds.  Let's see, that is
about 5 million per year for 5 years.  let me think, what kind of R & D
can anyone get for approximately $480,000.00 per month.  But, who am I
to question the experts as an 81 year old high school graduate with no
doctorial degrees in finance or poltics.  Gordon Wahl
#####

Rebecca Vinduska wrote:
>
> BUSH SIGNS VETERANS' DEPARTMENT
> TERRORISM PREPAREDNESS LAW
> New Research and Response Centers To Develop Vaccines & Treatments for
> Chemical, Biological and Radiological Threats
>
> (Washington) - As the United States prepares for a possible war with Iraq,
> President Bush signed into law H.R. 3253, the "Department of Veterans
> Affairs Emergency Preparedness Act", now Public Law 107-287, which could
> help protect future veterans of this and other conflicts.
>
> The new law, sponsored by Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Smith
> (NJ-4), authorizes $100 million in new federal spending over five years to
> develop new means to prevent and treat victims of biological, chemical,
> radiological and explosive weapons of mass destruction.
>
> "As enacted, this new law will provide the federal government with another
> tool to prevent, or if necessary, respond properly, thoroughly, and
> scientifically to future acts of war or terrorism against the United
>  States," said Smith. "H.R. 3253 is designed to mobilize the strength of
the
> VA health care system to counter these deadly weapons of mass
destruction,"
> he said.
>
> "As a result of this new law, VA will establish four National Medical
> Preparedness Centers to research and develop new methods for detecting,
> diagnosing, vaccinating and treating potential victims injured by
> biological, chemical, radiological or other explosive weapons," Smith
said.
> "The centers will help to ensure that all Americans, whether on
battlefields
> in the Persian Gulf, or within our homeland, have the most effective
medical
> protections available to them," he said.
>
> "The emergency preparedness centers created by my legislation will also
> create state-of-the-art laboratories to help local health authorities
detect
> the presence of dangerous biological and chemical poisons, a capability
> sorely lacking during last year's anthrax crisis," Smith said. "With this
> new law, we will marshal America's best and brightest scientists and
health
> care professionals in a focused effort to improve our Nation's defenses
> against terrorism and protect our soldiers on the battlefield," he said.
>
> As enacted into law, H.R. 3253:
>
> . Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish four National
> Medical Emergency Preparedness Centers at VA medical centers to conduct
> bio-medical research on, and develop health care responses for, chemical,
> biological, radiological, and explosive weapons;
>
> . Authorizes $100 million over five years to fund the new centers;
>
> . Requires the new centers will provide education, training, and advice to
> VA and community health care professionals on how to respond to chemical,
> biological, and radiological emergencies;
>
> . Requires the new centers to provide rapid response laboratory assistance
> to local health care and law enforcement authorities in the event of a
> terrorist threat or other national emergency;
>
> . Requires the centers to coordinate with relevant health professions and
> public health schools in bio-terrorism related education and training of
> healthcare professionals;
>
> . Requires the Secretaries of VA and Defense to carry out a joint program
to
> develop model education and training programs on the medical responses to
> the consequences of terrorist activities, and disseminate these programs
to
> health professions students, graduate medical education trainees, and
active
> health practitioners; and
>
> . Authorizes the Secretary to furnish health care during major disasters
and
> medical emergencies to non-veterans, and to collect reimbursement for
> providing such services.
>
> The proposal to create new bio-terrorism research centers was first
> announced by Smith at a Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing he chaired one
> year ago on October 15, in response to the events of 9/11 and the anthrax
> attacks in October. On November 8, 2001, Smith introduced H.R. 3253, and
> following hearings by the Subcommittee on Health, it was approved by the
> Subcommittee and then by the full Veterans' Affairs Committee on May 9,
> 2002. On May 20, 2002, it was approved by the House of Representatives and
> sent to the Senate for their consideration. The Senate approved the bill,
> with amendments, on August 9, 2002, and following House-Senate
negotiations,
> a compromise bill was agreed upon and sent to President Bush, who signed
it
> on November 7, 2002.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> ___
>
> Please visit http://veterans.house.gov, the House Committee on Veterans'
> Affairs web site, named 'One of the Best Web Sites in Congress' by the
> Congressional Management Foundation, May 3, 1999.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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