{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/brooks-champions-key-measures-to-fortify-us-biodefense-as-part-of-21st", "Brooks champions key measures to fortify U.S. biodefense as part of 21st Century Cures", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Susan Brooks", "B001284", "susanwbrooks.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) praised the substantive 21st\u00a0Century Cures Act for including bipartisan provisions that she helped author to strengthen national security in the event of a biological attack.\nThe\u00a0Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act, a bill aimed at improving U.S. biodefense efforts, was introduced by Brooks and U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) earlier this year. \u00a0Provisions in the biodefense bill were included in the sweeping $6.3 billion 21st\u00a0Century Cures medical research package.\nThe Senate voted 94-5 on Wednesday to approve the legislation, which now goes to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.\nThe bill\u00a0would incentivize investments in vaccines and treatments for dangerous diseases and pathogens.\n\u201cWhen we have enemies that are becoming more and more sophisticated and are trying to find more ways to harm the American people, we have to do everything we can to make ourselves more resilient and to prepare for any possible attack,\u201d Brooks said in a recent interview with the Ripon Advance.\n\u201cI think we have not focused sufficient attention on our national biodefense in this country.\u201d\nThe United States needs a strong biodefense position in the event a terrorist organization should ever weaponize a biological agent such as anthrax or small pox, Brooks said. Naturally occurring biological threats, such as Ebola or Zika, can also pose a risk to national security.\nThe provisions included in the Cures Act help streamline the process for vaccines to be developed to address biological and chemical threats and to enhance the Strategic National Stockpile. \u00a0It would expand the Priority Review Voucher program for material threats identified by the Department of Homeland Security. As a result, pharmaceutical companies would have greater incentive to develop, test and distribute vaccines and treatments for specialized diseases.\nBrooks, who focuses on biodefense issues as part of her membership on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the measure is an important step toward helping the private sector work with government to prepare the country in the event of an attack.\nAlso included is a measure to reinstate the original contracting authority provided to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which would ensure faster development of critical medical countermeasures.\nThe biodefense provisions included in 21st\u00a0Century Cures are a meaningful part of the legislative package, but Brooks said average citizens might not realize their significance.\nBrooks served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana when anthrax attacks occurred following\u00a0the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. Senate offices, killing five people and infecting 17 others in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history.\n\u201cThat was one of the first times when our country really realized what an incredible threat to our national security something like anthrax could be. This has been an interest of mine personally, but I don\u2019t think it has been something the country has been focused on enough,\u201d Brooks said.\nThe Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, chaired by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman and former Gov. Tom Ridge, sounded an alarm last year when it\u00a0released a report that found America\u2019s national biodefense strategy needed significant improvement.\u00a0The report identified capability gaps and recommended changes to U.S. policy and laws to strengthen national biodefense.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/brooks-champions-key-measures-to-fortify-us-biodefense-as-part-of-21st"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.706996001303196, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}