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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | ||||
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| REMARKS BY: | TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES |
| PLACE: | The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Berlin, Germany |
| DATE: | May 16, 2002 |
It's wonderful to be with you here in this vibrant city among men and women who care so deeply about the future of health care throughout the world.
Berlin is a symbol of freedom for every person on the globe. It was here, during the height of the Cold War, that President Kennedy reminded us that free people everywhere were citizens of Berlin. And it was here, during the final days of communist tyranny, that Ronald Reagan issued a challenge that still resonates in our hearts today - "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
That wall did come down, and today Berlin, and Germany, are united and growing.
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation does important work on many fronts, and is named for one of the true heroes of the Post-War era. His courage, his foresight and his belief in human dignity and human rights still speak to us today.
Chancellor Adenauer once made a remark that has a direct bearing on our meeting this afternoon. "We all live under the same sky," he said, "but we don't all have the same horizon."
What a thoughtful, and very accurate, statement. Each of us here represents a distinct nation with individual needs and goals. Yet, as Chancellor Adenauer reminded us, we do live under a common sky. And it is because we share so much that we have gathered here today.
In America, our part of the sky was painfully clouded on September 11th, 2001. Yet we were comforted by the great compassion of the German people. On September 14th, 200,000 Berliners gathered to mourn with us on our national day of prayer.
And then in early October, I had the high honor of receiving a check for $30 million Deutsch marks from Germany's ambassador to the United States, the Honorable Wolfgang Ischinger. This generous gift has helped thousands of men, women and children directly affected by the attacks.
We will not forget the solidarity and deep kindness of the German people as my country faced one of the greatest challenges in its history. On behalf of the government and people of the United States, it is my privilege to say thank you very deeply.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank my friend, Hessen Minister President Roland Koch, whose leadership is so widely respected. Hesse is the sister state of my great home state of Wisconsin. Roughly 50 percent of the people of Wisconsin have a German heritage, including me. So, we are very fond of Germany and of Hesse in particular.
Minister President Koch has taken a bold and innovative approach to reforming Hesse's welfare system, and is modeling some of his reforms on those we made to our welfare system in Wisconsin.
I wish him all the best in his courageous venture and can tell all of you that welfare reform that emphasizes work, compassion and dignity can truly transform lives.
Today, I want to update you on our progress in preparing for bioterrorist attacks in the wake of the anthrax events that followed September 11th and our joint concern for greater global security.
First, we responded vigorously and well to the attacks. We had 50 tons of emergency medical supplies in New York City within about seven hours of the collapse of the world trade centers.
Thousands of emergency personnel - physicians, nurses, rescue workers and others, many from the various agencies and within my department - quickly converged on the stricken areas in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Then, when anthrax was sent through our postal system, we provided cipro and other drugs to everyone who needed them. While we are saddened that five Americans died from this vicious assault, we believed we saved the lives of scores or even hundreds more by acting quickly.
But we have to do more, and we are. The Bush Administration is providing funding to help states and local communities be prepared for mass disease outbreaks. And for the next fiscal year, President Bush and I are requesting $4.3 billion, an increase 45 percent above this year's level of funding, for bioterrorism preparedness initiatives.
We're using these funds to add more than 600 new food inspectors to better ensure the safety of our food supply … and to provide new research funding for our Centers for Disease Control as they develop improved treatments for diseases like smallpox and anthrax.
The National Institutes of Health is working to develop effective vaccines for life-threatening diseases. We are enlarging our national pharmaceutical stockpile. And we are upgrading our public health system at the local, state and national levels, providing training and equipment for the men and women who will have to confront a disease outbreak in regional areas.
All totaled, we are making the largest one-time spending increase on bioterrorism preparedness ever, and I believe we have set-up our preparedness program more rapidly than any comparable U.S. federal government program has ever been organized.
And as is often the case, some good has emerged from a deeply painfully situation. Investment in public health in the United States and around the world has risen significantly since the attacks of September 11th.
We have been reminded all too vividly of the imperative necessity of effective public health systems … of the need for quick, efficient, integrated and effective responses to large-scale public health emergencies … and many of our nations have responded with a renewed commitment to providing the resources our public health systems need.
We are so pleased to be partnering with you and other key nations that are potential targets of bioterrorism.
We are beginning to realize the goals of the Ottawa Plan for Improving Health Security, which I was privileged to sign last fall with your Ministry of Health. The Ottawa plan set the framework for coordinating our efforts to ensure the health and security of our citizens and prepare for possible bioterror attacks. We reaffirmed and expanded our commitment in a meeting in London in March.
The basis for our common work is simple: lines on a map do not stop disease. We share a common sky - and we share, increasingly, common goods, common travel and common produce.
Working together is not simply an expression of good will. It is an imperative if we are serious about keeping our countries safe.
First, we are moving ahead with our commitment to share "expertise, supplies and resources" to be jointly prepared for an attack of bioterrorism.
We are working to develop a test model to help us better understand the strengths and weaknesses of our mutual responses to international bioterror. Our friends in Canada are putting together a steering committee for this exercise, which the United Kingdom has agreed to host.
Second, we are also advancing research exchanges … sharing emergency preparedness and response plans … improving the links between the major national laboratories of our countries … and Germany is taking the lead in helping define best practices in vaccine production for smallpox and other potential pathogens.
The threats we face our real, but our dedication to confront them successfully is unshakeable. We are committed to moving forward in concerted action for a single purpose - to protect our citizens from our common enemies, who truly are the enemies of all humankind.
The great American statesman Abraham Lincoln was, like Konrad Adenauer, both deeply committed to representative democracy and the freedoms it supports and also a shrewd observer of the human condition.
President Lincoln once said something that speaks forcefully to the work in we are engaged. "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow," he said, "by evading it today."
I'm here today to tell you that President Bush and all of us in his Administration are doing all we can to take responsibility for both today and tomorrow. Our commitment is unswerving.
To fulfill this charge is a great and humbling calling, and you have our solemn word that we partner with you to fulfill it.
Thank you again so very much. May God bless you, may God bless this wonderful nation of Germany, and may God bless the United States of America.