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"HHS Budget Appropriations"Good morning. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Obey, Members of the Subcommittee: thank you so very much for inviting me to testify today. Mr. Chairman, with America obviously facing an increased risk of terrorism this week, I thought I would begin by assuring you that my Department is doing everything we can to protect the security and well-being of Americans. We have increased both human and food surveillance for possible biological attacks. Through the Food and Drug Administration, we are taking aggressive steps to increase examination of imported food and surveillance of the domestic food industry. We have alerted state and local health departments, hospitals, and health care providers to report any unusual diseases or disease patterns. And, Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to announce this morning that we are providing $1.4 billion to state governments to help them continue preparations against terrorism and other health emergencies. I am also happy to announce that we will allow state governments to immediately obtain up to 20 percent of their 2003 grants in order to support current preparations, including the cost of smallpox vaccination for selected health workers and emergency responders. Of the $1.4 billion, $870 million will support enhancement of states' public health agencies. States will use the rest of the money to help their hospitals prepare for possible bioterror or other mass casualty incidents, as part of a planned statewide response network. America is better prepared to respond to a biological attack or any other health emergency than we have been in our nation's history. Since September 2001, we have bolstered the Strategic National Stockpile, built an enhanced public lab network, hired new food inspectors, and improved our communication and response capacity. We have also constructed a state-of-the-art command center next to my office to give me timely and accurate information and intelligence. It has 26 workstations and videoconferencing ability for up to 10 participants. Command center staff are on duty around the clock, and in the event of a potential biological emergency, I can be in instant contact with public health officials and other officials around the country. New tracking and plotting technology also allows us to track HHS response activities, including to DMATs and DMORTs and the Strategic National Stockpile. Mr. Chairman, I would like to invite this entire subcommittee to visit the Department and see the command center. We are monitoring one situation as we speak, Mr. Chairman. Right now, researchers are working to identify the cause of what has been called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. While we have no reason to think this syndrome is related to influenza, the appearance of similar symptoms in scattered locations reminds us that this is the way an influenza pandemic might start. The President's budget foresaw and prepared for an influenza outbreak. It proposes to spend $100 million to ensure the nation has an adequate supply of influenza vaccine in the event of a pandemic. Due to the constant changes in the circulating influenza strains, we cannot stockpile influenza vaccine, and the current manufacturing methods could not meet the Nation's needs in the event of a pandemic. Funds will be used for activities to ensure a year-round influenza vaccine production capacity and the development and implementation of rapidly expandable production technologies. We will work closely with industry to accomplish these goals. As you may know, the influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more than 500,000 Americans in less than 10 months. We are working to make sure nothing like that happens again. As you all know, President Bush last month announced Project BioShield. He would spend roughly $6 billion over ten years on new countermeasures to prepare America for a bioterror attack. This proposal would speed up research and approval of vaccines and treatments and ensure a guaranteed funding source for their purchase-just the latest in our forward-looking efforts to protect the homeland. We also recently completed a doubling of the budget of the National Institutes of Health. This year, we continue that commitment with a budget of $27.9 billion, a net increase of $718 million over last year. As a result of one-time projects being funded in FY 2003, and not needing to be re-financed, actual NIH research investment will rise by about 7 percent. Now let's turn to the rest of the budget. In my first two years at the Department we have made tremendous progress in our efforts to improve the health, safety, and well-being of the American people. We continue to make extraordinary progress in providing health care to lower-income Americans. Through waiver and state plan amendments granted to states, we have expanded access to health coverage for more than 2.2 million people, and have expanded the range of benefits offered to 6.7 million other Americans. To build on this progress, the President proposes outlays for HHS of $539 billion. $539 billion represents an increase of $36.8 billion-or 7 percent-over last year's request, and an increase of more than $109 billion-or 25 percent-since 2001. The discretionary part of the budget increases $1.64 billion-or 2.6 percent-to $65 billion of budget authority. The portion of our discretionary budget that falls under this committee's jurisdiction is $60.7 billion, an increase of $514 million, or 0.9% over the enacted FY 03 appropriation. $539 billion is a big number, and I have a solemn responsibility as Secretary to make sure every one of those dollars is put to good, effective use. I owe it to the people who pay the taxes-and I owe it to the people who consume the services. One way to ensure these dollars are effective is to work with this Committee and other committees to improve and strengthen our two largest health programs: Medicare and Medicaid. I discuss these programs in my written testimony. We are also making progress on keeping health costs down and preventing chronic diseases by encouraging Americans to lead healthier lives. We all have heard the disturbing news about the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and asthma that could be prevented through simple lifestyle changes. Diabetes alone costs the Nation nearly $132 billion each year in direct medical costs and in indirect economic costs. Yet modest lifestyle changes -- such as getting more exercise and losing weight -- can reduce the risk of this and other diseases dramatically. The HHS budget, consistent with the President's HealthierUS effort, proposes a coordinated, Department-wide endeavor - Steps to a HealthierUS - to promote healthier lifestyles emphasizing prevention of obesity, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The FY 2004 budget includes an investment of $125 million for targeted disease prevention. The President has made improving our nation's health and health care one of his biggest priorities for the year. By working together, we can make it one of our proudest achievements. I look forward to all the work, and I know our discussion this morning will get things rolling. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Last Revised: March 24, 2003 |
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