Senator Bill Frist, M.D.

“Our ability to track outbreaks of infectious disease, food borne illness, antimicrobial resistance, and potential bioterrorist attacks is vital to our nation’s public health and those of our global neighbors. Through a series of hearings I have held over the past two years, I have been shocked to hear how our nation’s public health system, state public health departments, and laboratories are inadequately prepared to deal with many of these situations.  Our country must be prepared to manage the public health and medical consequences of a bioterrorist attack, an outbreak of encephalitis, or antibiotic-resistant staph infection.”
Senator Frist, in an address before the American Association of Medical Colleges on October 26, 2000.

“Is the threat of bioterrorism real? Most experts agree that it is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’... Today, most Americans remain complacent to the threat of infection and skeptical of biowarfare.  And therein lies the danger. This trusting facet of our nature opens us up to terrorist attack.”
Senator Frist, in a speech before the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases on July 16, 2000.

     Senator Frist has been studying the issue of bioterrorism since arriving in the Senate and working to improve the United States’ ability to prevent and respond to an attack using biological weapons. A heart and lung transplant surgeon before holding elective office, as well as a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator Frist became an expert in infectious disease and had a deep interest in improving the nation’s defenses against biological threats. This expertise prompted shows like Today, Larry King Live, Hardball, and FOX Morning News to call on Senator Frist during the anthrax attacks last fall.

     Beginning with a forum in June of 1997 on “Medical Capabilities on Capitol Hill in the Event of a Mass Casualty,” Senator Frist lead a series of  hearings on bioterrorism, public health preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance in the Senate Public Health Subcommittee, which he chaired. These hearings, and a General Accounting Office (GAO) report on antimicrobial resistance commissioned by Senator Frist, prompted Frist along with Senator Kennedy to introduce the “Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act of 2000.” Passed on October 26, 2000, the Frist-Kennedy bill (Public Law 106-505) authorized $540 million in new programs to improve public health agencies’ bioterror response capabilities and core public health capacities. The “Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act” was the first federal legislation to comprehensively address the public health system’s preparedness for bioterrorism.

     Senator Frist has continued to speak out about the need to invest in our public health infrastructure, improve training for those first-responders and government agencies that are the front line of defense against bioterrorism.  On September 21, 2001 Senator Frist sent a letter to President Bush recommending steps America should take to enhance our preparedness against potential biological attacks.  Following the anthrax attacks on Capitol Hill and around the country in October of 2001, Senator Frist again partnered with Senator Kennedy to develop and pass the “Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2001,” which builds on the framework of the earlier legislation and attempts to fill gaps in the nation’s defenses against bioweapons. The legislation establishes a comprehensive national plan for preventing and responding to bioterrorism. Senator Frist was also instrumental in ensuring  appropriations of over $3 billion in funding for antibioterrorism activities in 2002, including over $1 billion for upgrading state and local public health and hospital infrastructure.  This represented an historic 600 percent increase over the previous year’s funding levels.