Letter to members of the Senate Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Conference Committee and the the House Appropriations Committee about the pandemic flu provisions in the FY 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act

Letter to members of the Senate Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Conference Committee and the the House Appropriations Committee about the pandemic flu provisions in the FY 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act

May 22, 2006

Dear Conferee:

On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), we are writing with respect to the conference on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act. Specifically, we urge the conferees to include in the conference report two pandemic flu provisions from the Senate-passed bill: an appropriation of $2.3 billion for pandemic flu preparedness including $300 million for state and local preparedness; and an appropriation of $289 million to fund compensation for workers seriously harmed by a pandemic flu countermeasure.

As you will recall, the FY 06 Department of Defense appropriations bill established immunity for manufacturers of pandemic flu vaccines as well as other countermeasures that might be used during pandemic flu. In return, a compensation program was established for health care workers and first responders who may be seriously harmed by a pandemic flu vaccine or other countermeasure. However, the legislation did not provide funding for the compensation program.

The failure to provide funding turned the establishment of a compensation program into an empty gesture for America's health care workers and first responders. We urge you to make the commitment to compensation real and to ensure that health care workers and first responders and their families will not be abandoned and left to economic ruin should they become injured.

With respect to pandemic flu, the potential impact of an outbreak is enormous, necessitating an effective response to it. We urge you to support the $2.3 billion appropriation from the Senate bill. In particular, we urge you to support the allocation of $300 million for state and local preparedness. While pandemic flu is a national threat, containing the virus and treating its victims will be the responsibility of local communities. The Congress must ensure that our state and local governments have the resources needed to achieve preparedness.

 

Sincerely,

Charles M. Loveless
Director of Legislation

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