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Swines....
Author: Raine    Date: 04/27/2009 12:42:26

Is it 100 days yet? This has been part of the media Hype machine as of late. 100 Days. We are not there yet. We won't be until Wednesday. Even when we are there, it doesn't matter because we will have another 100 after that, and after that. CNN's John King is already saying that the Second 100 days will be bigger test for Obama.

Looming in those next 100 days is now a possible Flu Pandemic. The media will be -- and already is -- all over this juicy story. The bottom line, as we all heard yesterday, is to take commons sense steps for flu and cold prevention. While the media was all atwitter about DHS declaring a National Health Emergency, they failed to mention this rather important part of the story
When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year's emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.

Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse -- with workers ordered to remain in their homes, workplaces shuttered to avoid the spread of disease, transportation systems grinding to a halt and demand for emergency services and public health interventions skyrocketing. Indeed, they suggested, pandemic preparation was essential to any responsible plan for renewing the U.S. economy.

But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans -- led by Maine Senator Susan Collins -- aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey's attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.

And his partisan attacks on his efforts seem not just creepy, but dangerous.
The Republicans fought to strip 900 million dollars in emergency health funding from the Stim Bill, citing it wasn't important to the economy. It was mocked and laughed at and ridiculed (remember Boehner slamming things around?) They cut alot of that money out:
With money for pandemic influenza preparedness stripped from a huge economic stimulus bill that appears headed for final congressional approval, public health advocates say they have to look to the regular budgeting process for the next chance to get some pandemic funding.

The House of Representatives had included $900 million in pandemic preparedness funds in its version of the massive stimulus package, but it appeared that all but $50 million was removed by the conference committee that ironed out differences between the House and Senate versions, said Richard Hamburg, government relations director for the nonpartisan, nonprofit group Trust for America's Health (TFAH).

The House passed the $787 billion compromise bill this afternoon by a vote of 246-183, with no Republican support, the New York Times reported. The story said the Senate was expected to approve the measure this evening.

The $50 million left in the bill, listed as a Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, is for improving information technology security at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Hamburg said. The sums removed included $420 million for pandemic flu and $430 million for biomedical advanced research and development, he reported.
The Republicans ought to be praying that we don't have a pandemic flu out break. They mock Volcano Warning Systems, they stripped Pandemic funding -- What more have they done? They ridicule everything except the beloved Tax Cuts.

All the times the GOP were screaming that they had no input, they said it was too partisan. The reality is they had plenty of input and did their best to strip everything stimulative or just plain good for people from the bill besides tax cuts. Then not only did they not vote for it as a whole they tried to sabotage it at every turn in the media. The Dems did not help either by caving to the Party of "No!". There is plenty of blame to go around.

I am going to wash my hands. I don't fear the flu so much as I fear the swines.


:peace: and :heart:
Raine

 

50 comments (Latest Comment: 04/28/2009 05:30:40 by livingonli)
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