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WASHINGTON - President Clinton has asked Congress to allocate $1 million to research last fall's outbreak of the West Nile virus in New York and southwestern Connecticut and help prevent a recurrence. In December, Senator Joe Lieberman convened a field hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where experts testified that though the West Nile virus had not previously been documented in the Western Hemisphere, it likely will return in the fall. Following that hearing, Lieberman wrote a letter to Clinton outlining the need for federal assistance.
In response, Clinton requested $1 million in his FY20001 budget proposal to support biological research and surveillance of the virus across 19 states throughout the East, where officials fear that infected migratory birds may have spread the virus.
“It is crucial that this outbreak is seen as a national concern - not merely an isolated regional problem,” Lieberman said. “I am glad that the President has heeded the advice of experts who desperately require funding to monitor bird populations. This funding, if approved by Congress, will allow public health agencies to anticipate exactly when and where the disease might return and take preventive action that could save lives.”
The West Nile outbreak also prompted Clinton to request a $35 million budget increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to study infectious diseases and create a “national architecture” for infectious disease surveillance that links public health clinics, hospitals and health care providers.
In January, the CDCP announced the availability of $2.94 million in supplemental funding for states exposed to the West Nile virus. Lieberman wrote a letter to the CDCP in support of Connecticut's application for $275,000 of that funding. Lieberman previously contacted CDCP Director Jeffery Koplan in December to request that the center take a leadership role in coordinating West Nile research and response efforts among federal agencies.
“All of these efforts represent our considered judgment that the most effective way to eliminate this virus is to vigorously study and monitor it now, at the earliest stages of detection,” Lieberman said. “Knowing your enemy is the key to winning any fight.”
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