Homeland Security Appropriations: Opening Statement
Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Thank you Mr. Chairman, and welcome to Dr. Runge

The Office of Health Affairs and the Chief Medical Officer are functions that seem to be continually evolving. Just three years ago the Office of the Chief Medical Officer started with only 10 FTEs and $2 million dollars. Today, the FY09 request for the Office of Health Affairs has jumped to a whopping $161 million, supporting 80 FTEs. It’s an understatement to say you’ve come a long way in a short period of time.

And with this sizable increase comes considerably more responsibility. What started out as a medical advisor role appears to be growing into DHS’s principal agent for all medical and health matters, charged with several, vital tasks, including:

• Leadership of DHS’s biodefense responsibilities, including early threat detection and biosurveillance integration;
• Development of a coordinated and unified national architecture for medical preparedness, WMD planning, and catastrophic consequence management;
• And, ensuring DHS’s employees are supported by an effective occupational health and safety program.

I don’t have to tell you that these are important missions – missions that not only involve multiple DHS components, but other Cabinet agencies such as the Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and Agriculture. So your job, as I believe you’re defining it, is not just to support the internal workings of DHS, but also to support medical preparedness across the Federal government—and that’s certainly no small chore.

Which leads us to the very question posed by today’s hearing—“the role of the Office of Health Affairs”. Given this ever expanding role, I’m curious as to whether you are properly equipped with sufficient staff or authority to fulfill the mission requirements you are being assigned.

This is something I hope we can discuss in greater detail today. As I read down the list of program areas that are maturing under your watch—a list that includes BioSheild, BioWatch, Biosurveillance, Chemical Defense, and a whole host of Medical Readiness programs—I am skeptical whether an emerging office that is but a few years old can effectively coordinate such tasks across jurisdictional boundaries and inherent bureaucratic obstacles.

These are tough problems that do not have easy solutions. Despite that fact Dr. Runge, we are looking to you for the answers. We are looking to understand the role you and your office plays in the larger picture of homeland security and how the FY 09 budget request moves you toward fulfilling that role.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.