OPINION:
The 21st century has repeatedly exposed the vulnerabilities in America’s healthcare system. From the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to the 2008 financial crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, unforeseen events have tested the resilience of our national institutions. Few systems were tested more severely than healthcare.
Leaders in Washington have the responsibility to plan for the unexpected. Congress must act now to modernize America’s pandemic preparedness laws and strengthen our healthcare system before the next crisis. That is why I am advancing the Protecting Americans from All-Hazards Preparedness Act, to reauthorize and improve the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and ensure our nation is ready for future threats.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of the United States’ public health and healthcare infrastructure. Fortunately, when the pandemic hit, the authorities granted by PAHPA enabled us to respond to the challenge. PAHPA governed our use of effective personal protective equipment (PPE) and coronavirus treatments. PAHPA also played a key role in authorizing elements of President Trump’s ground-breaking Operation Warp Speed, which ended the pandemic and led to the lifting of the lockdowns.
Originally enacted by Congress in 2006, PAHPA sunsets every five years to provide Congress with the opportunity to update and improve the law. Despite proven effectiveness, President Joe Biden let PAHPA expire in 2023. Since then, Congress has used temporary extensions that leave our nation’s public health workers in limbo, preventing healthcare leaders from effectively planning for future crises.
We learned in 2020 that the threat of a pandemic remains real despite medical advances. In fact, scientific advances have made the threat of bioterrorism even greater. In 2017, Canadian scientists proved that they could make a genetic copy of an extinct form of smallpox in a lab. The DNA for smallpox, among other viruses, is public knowledge and could be used by anyone, with any motivation, whether a government or a terrorist group.
Other viruses could also be replicated in a lab and then released in a major metropolis, setting off another pandemic. This isn’t science fiction; this is reality. For example, the Soviet Union maintained a significant biological warfare capability and planned to use it on the United States in case of war. Russia inherited this program, and North Korea maintains bioweapon capabilities today. China had a bioweapons program until at least the 1980s, and evidence suggests they do to this day. Iran has conducted research that could be used to make bioweapons. Our adversaries have even come onto our own soil, creating illegal biolabs under our noses in California and Nevada.
As a former Army doctor, I spent time at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), where I learned the seriousness of the threats we are facing. I saw firsthand how adversaries think about threats and how critical readiness is to national security. As a physician with more than five decades of experience, serving soldiers overseas and later building and running the largest urology practice in the country, I have witnessed the strengths and weaknesses of our healthcare system up close. Preparedness is not an abstract policy goal; it is the difference between order and chaos in an emergency room.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States found itself reliant on China our principal strategic competitor for basic personal protective equipment such as masks. We should never again allow such vulnerability. Updating our pandemic preparedness laws also presents an opportunity to reshore critical manufacturing and secure an all-American supply chain for essential goods.
Viruses and bacteria are always evolving, and we must take biological threats seriously. After nearly three years of uncertainty, it’s time for Congress to update America’s healthcare preparedness laws and reauthorize PAHPA.
• Rep. Neal Dunn, M.D. proudly represents Florida’s Second Congressional District. Formerly a U.S. Army surgeon for over 10 years, Dr. Dunn serves as the Vice Chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Additionally, he is on the House Select Committee on the CCP. A lifelong public servant, Dr. Dunn practiced medicine in Panama City for 25 years before coming to Congress.
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