Address of Lowell Weicker, Jr. LAB 21 Conference September 20, 2011 I was pleased to receive the invitation to speak at the Labs 21 annual conference. I have always been awed by the process of discovery. And, that s what laboratories are about --- the business of discovery. All of you hold the keys to advancing science, solving medical mysteries, diagnosing outbreaks and finding cures. That is just a typical day s work in a laboratory. Throughout my entire career, particularly during my years in the U.S. Senate and as Governor of Connecticut, I was deeply involved and supportive of bio-medical research at the National Institutes of Health. I was privileged to be a front-row witness to breakthroughs in laboratories that improved and saved lives. Being part of those achievements are among my proudest moments of public service. In addition to being supportive of the NIH, I also expended considerable effort on behalf of NOAA, most particularly that part of the
organization devoted to marine science. I had the good fortune to do three saturation dives, each 3 days in length, in the hydrolab located at Salt River on St. Croix, USVI. It s my understanding that a new marine research and education center is being built on St. Croix in conjunction with a consortium of universities, the Department of Interior and the National Park Service. As a part of the effort, the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories is conducting a student competition for sustainability in design, engineered systems and operations of the facility. The sooner this endeavor is up and running the better. When the West Indies Lab was destroyed in 1989, it left a huge void in our knowledge of depleted sources of seafood, reduced marine habitats and polluted coastal waters. A thanks to Karen Koltes and Bob Wicklund for all their hard work. One of the causes I have devoted myself to since leaving direct public service is working to improve the public health system in this country. The advances in bio-medical research often get the high-profile headlines, but I am also aware that public health professionals are working
hard around the country with little attention and limited resources to reduce threats and improve the health of Americans. As the Chairman of the Pew Environmental Health Commission and then as Board President of the Trust for America s Health, I ve gained a deep appreciation for the importance of public health. It s all about preventing disease and giving all Americans the opportunity to be healthy. So, today, I want to focus on the importance of sustaining America s public health laboratories. From newborn screening tests to finding environmental and foodborne threats to reducing the spread of global HIV/AIDS, public health laboratories are often the behind-the-scenes players on the front lines of health crises. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11th and anthrax tragedies. All of us at TFAH wanted to take the occasion to remember those we lost and their loved ones -- and to recognize the public health professionals who worked tirelessly and heroically to respond and protect us.
Protecting the American people is a sacred trust --- and a heavy responsibility. Public health had not traditionally been considered among the first responders, but ten years ago, that changed forever -- and we should never forget why. The contribution public health makes in preventing, detecting, and containing threats is often overlooked and unappreciated -- and it is up to those of us in the room today to make sure the country understands that public health laboratories must be protected in tight economic times, so in turn, you all have the resources you need to be able to protect us in the future. Ten years ago, public health laboratorians were at the center of the 9/11 and anthrax response. Many of you in the room today and your colleagues were part of these efforts. I understand from the American Public Health Laboratory Association, public health laboratories alone ran more than one million tests on approximately 125, 000 samples during the anthrax scares.
Laboratory scientists worked around the clock for the days, weeks and months following the initial identification of anthrax. In our new report, we have first person stories from more than 30 public health officials. We learned from Phil Lee in Florida how he received ad analyzed the first specimen that turned out to be anthrax -- and then how laboratories around the country were inundated with specimens to test. Other officials in our stories talked about how many laboratories were under equipped and understaffed to deal with the situation -- but did what they could to make it work. For example, Victor Waddell at the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory said: At the outset of the anthrax response, we were basically operating out of a closet. We built a makeshift lab in an unoccupied office -- this became our Bio Emergency Response Lab. Lack of resources, combined with the thousands of samples coming in, made it even harder on the laboratories that had to isolate and respond to actual incidents. In his story, Jim Pearson from the Virginia State Laboratory said:
The people in Virginia who contracted anthrax survived. Part of the reason for the positive outcome was the responsive infrastructure developed through the Laboratory REsponse Network (LRN). One patient went to the emergency room and was discharged after having a blood sample drawn for culture... Within forty minutes of receiving the specimen... the patient returned to the hospital and was successfully treated with the appropriate antibiotics. New York City, after the anthrax letters were sent to the TV networks, expanded from one laboratory to 10 laboratories to deal with the response. Back in 2001, we experienced the unimaginable. In 2011, we know we need to expect the unexpected. Over the past decade, we ve learned a lot of hard lessons about what it means to be adequately prepared for diseases, disasters and bioterrorism. We ve made smart investments and there is a lot of progress to show for it. Today, the biggest new threat we face is major cuts to federal, state and local funding for public health. As my good friend, Tony Fauci at NIH, says:
The biggest threat to bioterrorism preparedness today is complacency. If a health threat does not happen, be it naturally occurring or deliberate, we tend to make it a lower priority. The worst thing we can do is to make something a priority after it happens. After it happens is too late; you are playing catch-up. Preparedness for a threat must be a priority before it happens. As I mentioned at the start of this speech -- laboratories are the key to unlocking threats to our health. Your discoveries identify threats and provide the information needed for how to prevent and contain them. Whether threats are man-made or from Mother Nature; whether they are catastrophic one-time events or around us in our daily lives -- without the work done in laboratories, we don t stand a fighting chance. And, now I would like to comment on some of the prevalent attitudes that are being bandied about the body politic. First, I, myself, am an independent -- so. I owe my allegiance to no party -- only to my country. And, I would suggest to this eminent group that it s time that common sense and knowledge replace the know nothing demagoguery that has captivated America.
I realize that times are tough, but, history teaches us that it is exactly such times that give birth to deranged people and dangerous ideas. Certainly, we have all seen science under attack as never before and we have all seen concern for our fellow Americans at the lowest ebb of our lifetimes. When in one of the debates I heard, let him die in the absence of health insurance, I asked the television screen, and who s next... the gypsies... the retarded... the Jews? And, when I hear about AIDS being God s punishment, I question the mind and soul of my fellow citizens. And why would you not want to protect your children from cervical and other cancers rather than to blurt out anecdotal tales about mental retardation. I know the science of retardation, having a Down s Syndrome son. No, it s clear to me that anti-science is the mood of the times and it s up to each of you to refute such nonsense less it gains traction by silence.
Each of you of whatever discipline represent the hopes of a people beset by the dangers of nature and man. As such, you can be proud of what you bring to humanity s table. In conclusion, I quote to you St. Paul s letter to the Corinthians with my own twist: Faith, hope, love. These three abide but the greatest of these is hope. You are caretakers of that hope. Thank you.