President Bush's request to have $7.1 billion in emergency money to address the looming H5N1 pandemic was rejected by conservative House Republicans
who insisted the spending be offset by cuts in other government programs. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, a California
Republican, helped block the emergency funds, even while acknowledging, "the more I study it, the more I see the potential for a pandemic." Arizona
Rep. Jeff Flake, another conservative Republic who help kill the provision, told Reuters he would try to kill any avian flu legislation that does not
offset the spending with cuts to other programs.
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news.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emergency money that President George W. Bush requested to combat a looming influenza pandemic has been deleted from a
U.S. health-funding bill after conservative Republicans insisted it would have to be paid for by cutting other government programs.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday was set to debate the massive health-funding bill. After days of intensive talks between the House and
Senate, negotiators dropped a plan for $8 billion in funds that Democrats pushed through the Senate last month.
Following that Senate vote, Bush on November 1 asked Congress for $7.1 billion in emergency money.
The funding fight erupted after conservative Republicans in the House insisted that an emergency U.S. effort to stockpile vaccines and anti-viral
drugs that could be effective against the deadly flu would have to be paid for by cutting other government programs.
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They are playing politics with our health... Hope these bozos are booted out the next round of elections. This spending could hardly be considered
"pork."
[edit on 20-11-2005 by asala]
)
whereas what people and the CDC are concerned about is a variant (not yet seen) that is transfered human to human. This variation from the present
variant may well be enough to make Tamiflu's limited success completely useless. 
