In other words, the PAHPA should protect volunteers (that rush to the scene of a disaster like Hurricane Katrina) from lawsuits for their "non-criminal actions" in humanitarian efforts (Hodge, p. 3). Also, Hodge writes that PAHPA does not "…ensure adequate economic incentives to stimulate maximum private sector participation"; in other words, pharmaceutical companies asked to produce vaccines for potential bio-terror attacks, are not guaranteed a return on their investment to produce the vaccines (Hodge, p. 4).

When the U.S. House of Representatives reauthorized PAHPA in 2011, the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) -- a nonprofit advocacy group -- praised the legislation but cautioned that "…the bill freezes public health preparedness funding at the fiscal-year 2011 levels" which, the TFAH asserts, "will not provide sufficient resources to…ensure we are prepared in the event of an emergency" (Roos, 2011). In fact, Jeffrey Levi, the executive director of TFAH, mentioned that cuts in local, state and federal funding in recent years "…have contributed to the loss of an estimated 43,000 state and local public health jobs" (Roos, p. 1).

A report by TFAH reveals that two years after the legislation was signed into law, there have been "delays in the implementation of many of the specified measures" and moreover, there has been...

Congress needs to use its "oversight powers" in order to guarantee "full implementation and execution of PAHPA," the TFAH report asserts.
In conclusion, the nation is fortunate not to have had any bio-terror or other lethal attacks subsequent to 9/11, but citizens wary of the potential of future attacks need to be assured that the PAHPA legislation will indeed provide emergency medical support wherever and whenever an attack might occur.

Works Cited

Hamburg, M. (2008). Penny-wise, pound-foolish? State gaps threaten disaster readiness. State Health Watch / the Newsletter on State Health Care Reform, 15(3), 1-5.

Hodge, James G., Gostin, Lawrence O., and Vernick, Jon S. (2007). The Pandemic and All-

Hazards Preparedness Act. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 297(15),

1708-1711.

Fontaine, Peter H. (2006) Congressional Budget Office Coast Estimate / Pandemic and All-

Hazards Preparedness Act. Retrieved March 22, 2012, from http://158.219.33.254/cedirect.cfm?bill=s3678&cong=109.

Roos, Robert. (2011). Renewal of 2006 preparedness law advances in U.S. House. Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy. University of Minnesota. Retrieved March 22,…