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For immediate release: December 13, 2001
Contact: Nancy Howard

NASCIO President to Testify on Bioterrorism

(LEXINGTON, KY) -- NASCIO President Rock Regan, Chief Information Officer for the State of Connecticut, will testify before the United States House Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy on Friday, December 14th at 10:00 a.m. ET in room 2247 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Regan's testimony will address information sharing between state, federal and local governments when public health threats are identified. He will also discuss the flexibility of grant funding to the states should major bioterrorism legislation be passed by the U.S. Congress with funds earmarked for information dissemination.

The hearing will more generally focus on the strengthening of the national public health infrastructure to withstand the threat of bioterrorism. One critical aspect of the session will be the discussion by those present on the challenges and obstacles in sharing and obtaining information during times of crisis. The current system, according to the March 2001 publication Public Health's Infrastructure: A Status Report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), is primarily based on paper correspondence and telephone reporting. Other organizations expected to present testimony include the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, Centers for Disease Control, American Hospital Association and health officials from Fairfax County, Virginia.

"NASCIO has long advocated a strong information sharing network between all levels of government while protecting the privacy of our citizens," said Regan. "States already have information networks in place to aid in the distribution of public health and emergency response information. NASCIO's existing architecture project includes standard templates that will promote sharing across the enterprise - we do not need to reinvent the wheel. It is critical for state CIOs to be involved in the planning efforts."

Regan's testimony will be available online following the hearing. To view his testimony go to www.nascio.org.

NASCIO represents the state chief information officers from the 50 states, six U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Members include cabinet and senior level state officials responsible for information resource management. Other IT officials participate as associate members and private sector representatives may become corporate members.

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For more information please contact NASCIO Assistant Director Matthew Trail at (859) 514-9212.

Association Management Resources, Inc. (AMR) provides NASCIO's executive staff. For more information about AMR visit www.amrinc.net.