WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has assured the nation that it is prepared for bioterrorism, but many lawmakers and public health experts want the federal government to give states more resources to respond to an outbreak.

        The anthrax scare in Florida — where the bacteria killed one man and was found in another — has demonstrated the risk of bioterrorism at a time when the nation is already on edge because of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

        Lawmakers have proposed several competing bioterrorism bills, but a consensus is building that the government needs to help states close gaps in planning, communication and equipment.

        “We can't afford not to be fully prepared to deal with these diseases,” Dr. Mohammad Akhter, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said at a Senate hearing Tuesday. “The unthinkable has already happened, and I as a public health official cannot say, "Yeah, we're prepared.'

        “We're unprepared.”

        A proposal from Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, would provide at least $5 million a year for each state to prepare for bioterrorism. Another $200 million would be distributed based on state population, so large states such as Ohio would receive additional money.

        The government also would add $50 million to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that provides grants to states for technical assistance. Ohio already has received $3.3 million through the program to enhance its disease tracking and communications.
        States would have to submit bioterrorism response plans for federal review to qualify for the federal grants, but Mr. Bayh and Mr. Voinovich, both former governors, want to give states flexibility in how to use the money.

        A separate proposal would require states to develop disaster plans and designate which hospitals would provide treatment in the event of an outbreak. States that failed to comply could lose federal money for Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor.

        Other lawmakers have called for better stockpiles of medicine, stricter protections of the food supply and improved disease tracking.

        The government now has eight stockpiles of essential medicine and equipment at strategic locations across the country so that it can help local officials respond to an outbreak within 12 hours. In Ohio, emergency management officials are planning to stock medical supplies near the state's 25 most populous counties.

        Ledyard King of Gannett News Service contributed.

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