NEWS CONFERENCE WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

9:32 A.M. EDT

WEDNESDAY,

AUGUST 23, 2000



Q: Ms. Reno, yesterday a highly respected scientist in the field of
biowarfare spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
and painted a catastrophic picture of what can happen if there were a
large-scale biowarfare attack in the United States by a terrorist or a
foreign government, and said it was -- and recommended spending
something like $30 billion over the next 10 years in preparing -- at
least preparing our medical services for such an eventuality.


You head a board which oversees first response to weapons of mass
destructions used in the United States. Have you reviewed Dr.
O'Toole's report, or have you -- has anyone briefed you on this?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: I've not been briefed on it, and I've not received a
copy of the report yet. But I look forward to reading it.


What I think is important to recognize, however, is that we have been
focused on this issue. We have been working with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to support her department in developing the
capacity to deal with these issues. During the TOPOFF exercise that
occurred earlier in the year or last year -- when -- no, it was this
year --


Q:  Busy year!



ATTY. GEN. RENO: -- we had an example of biowarfare in place. And it
is something, along with other weapons of mass destruction, that we
must be prepared to cope with.


Q: One of the things Dr. O'Toole said was that during TOPOFF
eventually the responders just reached a saturation point where they
just had to say, "That's enough." Would you characterize the operation
as reaching that point where, theoretically, the medical response was
overwhelmed?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: I think it might be appropriate to quote Adlai
Stevenson, who said at one point, "The burdens of office stagger the
imagination and convert vanity to prayer."