good morning, everybody. if we can go ahead and take your seats, we ll get started in a moment. good morning, i m the chief medical advisor of the bipartisan politics center and i want to welcome all of you to today s event entitled budgeting for biodefense: are we prepared? our mission is to actively seek to combine the best ideas from both political parties to promote health, security, and opportunity for all americans. we drive principled and politically viable policy solutions through the power of analysis, negotiation, and advocacy. today we ll hear about the findings from this report and hear from experts from congress, the executive branch and industry. without further ado, i d like to invite b.b.c. co-founder and former senate majority leader tom daschle to the podium. we re fortunate for his leadership. senator. senator daschle: thank you very much. thank you to all of you for coming on this valentine s day. we can only describe it as an unconventional way to beg