Senators MCCONNELL and LEAHY. and their staffs for working with me on this important issue. I know that Senator MCCONNELL has a longstanding interest in Southeast Asia. and Senator LEAHY has always been a champion of international health issues. making the avian flu something I know they both care deeply about. In the last few weeks. scientists have reported that a deadlier version of the avian flu has now spread to migrant birds that could carry the disease out of Asia and across the world. While it may not seem that threatening to many Americans at first. this bird flu could easily transform into a human flu. And if it does. it could be one of the deadliest flus mankind has ever knowneven worse than the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 675.000 Americans and 50 million worldwide.