Following President Donald Trump’s release of his Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal last week, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) applauded the inclusion of a control shift of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
“This announcement reinforces the importance of streamlining public health emergency response measures so that if and when our country faces a public health emergency or bioterrorism threats, we are in a better position to respond with the appropriate supplies and resources to adequately protect the homeland and everyone who lives in it,” Brooks said on Feb. 13.
Trump’s budget proposal underscores the shift of control from the CDC to the ASPR as an enhancement of emergency preparedness and health security by consolidating the necessary strategic decision-making around the development and procurement of medical countermeasures. The move also allows for streamlined, cohesive leadership, providing swift responses to public health emergencies. Last year, ASPR coordinated emergency responses that helped more than 36,000 patients, according to a written statement from Brooks.
The SNS, created in 1999 and strengthened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, accounts for the nation’s supply of vaccines, medicine, and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency. While it has been used in the aftermath of natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Maria and Harvey in late 2017, the SNS is prepared for use against potential bioterrorism threats, including botulism and anthrax.
“We must continue to build on investments to protect the civilian population against public health emergencies related to infectious disease outbreaks, whether they occur naturally or are associated with bioterror tactics,” Brooks said. “When natural disasters devastate our communities, or our neighborhoods and workplaces are threatened by chemical, biological or nuclear hazards, it is critical to ensure we are able to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to keep the American people healthy and safe.”
The budget proposal also made funding a priority for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Project BioShield, and pandemic influenza, which will help the entities continue their investments in protecting the country from infectious disease outbreaks and other man-made crises. Specifically, Project BioShield is designed to fund the research, development and acquisition of medical countermeasures to be used against biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear agents.
Additionally, the budget proposal supports new CDC investments to assist countries in developing and strengthening their response to infectious disease outbreaks of any kind through the Global Health Security Agenda.
“A disease threat anywhere is a disease threat everywhere,” the budget proposal stated. “So the United States will continue to support capacity building in other countries so that they can stop outbreaks at their source before they reach the U.S. homeland.”