The Sept. 18 release of the 2018 National Biodefense Strategy and a newly signed National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) will bolster the nation’s defenses against man-made, accidental or intentional, and naturally occurring biological threats to Americans’ health and safety, said U.S. President Donald Trump earlier today.
“The implementation of these actions will promote a more efficient, coordinated and accountable biodefense enterprise,” Trump said in a statement. “Taken together, they represent a new direction in the nation’s defense against biological threats.”
The White House-authorized, congressionally mandated biodefense strategy includes five extensively detailed goals and establishes a new Cabinet-level committee to be chaired by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
While nearly all executive departments and agencies contribute to the nation’s biodefense mission, HHS was chosen to be lead coordinator because the department has the most extensive “scientific and technological expertise” around biothreats in the federal government, said National Security Adviser John Bolton during a Tuesday morning press briefing at the White House with HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
“Every consideration that we could think of pointed to putting HHS in the lead position,” Bolton said.
The Biodefense Steering Committee will monitor and coordinate implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy across 15 federal agencies and the intelligence community, he added.
Both senior administration officials also said that while there’s no specific or immediate threat lurking against the United States, biothreats do exist and are growing, a fact Trump reinforced.
“Biological threats emanate from many sources, and they know no borders,” the president said today. “They have great potential to disrupt the economy, exact a toll on human life, and tear at the very fabric of society.”
In addition to HHS overseeing the new steering committee, the NSPM that Trump signed also directs the National Security Adviser to review biological threats and annually prioritize related actions that would help the federal government prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from them.
Additionally, within 90 days, the HHS Secretary must establish a Biodefense Coordination Team located within HHS that will back up the committee’s work, as well as designate a senior official to serve as the team’s director, who will report to the HHS Secretary.
The Biodefense Coordination Team’s work will be supported by the HHS Secretary, along with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of other federal agencies that have biodefense-related responsibilities or capabilities, according to the presidential memorandum.
And for the first time, the United States government plans to monitor naturally occurring biothreats, such as the outbreak of pathogens like pandemic influenza and other infectious diseases that have the capacity to kill large numbers of people, animals, and agriculture.
Naturally occurring biothreats also may be harnessed as weapons for use in a deliberate bioterrorism attack, according to the White House.
“This is a holistic look at biothreats across the government for the first time,” Azar said.
According to the NSPM, federal agency biodefense activities and implementation of the national strategy will be conducted consistent with section 1086 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as well as with prior executive orders and presidential directives.
Azar added that the national strategy is considered “a living document” that will be updated at specified intervals to identify any gaps, such as in funding, for instance, and how to most effectively address such gaps.
The bipartisan Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense today commended the Trump administration for developing and releasing the National Biodefense Strategy, an action that the panel prioritized in its 2015 A National Blueprint for Biodefense report.
“The biological threat is real,” said Dr. Asha George, executive director of the Blue Ribbon panel. “I am glad to see that the Trump Administration recognized this fact and released the National Biodefense Strategy today.”
George pointed out that the strategy addresses “every part of the spectrum of activities” determined by the panel to comprise biodefense – from prevention, deterrence, and preparedness, to detection and surveillance, response, attribution, recovery, and mitigation.
“In releasing this strategy,” she said, “the administration has better positioned the nation to address biological events no matter what the source.”
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense has scheduled an Oct. 9 public meeting that’s likely to include discussions around the new National Biodefense Strategy.
Some of the currently scheduled topics during the day-long meeting include Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who will discuss his experiences with the 2001 anthrax attacks and what he thinks remains to be done to address the biological threat; a video on Bioterrorism, Pandemics, and Preparing for the Future that will feature a Blue Ribbon panel discussion on the increasing number of biological threats and safety steps that should be undertaken by the U.S. government; and a panel of hospital, academic and federal experts who will discuss dealing with dangerous, naturally occurring diseases.
“The White House made a great start with the implementation plan they included with the strategy,” said former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who co-chairs the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.
“We look forward to the White House assigning responsibilities for each element of this plan to specific federal departments and agencies, and establishing timelines for their completion,” Ridge added. “This is the sort of proactive planning and preparation the American people are looking for in their federal government.”