Members of Congress from Maryland met with defense department officials last week to discuss funding for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD).
The meeting was precipitated because the Department of Defense had withheld funds from the two research facilities earlier this year.
The Maryland Democratic Congressional delegation recently wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper seeking a release of the funds. They followed that up with a meeting to reiterate their support for the two facilities, which are both located in Maryland.
The Maryland delegation discussed the crucial work taking place at both research facilities, including the role they are playing in combatting the coronavirus. Attending legislators included Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), along with Reps. David Trone (D-MD), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
“Yesterday, we had the opportunity to meet with Department of Defense and Army Futures Command civilian leadership to discuss USAMRIID at Fort Detrick and USAMRICD at Aberdeen Proving Ground,” the Congressional members said in a statement. “During the meeting, we once again stressed the need for transparency and communication between the Defense Department, the Army, and our Congressional delegation. These labs are national assets and serve a crucial role in our pandemic surveillance, monitoring, and response capacity. We urge the Department of Defense and the Army to continue working together to address outstanding concerns while ensuring that the critical work being done at the labs continues without further interruption. We wholly support the missions of USAMRIID and USAMRICD, and we will keep monitoring this issue closely until it is resolved.”
The USAMRIID is located at Fort Detrick, while the USAMRICD is located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.