U.S. Bioterror Policy

Åke Sellström, the leader of the U.N.’s chemical weapons investigation in Syria, visited the U.S. last week with several members of his team, according to a press briefing on Thursday. Patrick Ventrell, the acting deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State … Read More…

U.S. President Barack Obama must develop a plan to stop the violence and the use of chemical weapons by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said on Thursday. Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, … Read More…

The U.S. will not set a timeline for determining if Syria used chemical weapons because the facts must drive the investigation, not a deadline, the White House said on Friday. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said that the … Read More…

The U.S. State Department is gathering facts as to whether or not Syria used chemical weapons and crossed President Barack Obama’s red line, according to a press briefing on Friday. Patrick Ventrell, the acting deputy spokesperson for the State Department, … Read More…

While there is evidence that Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime used chemical weapons on its own people, clearer evidence and facts are required before acting, a White House official said on Thursday. The official spoke to reporters on Thursday after the … Read More…

Patrick Ventrell, the acting deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, reaffirmed on Monday that the use of chemical munitions by Syria or anyone else would be condemned by the U.S. During the department’s daily press briefing, Ventrell was asked … Read More…

The FBI arrested a Mississippi man on Wednesday that it “believed to be responsible” for mailing letters containing the poison ricin to President Obama, Sen. Rocker Wicker (R-Miss.) and another official. The FBI said that Paul Kevin Curtis was arrested … Read More…

U.S. President Barack Obama must clarify comments made in December about Syria crossing a red line by using chemical weapons, according to a recent editorial in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Charles Blair, a senior fellow for state and … Read More…

The Obama administration said on Monday that no changes in North Korea’s military posture have been recorded despite its ongoing rhetoric. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that the U.S. has detected no military mobilization or repositioning of forces … Read More…

Weapons of mass destruction, described as one of the most pervasive threats to the United States by Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler, will be addressed through a new partnership between U.S. Strategic Command and the University of Nebraska. President … Read More…

Recent allegations that a chemical agent was fired in Syria last week are unlikely to trigger U.S. military intervention in the country’s civil war. U.S. officials said there is not yet any evidence that the weapon involved in the March … Read More…

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) called on the Obama administration on Thursday to secure chemical weapons in Syria before the country’s civil war spirals out of control. Rogers, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said President Obama … Read More…

The Senate agreed in voice vote to an amendment proposed by Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) that would fully fund the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in the financial year 2014 government budget. Burr proposed amendment no. 232 at the … Read More…

The U.S. Department of Defense released a new “Strategy for Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities” last week to address current and emerging threats to the U.S. through 2020. Two priority missions are identified in the strategy for … Read More…

U.S. President Barack Obama recently reiterated his stance that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian military would directly affect American involvement in the country’s two-year-old civil war. Obama made the comments while conducting a joint press conference with … Read More…

The White House recently announced that a senior European affairs adviser on the National Security Council will move into a post created to stop the spread of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons. Senior Director for European Affairs Elizabeth Sherwood-Randal, … Read More…

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) expressed praise on Thursday for the signing into law of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013. Alexander, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said … Read More…

The U.S. recently alleged that despite its ongoing civil war, Syria was making progress towards developing biological weapons capability. The Office of the National Intelligence Director, in an assessment to Congress, warned that Damascus could already have achieved limited bioweapon … Read More…

Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers (Mich.-08), the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, recently praised the passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act, calling it essential to protecting the future of America’s public health preparedness infrastructure. … Read More…

President Barack Obama signed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act into law this weak, reauthorizing provisions of the Project Bioshield Act of 2004 and the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006 for five more years. The Biomedical Advanced … Read More…

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Nicole Lurie issued a statement on Wednesday after President Obama signed the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act into law. Lurie praised Congress on its bipartisan leadership in reauthorizing PAHPA, … Read More…

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper recently characterized the Syrian regime as increasingly beleaguered and more likely to employ chemical or biological weapons. Clapper testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that the more tenuous Assad’s hold on power, the more dangerous … Read More…

President Obama is expected soon to sign the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act into law, which will extend for five years the array of federal biodefense programs created following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The U.S. House of … Read More…

Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced a resolution on February 28 that would add more biosecurity and agro-defense to U.S. economic and national security. The senators said that improving biosecurity and … Read More…

Newly appointed U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel promised Israel on Tuesday that he will work with Congress to ensure that funding for the Iron Dome and Arrow missile defense systems are continued. The promise came following a meeting with Israeli … Read More…

Certain contracts for the remainder of the fiscal year may be cut by the Department of Homeland Security because of sequestration, according to Nick Nayak, the department’s chief procurement officer. No determination has been made so far about which contracts, … Read More…

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel met with Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak this week for Hagel’s first meeting with a foreign counterpart since taking office. During the meeting, the leaders discussed a wide range of security interests shared … Read More…

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden recently told 13,000 members and supporters of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that President Barack Obama would be willing to use force to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Biden drew several standing … Read More…

Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories received approval on Friday from the Massachusetts state government to start researching biosafety level 3 and level 4 pathogens. The lab filed a supplemental final environmental impact report in January. After reviewing the … Read More…

The U.S. Department of State Special Envoy and Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs recently spoke at Tufts University about the significance of bioterrorism and biosecurity as threat to the United States and the role of the Global Partnership in addressing … Read More…

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is asking for feedback on a planned portion of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. DHS officials issued a request for information concerning the planned Biotechnolgy Development Module, which is intended … Read More…

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) praised the passage by the Senate on Thursday of a bill to improve the country’s ability to prepare for, and respond to, bioterror attacks and pandemics. Alexander, the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor … Read More…