Senate bioterrorism panel to be eliminated
Bioterrorism oversight responsibilities to be transferred to the full Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; security analysts worry that the move may push focus on bioterror to the back burner
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), will announce that the Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness Subcommittee will be eliminated and that the full HELP committee will assume the oversight of issues concerning pandemic and biological threats. The bioterrorism preparedness panel is responsible for oversight of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, established by law last year, and Project BioShield, a troubled 2004 law which provides $5.6 billion over ten years for the production of countermeasures to biological weapons and epidemics. Kennedy’s plan would transfer these responsibilities to the full committee. CQ’s Matthew Berger notes, however, that “some bioterror advocates say they are concerned that the move will hamper oversight of … HHS and the faltering efforts to stockpile vaccines and antivirals against bioterror threats.” A Republican congressional aide said, “Given all the other priorities that they [the full committee] have, which are significant, without having a distinct focus, there is a chance (bioterror issues) can get filtered into the background.” Kennedy spokesperson Laura Capps said, “We have every intention of keeping it a top priority. That’s the sole intent” of moving the responsibilities to the full committee.
-read more in this KaiserNetwork report
