Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. government this week bought $290 million in supplies of a drug designed to treat blood cell injuries following radiological and nuclear emergencies as part of what it said were long-standing efforts to prepare for potential health impacts from threats to national security. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services purchased the drug Nplate from Amgen Inc. When asked whether the purchase, announced Tuesday, was linked to tensions with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, an HHS spokesperson said it was part of ongoing efforts to prepare for a wide range of threats including chemical, biological, radiological,...

In 2003, terrorism was a more immediate national danger than infectious diseases. Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) had just redirected $117 million from infectious diseases to fund a new anthrax vaccine effort in response to the anthrax attacks that happened a week after 9/11. The millions were just a small part of the $1.8 billion Fauci had poured into defense from bioterrorist attacks over the preceding two years. More than half of those funds were devoted to anthrax and smallpox alone. In 2004, Fauci launched the $5.6 billion “Project Bioshield,” the National Institutes of...

Plan for lethal-virus laboratories leaves Smalltown USA in uproar By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles 29 June 2003 A network of high-security laboratories for storing and investigating some of the most lethal viruses known to mankind is being built across the US, leaving communities in uproar. They not only fear the risk of the viruses escaping, but also contend that the programme, part of the $6bn (£3.5bn) Project BioShield, is a stunning case of overkill. For none of the germs to be studied is related to bioweaponry. In the tiny town of Hamilton, Montana, campaigners worry that they will become...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would repeal a law that gives vaccine, drug and medical device makers broad protection against lawsuits in a public health or bioterror emergency. Democrats generally agree there should be some legal protections for certain vaccines but say the Republican version defined health emergency too broadly and did not compensate people who were injured. The liability provision, strongly favored by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, was added to a defense bill enacted in December. Democrats would have an uphill struggle trying to repeal it.

  (CBS) We can no longer ignore the worst-case scenario of a nuclear terrorist attack on an American city. Osama bin Laden has made it clear he wants to obtain nuclear weapons and use them against us. The 9/11 Commission considers such an attack the No. 1 threat today, not because it’s the most likely disaster scenario, but because it would be the most devastating. The chairman of the 9/11 Commission even says he expects to see such an attack on an American city in his lifetime. Hundreds of thousand of people could die in a nuclear attack, but hundreds...

President Bush signed Project BioShield into law last week, no thanks to a Senate that took 18 months to pass this vital defense against terrorism. The key thing to know is that the law unleashes non-government ingenuity against bioterror. Unveiled in early 2003, BioShield will provide $5.6 billion over the next 10 years, mostly to entrepreneurial companies to stockpile drugs to counter biological, chemical and radiological weapons. Many companies have the know-how to produce vaccines or treatments, but little has happened in recent decades because they are understandably reluctant to take a financial plunge without a market for what are...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 24, 2004 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, the independent commission on the September the 11th attacks issued its final report. I appreciate the hard work of the commission over the past 20 months. They have produced a serious and comprehensive report, and I welcome their recommendations.  Radio Address 2004200320022001  Radio Interviews 2004 Indeed, we have already put into action many of the steps now recommended by the commission, and we will carefully examine all the commission's ideas on how we can improve our ongoing efforts...

IT IS EXCEEDINGLY rare these days to find something that the House and the Senate, the Republicans and the Democrats, can all agree on. But after the Senate's final passage of the Project Bioshield bill last week -- by a vote of 99 to 0 -- it seems that there really is near-unanimous, bipartisan support for speeding up development and stockpiling of the vaccines, antidotes and diagnostic devices that could be used to deter or help cope with a biological terrorist attack in the United States. The bill, a version of which was passed by a comparable margin in the...

DeLay: BioShield Critical to War on Terror; House Passes Comprehensive Measures to Combat Bioterrorism 7/16/03 5:39:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Stuart Roy or Jonathan Grella, 202-225-4000; both of the Office of Tom DeLay WASHINGTON, July 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today said Project BioShield is critical to protect America from future terror attacks and is further evidence that there is no difference between national security and homeland security. Project BioShield is a comprehensive program to research, develop and acquire vaccines, drugs and countermeasures to protect Americans from terrorism. "Despite our success in...

<p>A year and a half ago, we watched terrorists turn an airplane filled with innocent people into deadly a missile. These extremists turned our free and mobile society into a weapon against us. Unfortunately, it's only a matter of time before terrorists think of other ways to hijack our free society and our advances in science and technology. They will continue to look for ways to twist technology into a tool for terror.</p>

<p>"When spring comes, a young man's fancy turns lightly to thoughts of love," wrote Tennyson. But with Iraq's brutal dictatorship caught in a death grip and seeking any way to strike back, this spring has brought thoughts of bioterrorism.</p> <p>The best way to deal with terrorists is at the root: Hunt them down and kill them. Nevertheless, we must also build a multilayered defense against deadly microbial attacks. Biotech companies across the country are doing just that: developing an incredible array of vaccines, drugs, and detection devices.</p>