Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense

Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense Podcast

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is a privately funded entity established in 2014 to provide for a comprehensive assessment of the state of U.S. biodefense efforts and to issue recommendations that will foster change. From 2014-2015, the Commission convened four public meetings in Washington, DC on biological threat awareness, prevention and protection, surveillance and detection, and response and recovery. Current and former Members of Congress, former Administration officials, state and local representatives, thought leaders, and other experts provided their perspectives on current biodefense efforts, including strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. While much good work has been achieved toward biodefense, these meetings have revealed systemic challenges in the enterprise designed to protect Americans from biological events. The Commission continues to advocate for uptake of these recommendations at the highest levels of American government, through additional meetings, reports, and other activities, and is the only such body of bipartisan, former high-level policymakers to do so.

  1. 14 MAY

    A Tribute to Senator Lieberman with the Release of the 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense

    We all lost a visionary leader and friend with the unexpected passing of Senator Joe Lieberman, who along with Governor Tom Ridge co-chaired the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense for ten years. His death came just as the Commission was preparing to release our 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense: Immediate Action Needed to Defend Against Biological Threats. Senator Lieberman, who worked tirelessly to defend Americans against biological threats, was a driving force behind this report. So, it is only fitting that we host a special tribute to Senator Lieberman as we publicly release the new National Blueprint for Biodefense. The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (formerly the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense) was established in 2014 to provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of United States biodefense efforts and to issue recommendations that foster change. Subsequently, the Commission has briefed White House Administrations (including then Vice President Biden); testified before Congress; convened numerous meetings with experts; released 12 reports; produced the graphic novel Germ Warfare; and mobilized biodefense conversations and actions in the private and public sectors. In its  2015 bipartisan report,  A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts, the Commission described biological threats to the Nation and made 33 recommendations to optimize US efforts to prevent, deter, prepare for, detect, respond to, attribute, recover from, and mitigate intentionally introduced, accidentally released, and naturally occurring biological events. Many recommendations from this report have been taken up by the government, including the National Biodefense Strategy, a federal biodefense budget crosscut by the Office of Management and Budget, and the recent Biodefense Posture Review by the Department of Defense. The world continues to experience rising threats from offensive biological weapons programs, lab accidents, and outbreaks affecting our national security. There have been burgeoning biotechnological advances in medical countermeasures (e.g., antibiotics, antivirals, vaccines, diagnostics) yet huge gaps in prevention, deterrence, preparedness, detection, response, attribution, recovery, and mitigation still remain. The federal government must address gaps in the US biodefense enterprise. Nine years after its seminal report, the Commission is releasing the 2024 National Blueprint on Biodefense with specific recommendations for government leaders in Congress and the Administration to strengthen the federal government’s biodefense posture.   Learn more here: A Tribute to Senator Lieberman with the Release of the 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense - Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (biodefensecommission.org)

    1h 23m
  2. 02/08/2023

    Solving the Puzzle: Biological Intelligence and Information Sharing

    As the biological threat continues to evolve, biological intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination activities must increase to keep pace with the advances of our adversaries. At this upcoming meeting, the Commission intends to further explore the expanding nature of the biological threat, the federal biological intelligence enterprise, and information sharing with non-federal governments. See here for more information: Solving the Puzzle: Biological Intelligence and Information Sharing - Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (biodefensecommission.org) Speakers include: The Honorable Kenneth L. Wainstein – Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security Dr. Paul Friedrichs – Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Global Health Security & Biodefense, National Security Council, The White House; former Joint Staff Surgeon, Department of Defense Marina Mayo – Section Chief, Countermeasures and Mitigation, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, Federal Bureau of Investigation Dr. William T. “Thom” Burnett – Chief Scientist, National Center for Medical Intelligence, Department of Defense Dr. Chris Rodriguez – Director, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency  Joshua Bushweller – Director, Delaware Information & Analysis Center, Delaware State Police                                 Colin Mulloy – Deputy Director, Kansas Intelligence Fusion Center Judith Harrison – Assistant Chief, Counterterrorism Division, New York City Police Department

    3h 35m

About

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is a privately funded entity established in 2014 to provide for a comprehensive assessment of the state of U.S. biodefense efforts and to issue recommendations that will foster change. From 2014-2015, the Commission convened four public meetings in Washington, DC on biological threat awareness, prevention and protection, surveillance and detection, and response and recovery. Current and former Members of Congress, former Administration officials, state and local representatives, thought leaders, and other experts provided their perspectives on current biodefense efforts, including strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. While much good work has been achieved toward biodefense, these meetings have revealed systemic challenges in the enterprise designed to protect Americans from biological events. The Commission continues to advocate for uptake of these recommendations at the highest levels of American government, through additional meetings, reports, and other activities, and is the only such body of bipartisan, former high-level policymakers to do so.

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