Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense

The Commission meeting, FLUency: True Expertise and Effectiveness in the Battle Against Influenza, was held on Tuesday, October 8th, in Washington, DC. The focus of this meeting is to provide the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense with a better understanding of: (1) national leadership to defend food and agriculture against influenza; (2) federal operational requirements for preparedness, coordination, and response; (3) biosurveillance, forecasting, and the need for diagnostic tests; and (4) front-line needs and partnerships in the fight against influenza.

Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/fluency-true-expertise-and-effectiveness-in-the-battle-against-influenza-2/

In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense will explore: (1) how the federal government currently addresses indoor air quality; (2) new scientific and technological advances for indoor air quality; and (3) how enhancing indoor air quality can help prevent the spread of pathogens.

Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/masters-of-the-air-overcoming-airborne-pathogens-indoors/

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)

This meeting was recorded on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. Find more information about this meeting here: Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health - Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (biodefensecommission.org)

As the Nation continues to endure the consequences of recent pandemics, and with continued interest in biological weapons by nation states and other enemies, the federal government has an opportunity to address vulnerabilities in the biodefense enterprise. At this meeting, titled Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health, the Commission intends to further explore : (1) biodefense policies and activities at the Department of Defense; (2) federal stockpile evaluation and decision-making for smallpox medical countermeasures; (3) needed authorities of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and (4) biodefense leadership.

In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense will explore: (1) state and local efforts to strengthen public health and biodefense; (2) special security management of biological threats to mass gatherings; and (3) efforts to understand and mitigate the agricultural impact of biological threats to plants and animals. Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/no-checkered-flag-the-perpetual-race-against-biological-threats/

Speakers will include:

Governor Eric J. Holcomb

Virginia A. Caine, MD, Director and Chief Medical Officer, Marion County Public Health Department

Kristina Box, MD, Former Indiana State Health Commissioner

Tory Castor, JD, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Indiana University Health

Sergeant Robert Brown Jr., Program Manager, Counter-WMD (CBRNE) Unit, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department

Special Agent Casey P. Farrell, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator, Indianapolis, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Julia Vaizer, MD, Medical Director, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

John Ball, Vice President, Security and Event Services, Pacers Sports & Entertainment

Darcy E. P. Telenko, PhD, Associate Professor of Plant Pathology, Purdue University

Bret D. Marsh, DVM, Indiana State Veterinarian, Indiana State Board of Animal Health

Paul Ebner, PhD, Professor of Animal Sciences, Purdue University

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

Joshua Bushweller – Director, Delaware Information & Analysis Center, Delaware State Police                                

Colin Mulloy – Deputy Director, Kansas Intelligence Fusion Center

In this upcoming meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense intends to further explore the prevention, deterrence, and attribution of biological threats. The discussion will delve into how these critical elements of biodefense can be improved through technology, policy, and coordination. This meeting will inform the Commission’s refresh of the National Blueprint for Biodefense, which we will issue later this year. Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/informing-blueprint-2-0-know-the-enemy/

Recorded on Tuesday, March 21, 2023

In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense further explores preparedness needs and efforts, new solutions to improve biosurveillance, and data modernization. The discussion delves into how preparedness coordination between federal and state efforts can be better harmonized and how the nation can best ensure having eyes on the ground during the emergence of a biothreat. This meeting will inform the Commission’s refresh of the National Blueprint for Biodefense, which we will issue later this year.

See more information about this meeting here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/informing-blueprint-2-0-please-look-up/

Seven years after the release of the Commission’s National Blueprint for Biodefense, the Nation remains critically unprepared for future biological events, which threaten to strain resources and impact government efforts to address threats like COVID-19. At this meeting, the Commission intends to further explore challenges for biodefense response, recovery, and mitigation capabilities at all levels of government and the private sector. Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/even...

On Thursday, September 22, 2022 the Commission held an in-person meeting - Banding Together: Partnerships for Biodefense. The Commission delved into how to optimize partnerships to defend against biological threats, a critical enabler of success identified in its report released earlier this year, The Athena Agenda: Advancing The Apollo Program for Biodefense. The meeting examined what is needed to incentivize and effectively manage partnerships between the federal government and industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations to drive technology innovation and improve biological intelligence for current and future threats.