Hearing of the Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee - "Strategic Perspectives on the Bioterrorism Threat" Thompson Remarks

Hearing

Today, Committee on Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie G.
Thompson (D-MS) delivered the following prepared remarks for the Emergency Preparedness, Response
and Communications subcommittee hearing entitled "Strategic Perspectives on the Bioterrorism Threat":

"Last month, this Subcommittee examined efforts to bolster the ability of Federal, State, and local
governments to respond to chemical terrorism. I am pleased that the Subcommittee is now taking the
opportunity to assess bio-terrorism threats and our ability to prevent and respond to such attacks.

One of the key recommendations that the 9/11 Commission made to Congress was to address the grave
threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Accordingly, when I was Chairman of
this Committee, we authorized the Commission for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction
Proliferation and Terrorism, or the WMD Commission, on which Senator Talent -- who is here with us
today -- served as Vice Chair.

In 2008, the WMD Commission issued a report making a series of recommendations to address WMD
threats, particularly bioterrorism. Unfortunately, the Federal government has been slow to respond.

In 2010, a WMD Commission progress report gave the U.S. government an "F" for failing to do enough to
prevent a biological attack on the United States or to be able to respond effectively in the event of a
biological attack.

In 2011, the WMD Center found that the United States was still unprepared to detect and respond to a
large-scale biological attack, despite upwards of $60 billion invested in developing those capabilities.
WMD-pre
The Federal government's failure to implement appropriate policies and build the robust governance
infrastructure necessary to tackle biological threats came to a head last fall when an Ebola victim sought
treatment in a Texas hospital.

In addition to public concern, evolving guidance regarding appropriate PPE for hospital staff, and
inconsistent quarantine polices at the State and local level, it was unclear who in the Federal government
was in charge of developing, and coordinating the implementation of, policies to contain the virus and
ensure that the sick could be treated safely.

The response structure was seemingly lacking. Nevertheless, although the Federal response to a low
number of Ebola cases in the United States was somewhat stilted, it was successful. I worry, however,
that we would not be so lucky in the event of a biological attack. It has been nearly seven years since the
WMD Commission released its report and recommendations, and three years since the WMD Center
released its damning report card of our National Bio-Response Capabilities.

During that time, Congressman Pascrell and Former Chairman King have introduced the WMD Prevention
and Preparedness Act, which would implement many of the WMD Commission's recommendations, three
times. Unfortunately, the bill has never been enacted. In the absence of a comprehensive legislative
remedy to our bioterrorism capability gaps, I will be interested in learning whether our witnesses believe
we have made any progress in improving our response to bio-threats over the past several years. I am
also interested to know how State and local governments address bioterrorism threats."

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