On Oct. 17, Tommy Thompson, U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, requested $1.5 billion in new funding to increase the government's efforts to counter bioterrorism. This comes on the heels of recent anthrax scares in Florida, New York and the nation's capital.
Thompson's request to Congress coincides with the administration's proposal to divide the next $20 billion of the approved $40 billion emergency terrorism funds package among military and domestic needs — $6.9 billion of which the administration wants to see allocated to improving bioterrorism preparedness. These actions indicate the administration's prioritization of the bioterrorism threat, an evolution from its position prior to the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington. In his testimony to Congress, Thompson argued that "Bioterrorism has not been a high fiscal priority in the past, and we need to move aggressively." Many assert that because the issue has received little government attention up to now, the nation lacks the ability to deal with possible future large-scale bioterrorist attacks.
The present anthrax scares, coupled with the results of recent bioterror attack exercises, illustrate the necessity of the administration's efforts to find ways to improve preparedness and response capabilities.
Earlier this summer, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) sponsored a bioterrorism exercise called "Dark Winter," with former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia playing the role of president, while other present and former government officials assumed high-level federal and state posts. The war-game participants found that the government "currently lacks adequate strategies, plans and information systems to manage a crisis of this type or magnitude."1 The exercise began with a report of a single case of smallpox in Oklahoma City. By the time the exercise had concluded, the disease had spread to 25 states and killed millions of people. As the situation progressed, the government ran out of vaccines and officials were forced to make decisions as to who would receive available vaccines; and also whether the military would have to be brought in to quarantine patients.
Jerome M. Hauer, the former head of emergency management in New York City and current bioterrorism consultant to Thompson said of the recent exercise, "Dark Winter showed just how unprepared we are to deal with bioterrorism… It pointed out that there were significant challenges to all levels of government."2 Hauer maintains that much of what needs to be done is being done, but that the steps take time.
Two weeks prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, Pentagon officials took part in a drill featuring biological warfare at Syracuse University. In the simulation exercise, military and civilian planners confronted a developing disaster that began to unfold when thousands of people began to arrive at hospitals in Westchester County, N.Y. with mysterious illnesses. As with the CSIS exercise, the symptoms pointed to smallpox. In the drill, hospital and emergency response capabilities were quickly overwhelmed.3
A Department of Defense (DoD) study conducted last summer focused on the possibility of biological attacks and found its capabilities to prevent any of them doubtful. Although DoD research into bioterrorism is focused primarily on the military, the Pentagon often shares information with other agencies to benefit the civilian population. DoD maintains that it is working to improve biological terrorism response capabilities, and that measures are in place to bolster federal, state and local efforts already in existence.
To further increase bioterrorism preparedness, Thompson seeks to expand pharmaceutical supplies, strengthen the public health system, increase inspectors for the food supply, expand laboratory security and increase vaccine stockpiles. Thompson's funding request was in addition to the $345 million that Health and Human Services already planned to devote to increasing bioterrorism preparedness.
Of the requested $1.5 billion, Thompson has proposed using $1.2 billion to stockpile emergency medicines — such as enough smallpox vaccine for all Americans. He specifically requested $509 million to have 300 million doses ready by late 2002.
Before the recent cases of anthrax, the Bush administration had planned to increase the U.S. smallpox vaccine stockpile to 40 million doses. Thompson said that the expansion of the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile would be the core of a broad plan to deal with future and potentially more destructive incidents than those with which the U.S. government is now trying to cope. Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, a physician and long-term proponent of increasing government readiness to the bioterrorist threat, maintains that the public health system has enough drugs and the capacity to handle isolated incidents, but not enough for a larger scale attack.
Thompson also proposed adding $175 million to state and local counter-bioterrorism efforts, $61 million for food inspections and $20 million for federal laboratories.
Coordinating these efforts for the long-term
If approved, the administration's push to increase funding for these initiatives would greatly increase bioterrorism preparedness, but concerns about the coordination of overall efforts for the long-term still abound. According to a September General Accounting Office (GAO) report, government bioterrorism efforts are too fragmented, and contingency planning at both the state and local level lacks the ability to address the threat. The report recommends that a single public official be appointed to oversee all efforts to combat terrorism.
In its final report released in January, The United States Commission on National Security/21st Century, known as the Hart-Rudman commission after its chairmen Gary Hart and Warren Rudman, recommends the formation of a new agency that would integrate the missions of the National Guard, Border Patrol, Customs Service, Coast Guard and all other groups working in homeland defense efforts. But in contrast to the Hart-Rudman recommendations, newly appointed director of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, will not be in charge of a 'superagency' containing the operational arms of federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Instead, Ridge is tasked with coordinating the counter- terrorism activities of more than 40 federal agencies and a number of state and local agencies. Ridge's new Homeland Security Council will possess powers paralleling that of the National Security Council.
Some members of Congress have expressed doubt that Ridge's office lacks the power to successfully integrate the efforts of all of these agencies. Additionally, critics — including some in Congress, assert that Ridge's lack of operational authority will further impede his efforts.
Likely to further complicate matters is the necessity for Ridge to cooperate with the military in initiating and carrying out reforms. Not only is the military prohibited from conducting law-enforcement functions, it has also given little thought to its role in post-Sept. 11 homeland defense. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has recently reiterated this, arguing that the entire issue of homeland defense necessitates more thought.
In general, U.S. government officials typically like to allocate abundant time to thinking through such complicated, and fundamentally bureaucratic, issues. However, with what appears to be an imminent and expanding threat of bioterrorism, there is little luxury for a prolonged debate. At this point, the U.S. public can only hope that the fledging efforts to foster 'instant preparedness' are sufficient as the government scrambles to organize longer-term solutions.
End Notes
1 Brad Knickerbocker, "Cities Gird For 'Bio' Attacks," The Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 20,2001.
2 Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Some See U.S. As Vulnerable in Germ Attack," New York Times, Sept. 30, 2001.
3 Bill Lambrecht, "Planning for Bioterrorism Attack Takes on a New Urgency for U.S.," St. Louis Dispatch, Sept. 20, 2001.
BACK TO THE TOP  TERRORISM PROJECT HOME LINKS CDI HOME
|
