The world watches in horror as Russian forces unleash unthinkable terror on the people and cities of Ukraine. The western world thought such vicious invasions were products of the past and that no global leader would undertake such a mission. Meanwhile, fierce Ukrainian resistance, coupled with tough Western sanctions, have backed Putin into a corner, saber-rattling about nuclear, chemical and biological warfare, a reality unimaginable just a few weeks ago. No one really knows what Putin will do, which means we must double down on our preparedness.
In Judith Miller’s book, Germs, she details the Soviet Union’s massive and sinister bio-weapons efforts, including how scientists made a germ that tells the body to destroy itself. She also recounts how 750 people were poisoned in The Dalles, Oregon in 1984 by followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh who cultured a strain of salmonella and spread it around salad bars. I knew many of those people, having spent my early years in that town.
Fast-forward to the week after terrorists attacked America in 2001, we had to cope with a deadly anthrax attack in the nation’s capital.
Simultaneously, we face the looming possibility of the emergence of another COVID variant or an entirely new pandemic. As Senate Intel Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) warned during a recent hearing on global threats, “Our worldwide threat picture is more dynamic and complicated than ever.”
Over the last two years, distant fears have become distinct possibilities. Given this, the question we must ask is: is the U.S. ready to respond to these challenges?
A critical tool in our first line of response is the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Established in 1999, the SNS was created to ensure U.S. preparedness in the case of a bioterrorism, chemical, or nuclear attack. As the story goes, President Bill Clinton pushed for its creation after reading the novel The Cobra Event, which details a biological attack against New York City.
As a member and former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee I’ve participated or helped lead efforts to keep Americans safe from these awful threats. Each time we thought we had it figured out, only to discover we still didn’t have what we needed.
The original mission of the SNS has evolved and expanded to include pandemics and emerging infectious disease. Serving as the country’s emergency pharmacy and medical supply stash, the SNS was an invaluable resource following the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the H1N1 outbreak. However, funding for the SNS did not increase to align with the expanded scope.
Consequently, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit our country, the SNS was limited in its ability to provide critical lifesaving supplies to hospitals and communities. We discovered the hard way that its supply was not adequate to meet the immense demand for masks, ventilators, and personal protective equipment because Congress never provided the funding to meet needs at that scale. In fact, in 2018, Dr. Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the Health and Human Services Department, warned the agency was “working with half an aircraft carrier.” Private sector supply chain failures and a lack of infrastructure at the state and local levels compounded the problems. Simply put, the United States was not fully prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and the SNS was stretched well beyond its original mission.
Despite hard lessons learned, our country remains dangerously underfunded in the area of pandemic preparedness. However, in the recent 2022 budget that Congress passed with bipartisan support and the president signed into law, overdue increases in funding for the ASPR and SNS will help us be better prepared. On March 15, the Senate HELP Committee held a markup on the bipartisan PREVENT Act. This bill has the potential to advance our preparedness capabilities, but it must build on the funding increases in the 2022 budget and incorporate feedback from private sector partners to adequately anticipate future threats.
With direct threats from America’s adversaries and the lingering possibility of another pandemic, it is more important now than ever for Congress to double down on our nation’s preparedness. Our leaders must ensure the SNS is not only sufficiently funded, but also robust enough to address today’s increasingly dangerous world.
The harrowing events over the last two years, underscored by the alarming developments over the last two weeks serve as both a lesson and a warning that when it comes to our national and health security, the price of complacency is not one we can afford to pay.
