King Statement on WMD Center “Bio-Response Report Card” Citing Failures in Bioterrorism Preparedness
October 12, 2011
Findings are disturbing
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement on the WMD Center release of its “Bio-Response Report Card,” which today assigned mostly failing and near failing grades for U.S. bioterrorism preparedness efforts:
“I applaud the continued dedication and vigilance of former Senators Bob Graham and Jim Talent in their oversight of our Nation’s biopreparedness. The findings they announced today are disturbing. They report that we continue to fall short on capabilities from detection to attribution to recovery.
“The Department of Homeland Security Authorization bill (H.R. 3116) that the House Homeland Security Committee is marking up today addresses several of these concerns, as does the WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2011 (H.R. 2356), which I joined Rep. Pascrell in introducing in June.
“I will continue to work with the WMD Center, the Administration, and others in Congress to ensure that necessary policy initiatives to secure our homeland from bioterrorism are implemented.”
Note: The WMD Center is headed by former Senators Graham and Talent. Previously, the two led the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism (WMD Commission).