Center CommentaryOrganized by date[Commentary organized by topic] Creating Situational Awareness: A Systems Approach: Situational awareness—the ability to gather, interpret, and act on information—is essential to effective healthcare response to a disaster. As the experience with the current pandemic illustrates, many tools exist to gather relevant information, but the technologies and data are not yet sufficiently organized to enable a true understanding of unfolding events.
June 10, 2009 HTML | PDF BARDA FY2010 Funding Recommendation - Letter to President Obama
Drs. O’Toole and Inglesby recommend that President Obama include $1.7 billion in his FY 2010 Budget for Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF) to ensure continuous funding for BARDA’s advanced research and development mission.
March 9, 2009 HTML | PDF BARDA FY2010 Funding Recommendation - Letter to House
The Center for Biosecurity recommends to the House of Representatives that BARDA receive $1.7 billion in FY 2010 for its advanced research and development mission.
March 3, 2009 HTML | PDF BARDA FY2010 Funding Recommendation - Letter to Senate
The Center for Biosecurity recommends to the Senate that BARDA receive $1.7 billion in FY 2010 for its advanced research and development mission.
March 3, 2009 HTML | PDF Letter of Support to House for Reintroduction of Select Agent Reauthorization Act
A letter of support to the House endorsing The Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009 (S.485 and H.R. 1225), an important piece of legislation to ensure that biodefense research can proceed securely.
March 3, 2009 HTML | PDF Letter of Support to Senate for Reintroduction of Select Agent Reauthorization Act
A letter of support to the Senate endorsing The Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009 (S.485 and H.R. 1225), an important piece of legislation to ensure that biodefense research can proceed securely.
March 3, 2009 HTML | PDF Comments on Designating Additions to the Current List of Tropical Diseases in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act
Comments by Center for Biosecurity on Docket No. FDA-2008-N-0567: Designating Additions to the Current List of Tropical Diseases in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act HTML | PDF Center Letter of Support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Center for Biosecurity urges Congress to support funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help the nation prepare for and respond to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and pandemic flu.
February 11, 2009 HTML | PDF Statement to Senate on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
168 organizations sign letter urging Congress to retain funding for public health provisions that are included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
February 9, 2009 HTML | PDF Statement to Congress Senate and House Conferees on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
168 organizations sign letter urging Congress to retain funding for public health provisions that are included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
February 9, 2009 HTML | PDF Written Testimony to House Armed Services Committee Hearing
Written testimony submitted to Representatives Skelton and McHugh, January 22, 2009, for House Armed Services Committee hearing on “Preventing Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.”
January 22, 2009 HTML | PDF Center Endorses December 2008 Report from the Project on National Security Reform
The Center for Biosecurity endorses the conclusions and recommendations of Forging a New Shield, a report from the Project on National Security Reform.
January 7, 2009 HTML Preventing and Deterring Biological Attacks: Priorities that Should Emerge From the WMD Commission Report
The Center for Biosecurity strongly agrees with the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Commission report "World at Risk" that the threat of bioterrorism is urgent, growing, and requires decisive action.
December 19, 2008 HTML | PDF Letter in Support of Amendment to the President's FY2009 Budget Request to Increase Funding to BARDA
The Center for Biosecurity has submitted a letter to Congress in support of adding $905 million to BARDA funding through a White House amendment to the President's FY 2009 budget request.
September 4, 2008 HTML | PDF Letter of Support for H.R. 6671, The Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008
The Center for Biosecurity of UPMC has endorsed the Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008 (h.r. 6671).
August 13, 2008 HTML | PDF Letter of Support for The Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008
The Center for Biosecurity of UPMC has endorsed the Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008 (s. 3217), introduced by Senators Burr and Kennedy on June 12, 2008.
June 17, 2008 HTML | PDF Recommendations for BARDA funding for FY2009 in a letter to Senator Burr
Response to Senator Burr's request for the Center for Biosecurity's input regarding the levels of funding necessary for success in 2009 and beyond for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
March 31, 2008 HTML | PDF BARDA FY09 Advanced Development Cost Estimates for Medical Countermeasures Against Biological Threats
In FY'07 & '08, BARDA recieved $201 million for advanced development of biodefense countermeasures. Center for Biosecurity estimates that, for 90% probability of success, at least $817 million is needed in FY'09 and up to $3.4 billion annually.
January 31, 2008 HTML | PDF Handcuffing the Flu: Can a Law Enforcement/National Security Approach to Pandemic Preparedness Protect the American People?
Remarks delivered for the ACLU panel discussion by Monica Schoch-Spana, PhD.
January 14, 2008 HTML Ten Notable Publications of 2007
Center for Biosecurity’s picks for 10 notable publications of 2007.
January 8, 2008 HTML HSPD-21: National Strategy for Public Health and Medical Preparedness
On October 18, 2007, the White House released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21) establishing a "National Strategy for Public Health and Medical Preparedness."
October 23, 2007 HTML Comments on the European Commission Green Paper on Bio-preparedness
The Center for Biosecurity, in collaboration with the Center for Transatlantic Relations of JHU, submitted joint comments to the EC on biosafety, biothreat assessments, international cooperation, and medicine and vaccine development.
October 1, 2007 HTML | PDF Learning from the XDR-TB Experience: Policy Priorities Going Forward
Key Implications of XDR-TB, June 2007: Careful examination of gov't and public responses to the case of XDR-TB is critical--raises important questions about nation's ability to detect & respond to major outbreaks of infectious diseases.
June 6, 2007 HTML | PDF Passage of S. 3678: The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act
Summary of S. 3678: The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.
December 20, 2006 HTML | PDF Statement delivered by Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD, Senior Associate, Center for Biosecurity, at the 6th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention
Prepared statement delivered by Dr. Gigi Kwik Gronvall before the Biological Weapons Convention.
November 21, 2006 HTML Statement to Senate from Working Group on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness in Response to DHHS Pandemic Influenza Plan
The undersigned organizations have come together as the Working Group on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness because we all believe that pandemic influenza poses a major threat to the nation's public health, security, and economy.
November 10, 2005 HTML | PDF | 
