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Center Articles and Publications Billions for Biodefense: Federal Agency Biodefense Funding, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. Volume 5, Number 2, 2007. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Reprinted with permission. DOI: 10.1089/bsp.2007.0014 Abstract: Since 2001, the U.S. government has spent substantial resources on preparing the nation against a bioterrorist attack. Earlier articles in this series analyzed civilian biodefense funding by the federal government from fiscal years 2001 through 2007. This article updates those figures with budgeted amounts for fiscal year 2008, specifically analyzing the budgets and allocations for biodefense at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of State, and the National Science Foundation. Sections: The President’s budget for FY2008 calls for an increase of approximately $309 million in federal funding for civilian biodefense programs over estimated FY2007 levels, for a total request of $5.42 billion. This amount is slightly above the FY2006 funding level of $5.37 billion (Table 1). Based on analyses from previous “Billions for Biodefense” articles,1–3 federal funding for civilian biodefense from FY2001 to FY2006 rose incrementally, but from FY2006 to FY2008, funding for these programs appears to have leveled off (Figure 1). Cumulative funding from FY2001 to FY2008 is approaching $40 billion (Figure 2). The FY2008 budget request presents the President’s 5-year plan to decrease the deficit and balance the federal budget. In accordance with that plan, the FY2008 budget request “hold[s] the rate of non-security-related spending to one percent, well below the rate of inflation [authors’ emphasis].”4 Further, during the formation of the budget “each and every program was closely reviewed and required to demonstrate alignment with the Nation’s top priorities.” Those that did not align with top priorities received a “proposed reduction or termination” of funds.4 Since 2001 the President has passed 18 Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs), which are both security-related and are among the top priorities of the President. Among these, several have direct significance for civilian biodefense, specifically HSPD-8 National Preparedness (December 2003) and HSPD-10 (April 2004) Biodefense for the 21st Century.5 Most recently, on January 31, 2007, the President passed HSPD-18 Medical Countermeasures against Weapons of Mass Destruction.5 The President’s FY2008 budget was released in February 2007. In the budget, overall civilian biodefense funding would increase 0.99% from FY2007 to FY2008, compared to a 2.8% rate of inflation from March 2006 to March 2007.6* The majority of proposed funding for FY2008 is directed toward the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which would receive $4.18 billion of the $5.42 billion total for FY2008 (Figure 3). Additionally, the President’s budget requests slight increases for three of the seven federal agencies involved in biodefense. The largest proposed increase is a $163 million allocation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for enhancement of their Food and Agricultural Defense Initiative. Funding increases also have been requested for HHS and the Department of Defense (DoD). Under the President’s FY2008 budget, the rest of the agencies and departments involved in biodefense would receive decreases in funding, the most sizeable of which is a $26.3 million cut for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of State, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) also would receive cuts to their biodefense program funding in the President’s FY2008 budget (Table 1).
Figure 1. Civilian Biodefense Funding by Fiscal Year, FY2001–FY2008 (in $millions)
Figure 2. Cumulative Civilian Biodefense Funding by Agency, FY2001–FY2008 (in $millions)
Figure 3. Civilian Biodefense Funding by Agency, FY2008 (in $millions)
This “Billions for Biodefense” analysis was complicated by the FY2007 appropriations process. Typically, federal agencies and departments are funded annually through regular Congressional appropriations bills that are enacted by October 1, the beginning of each fiscal year. When Congress fails to pass these appropriations in time, agencies are funded under continuing appropriations acts or continuing resolutions (CRs), which provide approximately the same funding levels as the previous fiscal year until Congress passes final appropriations bills.7 Continuing resolutions are often temporary, but they can also take the form of full-year bills that provide money in place of regular appropriations until the end of the fiscal year. For FY2007, 9 of 11 federal appropriations bills were left unpassed by Congress. Three temporary continuing resolutions (P.L. 109-289, P.L. 109-369, and P.L. 109-383)8–10 were enacted until the President signed a full-year revised CR (H.J.Res.20)11 into law (P.L. 110-5) on February 15, 2007.7 Under the continuing resolution, some agencies received slight increases, some received funding decreases, and a majority received flat funding based on FY2006 levels. The two agencies that received regular Congressional appropriations for FY2007 and were generally unaffected by the CR are DoD and DHS. For FY2007, DoD was funded via the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2007 (P.L. 109-289),12 which became law on September 9, 2006, and DHS was funded by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 (P.L. 109-295),13 which became law on October 4, 2006. For this “Billions for Biodefense” article, we were able to obtain program-level funding estimates for the FY2007 CR, but we were unable to confirm CR program-level data for the Department of State. The numbers for the Department of State for FY2007 provided in this analysis are best estimates based on a variety of sources, including the Department of State FY2008 Budget in Brief,14 the Department of State FY2008 International Affairs Request,15 and direct communications with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB, April 25, 2007). Unless otherwise noted, FY2001–FY2006 amounts are based on actual numbers, FY2007 amounts are based on the estimated CR funds or stated appropriations (DoD, DHS), and FY2008 numbers represent the President’s budget request. In order to obtain accurate and timely budget information for this analysis, we used a number of methods to acquire the data. Departmental “Budget in Brief” documents were primary resources. However, “Budgets in Brief” often contain only partial information on civilian biodefense programs and may not break funding down to the programmatic level. In cases where federal agencies or departments are made up of distinct operating divisions (e.g., HHS and DoD), individual agency or division budgets were also examined. When these documents had been reviewed and still more detailed or complete information was needed, we contacted agency public affairs and budget offices by phone and email. Inclusion of a line item in the budget for a biodefense program does not necessarily indicate the relative size or location of that program. A number of programs (e.g., BioShield) may be administered by one agency (HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response [ASPR]) with guidance from another (DHS). Also, biodefense line items may represent programs with many components, such as the DHS Biological Countermeasures program. As in previous years, the authors have made every attempt to distinguish which items should be considered civilian versus military biodefense and/or other homeland security or public health–related programs. For the purposes of this analysis, civilian biodefense funding includes programs, research, or administrative costs that prevent or mitigate bioterrorism’s effect on civilians. Some federal budgets for programs aimed at preventing and mitigating adverse civilian health effects (e.g., HHS’s BioShield) do not distinguish how much of the program is specifically targeted at biological agents, in addition to chemical, radiological, or nuclear threats. But since civilian biodefense is clearly a critical part of their mission, these programs have been included in their entirety as a practical measure. Multiple application programs (e.g., HHS’s Medical Reserve Corps or the National Disaster Medical System) that may provide a substantial benefit in responding to an incident of civilian bioterrorism have been included in their entirety. This methodology has undoubtedly led to some overestimation of biodefense funding, because it is likely that some of those funds will be spent on non-biodefense programs. Examples of programs that have been excluded from civilian biodefense budget totals in this analysis are programs aimed at all-hazards preparedness (not bioterrorism preparedness specifically) or at non-bioterrorism-related hazards such as pandemic flu. While the DoD has a large Chemical and Biological Defense program, it focuses on military rather than civilian applications. The Chemical and Biological Defense program includes the purchase and maintenance of military-specific vehicles, detectors, and protective gear that are not pertinent to the U.S. civilian population. Although the program’s basic and applied biological research has the potential for civilian biodefense applications, the intent of this program is for research into military and troop protection from chemical and biological weapons. Civilian biodefense is not the mission of this program and to predict any eventual civilian products emerging from the DoD Chemical and Biological Defense Program would be speculative. For these reasons, the DoD Chemical and Biological Defense numbers have been provided to the reader for information purposes, but they have not been included in the overall civilian biodefense totals. Items that could not be tracked in previous “Billions for Biodefense” articles1–3 were updated for this version as data became available. Some line items were also shifted when compared to previous articles to reflect the restructuring of various agencies and departments. Civilian Biodefense Funding by Federal Agency Department of Health and Human Services The FY2008 budget illustrates the significant reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services directed by the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (S. 3678), which the President signed into law (P.L. 109-417) in December 2006.16 The Act officially establishes the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the Office of the Secretary of HHS. The Office of the ASPR was established in 2006 and, according to HHS budget documents, received FY2006 funds.17 It replaces the structure and function of the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (OPHEP), which was funded through FY2005. Since its establishment, a number of biodefense-related programs have been either transferred to or newly created within the Office of the ASPR. The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which was originally transferred from HHS to DHS in 2003, has been relocated back to HHS and is housed in the Office of the ASPR. The FY2008 budget request indicates an increase in funding for NDMS of $6 million over the FY2007 CR appropriation level of $47 million. HHS budget documents explain that this increase has been requested in order to improve the “emergency readiness and response” of the program following its official move to HHS in January 2007.17 With the passage of P.L. 109-417, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Hospital Preparedness Grants and the Biodefense Training and Curriculum Development Program also have been moved to the Office of the ASPR. The requested funds for the Hospital Preparedness Grant Program for FY2008 are $414 million, which is a decrease of 14% over CR appropriated funds. Funding for Hospital Biodefense Training and Curriculum Development has been eliminated completely in the FY2008 budget request.17 Under P.L. 109-417 and the reorganized structure of HHS, the Office of the ASPR will now house the new Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is charged with supporting the advanced research and development of new medical countermeasures (e.g., medicines and vaccines) against biological threats. The FY2008 budget proposes an increase of $142 million over the FY2007 CR level for Advanced Research and Development (formerly the purview of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID]). The budget also proposes a new fund of $22 million to manage Project BioShield,17 which was created to help facilitate federal countermeasure procurement against biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. For FY2008, the President has proposed a $126 million cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) State and Local Capacity program, composed primarily of the CDC public health grants. These grants assist state and local public health departments in preparing for bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. This cut brings funding for State and Local Capacity down to $698 million from $824 million appropriated under the FY2007 Continuing Resolution and continues the downward trend in State and Local Capacity funding since FY2003. HHS gives no justification in FY2008 budget documents for proposed cuts to this grant program, even as the FY2008 HHS “Budget in Brief” indicates that HHS maintains a “strong commitment to prepare States and local public health departments and hospitals for public health emergencies and acts of bioterrorism.”17(p107) CDC’s Biosurveillance Initiative (which includes the BioSense project) and the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) are budgeted to receive increases of $10 million and $90 million, respectively, over FY2007 CR amounts. NIH remains the lead recipient of HHS biodefense funds, with an FY2008 budget of $1.63 billion. The entirety of these funds is directed to NIAID for its Biodefense Research initiatives, which include research into pathogens and their interaction with human and animal hosts, as well as clinical evaluation of vaccines and drugs against biological agents. Funding for NIH Extramural BT Research Facilities has been eliminated in the FY2008 budget. According to HHS budget documents this is due to cycling of facilities funds to other “priority” areas within the department.17
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