Bacon introduces bill to improve U.S. military biodefense readiness

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) on April 12 introduced legislation to bolster the biodefense readiness of the United States military.

“The United States must be ready to respond to today’s evolving threats,” Rep. Bacon said. “This bill will require the Department of Defense to focus on ensuring our service members can defend themselves against highly-infectious diseases or weaponized pathogens.”

The Military Biodefense Readiness and Protection Act of 2018, H.R. 5482, would direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to develop a plan for countering emerging and deliberate infectious disease threats, according to the text of the bill.

H.R. 5482 would require the plan be submitted to Congress addressing specific steps that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) would take to improve detection, diagnostics and patient care; to expedite research into military medical countermeasures; and to establish military infectious disease response teams, according to a summary provided by Rep. Bacon’s staff, which added that current geopolitical risks call for DOD to have a comprehensive “all-hazards” approach to biodefense.

“This bill also continues to build upon relationships between private, military and public partners,” said Rep. Bacon, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Armed Services Committee.

The congressman noted that research provided by the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), an international leader in biodefense, “will continue to increase our nation’s readiness when combating these kinds of threats.”

Dr. Jeffrey Gold, chancellor of UNMC, applauded steps outlined in H.R. 5482 to enhance coordination among military and civilian agencies on national biodefense and health security. Gold said the university “continues to work closely with both our military and civilian partners on the federal level in preparedness, research and development for bio-preparedness and biosecurity.”

H.R. 5482 has been referred to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.