U.S. bioterrorism efforts criticized

The Washington Post’s Spencer Hsu offers these comments on the interim report of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism:

• The commission said that the administration and lawmakers have underfunded efforts to develop vaccines and drugs and have not named a high-level National Security Council appointee to improve biodefenses. “The clock is ticking,” said former senator Bob Graham (D-Florida), the commission’s chairman.
• The task force criticized President Obama for requesting $305 million in 2010 for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which it called “insufficient by a factor of 10.”
• White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said that BARDA has $2 billion available next year and $6 billion to develop H1N1 flu countermeasures. “Protecting the American people from WMD threats — whether nuclear, biological, or chemical — is among the president’s top national security priorities,” he said.