Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Dark Winter Scenario and Bioterrorism
The Dark Winter Scenario and Bioterrorism
The Dark Winter Scenario and Bioterrorism
S. Hrg. 107-431
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HEARING
before the
of the
FIRST SESSION
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
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(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Nunn, Hon. Sam, [Former Senator from Georgia], Cochair and Chief
Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative................... 8
O'Toole, Dr. Tara, Deputy Director, Johns Hopkins Center for
Civilian Biodefense Strategy................................... 10
Larsen, Col. Randall J., USAF (Ret.), Director, Anser Institute
for Homeland Security.......................................... 13
(iii)
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U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Emerging
Threats and Capabilities,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:08 a.m. in
room SR-222, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Mary L.
Landrieu (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Committee members present: Senators Landrieu, Levin,
Lieberman, Cleland, E. Benjamin Nelson, Carnahan, Dayton,
Warner, Roberts, Hutchinson, and Collins.
Committee staff members present: David S. Lyles, staff
director, and Cindy Pearson, office/security manager.
Majority staff members present: Richard D. DeBobes,
counsel; Evelyn N. Farkas, professional staff member; Richard
W. Fieldhouse, professional staff member; Creighton Greene,
professional staff member; Michael J. McCord, professional
staff member; Arun A. Seraphin, professional staff member; and
Terence P. Szuplat, professional staff member.
Minority staff members present: Edward H. Edens IV,
professional staff member; Carolyn M. Hanna, professional staff
member; Mary Alice A. Hayward, professional staff member; and
Cord A. Sterling, professional staff member.
Staff assistants present: Gabriella Eisen and Daniel K.
Goldsmith.
Committee members' assistants present: Erik Raven,
assistant to Senator Byrd; Frederick M. Downey, assistant to
Senator Lieberman; Andrew Vanlandingham, assistant to Senator
Cleland; Jason Matthews, Marshall A. Hevron, and Jeffrey S.
Wiener, assistants to Senator Landrieu; William K. Sutey and
Dan Shapiro, assistants to Senator Bill Nelson; Eric Pierce,
assistant to Senator Ben Nelson; Neal Orringer, assistant to
Senator Carnahan; Brady King, assistant to Senator Dayton;
Wayne Glass, assistant to Senator Bingaman; John Gastright,
assistant to Senator Thurmond; Robert Alan McCurry, assistant
to Senator Roberts; James P. Dohoney, Jr., assistant to Senator
Hutchinson; Arch Galloway II, assistant to Senator Sessions;
Kristine Fauser, assistant to Senator Collins; and Derek
Maurer, assistant to Senator Bunning.
``Know your enemy, know yourself, and you can fight a hundred
battles without disaster.''
2. Senator Levin. Senator Nunn and Dr. Hamre, last week, Secretary
Thompson announced a series of proposals to improve the Government's
capability to respond to bioterrorist events, including efforts on
vaccines and medicines. Based on your work on Dark Winter, do you
believe these measures are appropriate and adequate, or should we have
a broader approach?
Senator Nunn. Ensuring adequate stockpiles of medical supplies,
including key drugs and vaccines, is crucial for an optimal response to
a bioweapon attack. The actions taken by HHS recently to produce
additional smallpox vaccine and stockpile Cipro have extended our
previous efforts in this area in an appropriate direction. But we need
to keep in mind that smallpox and anthrax are not the only two threats
we face. Plague, tularemia, Q-fever, brucellosis, and hemorrhagic fever
viruses are also on the list of worrisome agents, and we need to be
sure that our efforts to prepare for smallpox or anthrax do not reduce
the resources available to deal with these other pathogens. So while I
would say that the recent efforts of HHS to deal with smallpox and
anthrax have been valuable, we need to be sure that our efforts to
reduce threats from these two pathogens do not lull us into complacency
with respect to preparation for the large array of other threats we
face.
Dr. Hamre. Any comprehensive strategy must address the spectrum of
efforts required to prepare for and respond to a bioterrorist attack.
These include preventing, detecting, defending against, responding to,
and recovering from an attack. Numerous Federal, state, and local
actors must be coordinated in these efforts and numerous assets from
across the Federal Government must be deployed in any effort. Vaccines
and medicines would be one element of our Nation's biodefense, but we
must also consider other tools and technologies for detection, defense,
and remediation of a bioattack. Beyond the technical aspects of our
response, we must also look at coordination and management of our
response; information management and information systems; public
education and media strategies; we need training and awareness of our
public health community; and we must address numerous public policy
issues which we have yet to consider.
3. Senator Levin. Dr. Hamre, how well does DOD work with other
Federal agencies (specifically CDC and NIH), local, and state
authorities in coordinating efforts to fight bioterrorism?
Dr. Hamre. I do not think there is an extensive working
relationship between the Department and the health agencies, as well as
with state and local entities. Medical professionals in DOD may work
well with the CDC and NIH, but the Department as a whole has little
systemic interaction. The most important perspective for DOD to
maintain is that of providing direct assistance, training support and
advice, and not necessarily directing the action. Local and state
responders must remain the first line in the event of a terrorist
attack, but the Defense Department can provide tremendous synergy to
those efforts by applying its organizational and logistical assets to
the equation. DOD can also provide assistance through its tremendous
research, training, and exercise capabilities.
4. Senator Levin. Dr. Hamre, how can Congress work to improve that
coordination?
Dr. Hamre. Congress can provide clear and consistent oversight
across the myriad Federal agencies that have a role in responding to
terrorist incidents. Many times, DOD must coordinate and work with
other Federal agencies as it assists state and local authorities.
Congressional support for that coordination and recognition of the role
of the Federal Government as the second line of response in terrorist
incidents, except those on Federal property, is crucial. It is critical
that clear lines of responsibility and coordination between state,
local, and Federal authorities be worked out in advance of any
incident. Congress can greatly assist such efforts by requiring
relevant Federal agencies to interface with state and local
counterparts.
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