10+10 Over 10: A Funding Vision for the U.S. Fight Against Biological Threats

The document argues that the U.S. must address unstable biodefense funding and the tendency to cut budgets during crises. Drawing on the success of Operation Warp Speed, the authors propose a 10-year commitment of $10 billion annually to both the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to counter rising biological threats, including lab accidents and advances in synthetic biology.

• The authors propose a funding model termed "10 + 10 Over 10," which consists of $10 billion per year for the Department of Defense and $10 billion per year for Health and Human Services over a period of 10 years for biodefense-related programs.
• The proposed $10 billion annual funding for HHS would support the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in transitioning medical countermeasures, the modernization of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), and the FDA's capacity to review medical countermeasures.
• The proposed $10 billion annual funding for the DoD would target the restoration of the Defense-Wide Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP), the Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), the infectious disease components of the Defense Health Program, and DARPA's breakthrough technologies.
• Biological threats are increasing due to the proliferation of pathogen research, the risk of lab accidents, and the convergence of biology with artificial intelligence, quantum computing, engineering, and 3D printing.
• U.S. biodefense has historically suffered from unstable funding and budget cuts, such as a nearly 15% drop in research and procurement for the CBDP during the COVID-19 pandemic to fund hypersonic missiles for deterrence against Russia and China.

APA

Weber, A., & Lim, Y.-B. (2021). 10+10 Over 10: A Funding Vision for the U.S. Fight Against Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/04/01/10-10-over-10-a-funding-vision-for-the-u-s-fight-against-biological-threats/

Chicago

Weber, Andrew, and Yong-Bee Lim. 10+10 Over 10: A Funding Vision for the U.S. Fight Against Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2021. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/04/01/10-10-over-10-a-funding-vision-for-the-u-s-fight-against-biological-threats/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Weber |first1=Andrew |last2=Lim |first2=Yong-Bee |title=10+10 Over 10: A Funding Vision for the U.S. Fight Against Biological Threats |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=1 April 2021 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/04/01/10-10-over-10-a-funding-vision-for-the-u-s-fight-against-biological-threats/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{weber20211010, author = {Weber, Andrew and Lim, Yong-Bee}, title = {{10+10 Over 10: A Funding Vision for the U.S. Fight Against Biological Threats}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/04/01/10-10-over-10-a-funding-vision-for-the-u-s-fight-against-biological-threats/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }