Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats

The briefing assesses the critical role of the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) in U.S. national security, highlighting its success in developing medical countermeasures for threats like Ebola and swine flu. Despite these capabilities, the authors report a decade-long decline in CBDP funding, which continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. The document recommends doubling the budget to $2 billion in the short term and increasing it to $6.5–$7 billion annually in subsequent years. It advocates for a shift toward 'rapid response platforms,' including nucleic-acid based therapeutics and metagenomic sequencing, while calling for clarified mission authorities to allow CBDP to respond to natural pandemics.

• The Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) has been instrumental in filling gaps left by the private sector, specifically in the research and development of vaccines and treatments for Ebola, including the creation of an FDA-approved diagnostic.
• Funding for the CBDP has trended downwards over the last decade in constant 2021 U.S. dollars, with the budget reduced by nearly one third compared to the 2005-2010 average.
• While overall CBDP funding has declined, there is a divergence in spending priorities: biological defense spending has been on a consistent downswing since 2014, whereas chemical defense spending has trended upwards.
• The U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic was hindered by internal Department of Defense disagreements regarding whether the CBDP's mission—focused on biological weapons—allowed it to participate in responding to natural infectious disease outbreaks.
• The authors recommend a significant budget surge, proposing that the President double CBDP funding to at least $2 billion in the next year, eventually reaching an annual range of $6.5 billion to $7 billion.
• The document identifies several high-priority technological investment areas to enhance rapid response, including nucleic-acid based therapeutics, hand-held metagenomic sequencing for field detection, and next-generation personal protective equipment superior to N95 masks.
• The CBDP maintains critical international partnerships to augment defenses, such as conducting the 'Able Response' exercises with the Republic of Korea to test disease detection and response.

APA

Beaver, B., Lim, Y.-B., Parthemore, C., & Weber, A. (2021). Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-1_Bolstering-the-Chemical-and-Biological-Defense-Program_BRIEFER-16_2021_04_09.pdf

Chicago

Beaver, Bill, Yong-Bee Lim, Christine Parthemore, and Andy Weber. Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2021. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-1_Bolstering-the-Chemical-and-Biological-Defense-Program_BRIEFER-16_2021_04_09.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Beaver |first1=Bill |last2=Lim |first2=Yong-Bee |last3=Parthemore |first3=Christine |last4=Weber |first4=Andy |title=Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=9 April 2021 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-1_Bolstering-the-Chemical-and-Biological-Defense-Program_BRIEFER-16_2021_04_09.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{beaver2021key, author = {Beaver, Bill and Lim, Yong-Bee and Parthemore, Christine and Weber, Andy}, title = {{Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-1_Bolstering-the-Chemical-and-Biological-Defense-Program_BRIEFER-16_2021_04_09.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }