Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats

The briefing assesses the role of the Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) in addressing global biological threats, highlighting its history of securing Soviet-era biological weapons and its role in COVID-19 detection in Thailand. It argues that BTRP is a strategic asset for countering the influence of Russia and China, improving pathogen early warning systems, and reducing risks at high-containment laboratories. The authors recommend increasing BTRP's annual budget to $400 million and expanding its operational authorities to allow for global activity.

• The BTRP has a history of mitigating significant biological risks, including the destruction of the Soviet Union's biological weapons stockpile, which was the largest in history and capable of producing twenty tons of smallpox annually.
• BTRP serves as a strategic tool for the U.S. to maintain influence and trust in regions like Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, countering efforts by Russia and China to position themselves as ideal partners.
• The program is critical for reducing risks at high-containment laboratories (biosafety levels 3 and 4), where a lack of central government knowledge and the proliferation of such labs increase the risk of accidents or misuse.
• BTRP is positioned to transition global biosurveillance into a real-time pathogen early warning system using next-generation genomic sequencing and big-data analytics to detect both natural outbreaks and deliberately introduced biological threats.
• The program's effectiveness is currently limited by regional operational restrictions and a narrow focus on the U.S. Select Agents and Toxins List, which may lead to the under-utilization of pathogen-agnostic tools for novel or engineered pathogens.
• Despite its strategic importance, BTRP funding was reduced by 45% in the fiscal year 2022 President's Budget Request, falling to $124 million.
• The authors recommend increasing BTRP funding to $400 million per year and granting it the authority to operate globally to ensure the U.S. can respond rapidly to emerging threats.

APA

Beaver, B., Parthemore, C., & Teran, N. (2021). Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-3_The-Biological-Threat-Reduction-Program_BRIEFER-22_2021_08_09.pdf

Chicago

Beaver, Bill, Christine Parthemore, and Nikki Teran. Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2021. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-3_The-Biological-Threat-Reduction-Program_BRIEFER-22_2021_08_09.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Beaver |first1=Bill |last2=Parthemore |first2=Christine |last3=Teran |first3=Nikki |title=Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=9 August 2021 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-3_The-Biological-Threat-Reduction-Program_BRIEFER-22_2021_08_09.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{beaver2021key, author = {Beaver, Bill and Parthemore, Christine and Teran, Nikki}, title = {{Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-3_The-Biological-Threat-Reduction-Program_BRIEFER-22_2021_08_09.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }