Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, proposed the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Prevention and Preparedness Act in September of 2009. The bill would restructure the Select Agent Program by creating a tiered system to enhance security requirements for more dangerous pathogens and lessen controls on others. Aiming to balance research progress with the need for security, the bill would enable the Department of Homeland Security to establish and enforce new security standards for labs and individuals working with these pathogens. The Select Agent Program is currently managed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act would mandate the Department of Homeland Security to partner with DHHS and USDA to oversee possession and transfer of select agents. The bill would also authorize the Department of Homeland Security to award $50 million in grants every year from 2010 to 2013 to help institutions handling Tier 1 agents to improve biosecurity. Less dangerous pathogens would be assigned to Tiers 2 and 3 with successively less stringent rules governing their handling.
Lieberman Proposes WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2009
Washington, D.C.
