Bioterrorism Spending at $14 Billion Since Attacks

The United States has spent $14 billion on bioterrorism defense since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a report released this month by the Biosecurity Center of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (see GSN, May 7).

Researchers say nearly all those funds have been targeted at preventing a bioterrorist attack on U.S. soil, according to the Associated Press. Published in the center’s quarterly journal, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, the report does not include spending by federal law enforcement agencies or most outlays by the Defense, Energy and Justice departments.

The researchers did not evaluate the efficacy of the spending.

“The way to look at it is a substantial amount of money has been invested in biodefense,” said Ari Schuler, a research analyst and author of the report. “From a fiscal level, there is a great deal of money. But the other side of that is that money is no indication of success or failure,” he added (Mike Crissey, Associated Press/PhillyBurbs.com, June 25).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.