Have you heard about the federal level legislation: H.R. 3832- The Disease X Act of 2023?

H.R. 3832- The Disease X Act of 2023 is a bill introduced in June of 2023 by U.S. Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts and is co-sponsored by U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas.  It lays the foundation for BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), a program within the Department of Health and Human Services,  to expand its priorities to include innovation grants and contracts to support research and development of countermeasures against viruses, specifically respiratory viruses, with potential to cause a pandemic.  The bill is currently being heard in the House of Representatives and has been referred to the Health subcommittee within the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Consequently, this bill would expand priorities of BARDA to include the development of health technology, including vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, while aggrandizing partnerships with the private sector.  This bill will potentially open the door for additional gain of function experimentation or worse.  Gary Disbrow, PhD, BARDA Director, outlines the mission of BARDA to include four goals: rapid development of  countermeasures, maintain a sustainable ‘mission ready’ response posture, leverage mechanisms to foster flexible partnerships and build and support a world class workforce.  

Learn more about BARDA at https://aspr.hhs.gov/AboutASPR/ProgramOffices/BARDA/Pages/default.aspx

Please see the following handout for more information, including our concerns with this bill.

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PERK opposes HR3832 The Disease X Act of 2023