Project BioShield: Authorities, Appropriations, Acquisitions and Issues for Congress

Following the terrorist attacks of 2001, both the US Administration and Congress encouraged the private sector to develop medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) terrorism agents and passed the Project BioShield Act in 2004.

This report provides a brief introduction of the Project BioShield act, additional measures to further encourage countermeasure development, market guarantee, emergency use of unapproved medical products, reporting requirements, appropriations, rescissions, transfers and acquisitions.

The report raises policy issues for Congressional considerations that include whether to continue diverting Project BioShield acquisition funding to other purposes, whether to change the countermeasure development and acquisition process, how to replace stockpiled countermeasures as they expire and whether to alter federal efforts to encourage the development of broad-spectrum countermeasures.