On Thursday, June 4, at 10:00 a.m. ET, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council will host its latest meeting, which will discuss how non-federal governments approach biodefense.
State, local, tribal, and territorial governments serve on the front lines of biodefense. As the biological threat continues to grow, those officials who tackle this topic on a daily basis require reinforcement. This meeting of the commission will discuss the impacts of changes in federal support for state, local, tribal, and territorial biodefense activities, as well as the biodefense roles, responsibilities, and investments of non-federal governments. The discussion will also touch upon the personnel, policies, and programs needed to bolster preparedness for future biological threats.
This event will not be livestreamed. A recording of the event will be made available at a later date.
New policy: In-person attendees will be required to show photo ID upon arrival, and no on-site registration will be permitted. Guests will not be admitted later than twenty minutes after the event’s start time.
We highly encourage pre-registration by 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 3.
Please complete the form below to register for this event.
Speakers
Donna Shalala
Co-Chair, Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,
Atlantic Council
Tom Ridge
Co-Chair, Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,
Atlantic Council
More speakers to be announced.
Agenda
10:00–10:10 a.m. | Welcome remarks
Speakers
Donna Shalala
Co-Chair,
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,
Atlantic Council
Tom Ridge
Co-Chair,
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,
Atlantic Council
10:10–10:55 a.m. | Panel one: Biodefense governance
Panelists will share their perspective on biological threats to states, the biodefense role of governors and lieutenant governors, and priorities for addressing the biological threat.
Speakers to be announced.
10:55–11:55 a.m. | Panel two: See something, say something
Panelists will discuss the biological threat landscape, efforts to address biological attacks, and coordination of information and resources to prepare the nation for future biological events.
Speakers to be announced.
11:55 a.m.–12:55 p.m. | Panel three: Canary in the coal mine
Panelists will discuss public health readiness for biological threats, resource and policy shortfalls in meeting requirements for future biological events, and coordination between federal and non-federal government officials.
Speakers to be announced.
12:55–1:30 p.m. | Lunch
Join us for our lunch break.
1:30–2:30 p.m. | Panel four: True grit
Panelists will discuss the defense of food and agriculture, including surveillance of agricultural disease threats, the role of land-grant universities, and industry needs to address future biological events.
Speakers to be announced.
2:30–2:45 p.m. | Break
Break in programming.
2:45–4:00 p.m. | Panel five: Reinforce the foundation
Panelists will highlight vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure to biological events, lessons learned from previous threats, and mitigation strategies to make national assets more resilient to future disruption.
Speakers to be announced.
4:00–4:05 p.m. | Closing remarks
Featuring
Donna Shalala
Co-Chair,
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,
Atlantic Council
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The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of US biodefense and recommends changes to policy and law that strengthen national biodefense while optimizing biodefense resources.
The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.
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