about the commission
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at Atlantic Council is a privately funded entity established in 2014 to provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of US biodefense efforts and to issue recommendations that foster change. Since 2015, the Commission has advocated for the uptake of its recommendations at the highest levels of the US government, through additional meetings, reports, and other activities. This is the only such body of bipartisan, former high-level policymakers to do so.
Through public meetings and other research, the Commission has identified systemic weaknesses in the national biodefense posture and—building upon its original foundational report issued in 2015—recommended thirty-six steps the government can take to overcome them in its updated 2024 report, The National Blueprint for Biodefense: Immediate Action Needed to Defend Against Biological Threats. The report assessed ongoing efforts; articulated actions to improve the nation’s biodefense capabilities to prevent, deter, prepare for, detect, respond to, attribute, recover from, and mitigate biological incidents; and identified near and long-term actions by current and future congresses and presidential administrations.
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Stay tuned for upcoming Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense events—new programming is added on a rolling basis.
Commentary
Reports
Promote the antidote: Reducing the risk from toxins
The policymaking community is not fully aware of the expansion of the threat from toxins. In this report, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at Atlantic Council outlines the threat and how to negate it.
The National Blueprint for Biodefense
The Commission released its much-anticipated 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense to assist the Administration, Congress, Governors, and other government leaders in this work. Addressing the full range of biological threats—naturally occurring deadly diseases, accidental releases from laboratories, and biological attacks designed to kill and wreak havoc—this report builds on theCommission’s foundational 2015 Blueprint and contains 36 recommendations and 185 action items. This is the Commission’s 14th report since its inception ten years ago, re-examining, modifying, and adding to its original recommendations. These are not just words on pages. This is a call for immediate action.
Proposed congressional hearings on the recommendations of the 2024 national blueprint for biodefense
Congressional oversight to ensure that federal departments and agencies are meeting congressional and other mandates, and are doing so in a coordinated fashion, is imperative. The following proposed hearings address all 36 of the recommendations that comprise the 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense.
Germ warfare graphic novel
Germ warfare: A very graphic history
Max Brooks has partnered with the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense to produce GERM WARFARE: A Very Graphic History, a highly stylized and engaging graphic novel depicting previous biological warfare events, the possibilities for the future, and the continued need for public health security.
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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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