Bioterror Cuts in House Supplemental Bill
Wanted to pass along this LA Times article on a proposed $2 billion cut to the Project BioShield program, which House Appropriations Committee Chairman Obey included in the House-passed supplemental as part of a package of offsets to fund a $10 billion education “slush fund.” Of particular note are the comments by former Florida Democrat – and co-chair of the WMD Commission – Sen. Bob Graham, who said the proposed cut is “an extremely negative development in our overall efforts to prepare not only for bioterrorism but for other biological events from nature.”
The final disposition of the supplemental in the Senate remains unclear; however, Chairman Harkin indicated yesterday that action is not likely either this week or next week – meaning action may be postponed until the week of July 26, the last week the House is scheduled to be in session prior to the August recess.