News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Following up on two pieces of antiterrorism legislation, federal agencies have established new rules on the handling of biological agents and toxins that could endanger people, crops, or livestock.

(CIDRAP News) – President Bush's National Strategy for Homeland Security, released this week, lays out a lengthy agenda for defending the country against bioterrorism as well as other kinds of terrorist attacks.

(CIDRAP News) – The release of $43.4 million in federal funds to help states detect and respond to animal and plant disease emergencies was announced yesterday by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman.

The money is a share of $328 million in homeland security funds that Congress and President Bush approved earlier this year for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), USDA officials said in a news release.

(CIDRAP News) – The United States' food supply makes an attractive target for terrorists, and people in the food industry need to talk more frankly about the risks, bioterrorism expert Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, said in a Minneapolis speech yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – The US House and Senate this week approved legislation providing for a wide range of bioterrorism preparedness measures, from funds for hospital preparedness to tracking of dangerous pathogens and increased inspections of imported food.

(CIDRAP News) – The Bush administration wants to provide the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) with an extra $146 million to protect the nation's food supply in fiscal 2003.