Senators seek audit of more than $18 billion in biodefense spending

[The Straight Story]

Senators seek audit of more than $18 billion in biodefense spending

By Chris Strohm, CongressDaily
In a rare sign of bipartisanship close to the midterm elections, Senate and House Democrats and Republicans asked federal auditors Monday to examine how the government has spent more than $18 billion on biodefense capabilities and technologies since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The government began pouring billions of dollars into biodefense research and development after the terrorist attacks and after the deaths of five people exposed to anthrax spores mailed to two Senate offices and news organizations. The mailings remain an unsolved crime.

"Having reached the fifth anniversary of the anthrax attacks, we believe Congress and the administration would benefit from a comprehensive assessment by the Government Accountability Office of currently deployed airborne or environmental biological threat detection technologies and those that are planned or under development," lawmakers wrote in a letter to Comptroller General David Walker.

The letter was spearheaded by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. It was signed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

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