Team Trump is well ahead of the Curve - NATIONAL BIO DEFENSE STRATEGY from August 9th, 2018 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/National-Biodefense-Strategy.pdf NATIONAL BIO DEFENSE STRATEGY It is a vital interest of the United States to manage the risk of biological incidents. In today’s interconnected world, biological incidents have the potential to cost thousands of American lives, cause significant anxiety, and greatly impact travel and trade. Biological threats—whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate in origin—are among the most serious threats facing the United States and the international community. Outbreaks of disease can cause catastrophic harm to the United States. They can cause death, sicken, and disable on a massive scale, and they can also inflict psychological trauma and economic and social disruption. Natural or accidental outbreaks, as well as deliberate attacks, can originate in one country and spread to many others, with potentially far-reaching international consequences. Advances in science promise better and faster cures, economic advances, a cleaner environment, and improved quality of life, but they also bring new security risks. In this rapidly changing landscape, the United States must be prepared to manage the risks posed by natural outbreaks of disease, accidents with high consequence pathogens, or adversaries who wish to do harm with biological agents. Health security means taking care of the American people in the face of biological threats to our homeland and to our interests abroad. The significant infectious disease outbreaks of recent decades, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), pandemic influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease, have revealed the extent to which individual countries and international communities need to improve their preparedness and biosurveillance systems to detect and respond to the next health crisis. The health of the American people depends on our ability to stem infectious disease outbreaks at their source, wherever and however they occur. America’s biodefense enterprise needs to be nimble enough to address emerging infectious disease threats, the risks associated with the jaccelerating pace of biotechnology, and threats posed by terrorist groups or adversaries seeking to use biological weapons. The National Biodefense Strategy is aligned with the 2018 National Security Strategy of the United States. Pillar One of the 2018 National Security Strategy explicitly calls for protecting “the American people, the homeland, and the American way of life.” One component of this goal is achieved by detecting and containing biothreats at their source, supporting and promoting the responsible conduct of biomedical innovation, and improving emergency response. Pillar Two calls for “promot[ing] American prosperity,” which increasingly will depend on a vibrant life sciences and biotechnology enterprise. This National Biodefense Strategy highlights the President’s commitment to ............ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/National-Biodefense-Strategy.pdf