From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: National Biodefense Strategy Description: We talk about the federal government's plan for handling biological threats. Related GAO Work: GAO-20-273, National Biodefense Strategy: Additional Efforts Would Enhance Likelihood of Effective Implementation Released: February 2020 [ Background Music ] [Chris Currie:] One of the really unique things about biodefense is it's not only fragmented across the government, but it's fragmented all over the country. [Matt Oldham:] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Matt Oldham. Nations around the around the globe are contending with ways to prevent or stem the outbreak of diseases like coronavirus. The National Biodefense Strategys issued in 2018, along with a 2019 National Security Presidential Memorandum, provide guidance on how to keep the United States safe from potentially catastrophic biological threats. And I'm talking with Chris Currie, a Homeland Security and Justice director, about a GAO report that takes a look at the nation's biodefense strategy. Thanks for joining me, Chris. [Chris Currie:] Thank you. [Matt Oldham:] Are we ready for something like coronavirus hitting us? [Chris Currie:] That's a great question, I think. Unfortunately, we may be about to find out how prepared we are for something like this. What's happening in China highlights I think the type of challenges that we really worry about here in the US too. You know, they're a large country. We're a very large and diverse country. And while it certainly hasn't reached that level, the epidemic level here in the US, you know, you can apply some of the things that are happening in China in the US and think about states closing borders, quarantining large parts of the population, stopping transportation systems. And you can see how that would get really messy really fast. You know, we've made a lot of progress in recent years. For a decade, we've been recommending the strategy that you mentioned at the beginning. The White House finally did issue that strategy, which is a huge amount of progress; however, you know, one of the things our report talks about is that to sustain that and for it to be successful, a number of challenges need to be overcome. [Matt Oldham:] Now, are we only talking about federal agencies here? I imagine any national strategy would involve many levels, public and private. [Chris Currie:] Yes. Absolutely. I mean, this is -- One of the really unique things about biodefense is it's not only fragmented across the government, but it's fragmented all over the country. Most of the country's biodefense capabilities are not at the federal level, as you said. One of the biggest challenges about this is that you have over a dozen federal agencies, 50 states, thousands of local governments, and then the private healthcare industry, like you said, like hospitals and drug manufacturers. So, as you can imagine, many of these entities cannot tell each other what to do, and they can't tell each other how to spend their money and their resources. And this is why, you know, a large overarching strategy is so critical in this area. [ Music ] [Matt Oldham:] So, any major planning effort by the federal government involving many agencies, at all levels of government and the private sector may have challenges sharing information. And it sounds like implementing a national biodefense strategy isn't any different. So Chris, what recommendations does this report have? [Chris Currie:] Well, we made several, and they really fall into the bucket of sustaining the collaboration that we've already started to do, but also making sure it's clear how things are going to work in the future, particularly when something like this happens where there's an outbreak and we need coordination. For example, you know, one of the things we found, the strategy didn't really incorporate those non-federal resources in deciding what roles and responsibilities were going to be in these kind of cases. Another thing is, and this is a huge one, is that the strategy still doesn't really articulate how resources are going to be allocated across the biodefense enterprise, is what we call it, because it's such a huge thing. So, you can imagine, if there's an outbreak or something's happening, trying to decide how to spend their money across departments that all have separate budgets and they don't report to one another is a huge challenge, but it's absolutely critical, you know, when something like this happens. [Matt Oldham:] This isn't just a question of what we can do within our own borders, right? It's how do we prevent or help prevent diseases from coming to the United States. [Chris Currie:] And just think about what's happening in China and trying to monitor the inflow. I mean, you're trying to do it at ports. So you have local port authorities, the Coast Guard, airports, local airport authorities, airlines, the private sector, TSA, Customs and Border Protection. Those are just two modes of transportation. Just a great example of how critical it is that everybody knows their role and everybody knows who they're taking orders from. [Matt Oldham:] So, last question. What's the bottom line of this report? [Chris Currie:] Well, I think the bottom line is that you can never be fully prepared for anything like this. It's such a big, complicated problem. But what we can do is exercise and be prepared for this thing to happen so you at least know who's in charge and what resources you're going to be able to pull to address it when it does happen. [Matt Oldham:] Chris Currie was talking about a GAO report reviewing the National Biodefense Strategy. Thank you for your time, Chris. [Chris Currie:] Thank you. [Matt Oldham:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the Congressional Watchdog, the US Government Accountability Office, visit us at gao.gov.