Key Official Lacks Authority to Lead U.S. Response to Biological Attack or Other Crises, Experts Warn
Global Security Newswire
Homeland security experts have warned that the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s chief medical officer lacks the necessary authority to prepare the United States for a bioterror incident or other health crisis, the Federal Times reported today (see GSN, Oct. 28).
Jeffrey Runge took the new position in July. Experts warned Congress last month that Runge’s role poorly defined and that he does not have enough power.
The chief medical officer must lead the federal medical response to a bioterrorism attack, disease outbreak or natural disaster, Jeffrey Lowell, who advised former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on medical issues, said during an Oct. 27 congressional hearing. However, the position now lacks the authority to direct such a response, Lowell said.
Lowell told the House Homeland Security Management, Integration and Oversight Subcommittee that it is unclear who would direct the medical response if a catastrophic event occurs.
Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said that one individual must be designated to lead the medical response. If it is not the chief medical officer, another officer should be appointed.
“I don’t want there to be any shucking and jiving down the road, and have people say, ‘It was his responsibility,’” Rogers said. He noted that he was not criticizing Runge or Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, but that the position needs to be improved.
The medical officer should develop and implement a national plan against bioterrorism, said David Heyman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The officer must also work to increase hospitals’ ability to take in more patients during a crisis, he said.
Lowell added that the Homeland Security Department should set standards for mobile medical facilities that could handle overflow patients during an emergency (Stephen Losey, Federal Times, Nov. 18).
