The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency: What are they thinking?

Critics lambaste bird-flu bill

SECRECY CREATES ACCOUNTABILITY VOID, THEY SAY

A bill moving through Congress to speed production of bird-flu vaccines and other drugs has ignited alarm from critics who claim it would not only shield manufacturers from lawsuits, but also prevent the public from learning if the medicines hurt people more than help.

Under the measure backed by Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, which critics hope to derail at a meeting today, bird-flu and bioterrorism preparedness would be overseen by a new agency able to operate in unprecedented secrecy. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency would be the first federal agency not required to make at least some of its activities public under the Freedom of Information Act.

The bill's supporters say the law is needed to encourage more companies to join the few firms, such as Chiron and Gilead Sciences in the Bay Area, making drugs to counter bird flu and deadly biological agents -- without fear of being sued if the drugs produce bad side effects.

But others including Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, denounced the measure as dangerously misguided.

Without public scrutiny or the ability to take the companies to court, ``these drugs are going to be developed in secret, and if there are deaths and injuries, they're going to be covered up,'' she said. ``And there will be no way to hold anybody accountable...''

The bill was introduced in the Senate on Oct. 17 and approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, but it's not likely to be acted on by the full Senate until next year. It would modify the Project Bioshield Act, passed in 2004, that provided $5.6 billion over 10 years to develop biodefense drugs.

A few Bay Area firms have won large federal contracts under this program, including VaxGen of Brisbane, which has gotten nearly $1 billion to make anthrax vaccines. Chiron of Emeryville has also won a contract under another federal agency to develop bird-flu vaccines, and Gilead Sciences of Foster City is likely to get federal money for its bird-flu treatment...

The insertion of blanket secrecy provisions into the bill has especially alarmed critics. Those provisions would let the new agency keep its activities quiet unless it decides ``disclosure would pose no threat to national security.''

Although the Biotechnology Industry Organization has sought the lawsuit immunity, its spokeswoman, Kim Coghill, declined to comment on the bill's secrecy provisions.

But Gerald Epstein, a senior fellow for science and security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a non-profit Washington think tank, said giving the agency broad authority to withhold information ``is not as scary as people make it out to be.'' He said the alternative is to have the agency set up a system of security clearances and classified data, which can be cumbersome and costly.

However, exempting the agency from public disclosure would be unparalleled, said Pete Weitzel, coordinator of the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, who plans to attend the meeting today with Burr's staff.

``There is no agency I'm aware of in the federal government which is in and of itself totally exempt from any public access provisions, including the CIA,'' he said.

See full text of the SB 1873.

See also, SENATE BILL 1873: PRESCRIPTION FOR TYRANNY



There is so much wrong with this bill, I can't even get my brain wrapped around it. WTF?!?

[edit on 3-12-2005 by loam]

Jeez loam. MORE bad news. Kidding.

We need to know about this stuff. Thanks.

This bill is astonishing - a thinly disguised tax grab for drug industry buddies - and a backdoor support for depopulation programs.

Things are moving quickly. No doubt about it. US democracy is being demolished, and Americans are getting hamstrung. We need to fight back while we still can imo.





sp

[edit on 3-12-2005 by soficrow]

The CIA has released a document under FOIA provisions confirming that artificial retina and implantable biomedical intellectual property developed at the Alfred Mann Foundation is intelligence sources and methods. The reply states that the agency cannot release the records citing exemtions b1 (classified/national security) and b3 (sources and methods).
see:

www.larsonmedia.net/special_access/sa_docs/CIA_FOIA.pdf

[url=http://www.larsonmedia.net/special_access/sa_docs/Dick_Durbin_01242009.pdf]www.larsonmedia.net/special_access/sa_docs/Dick_Durbin_01242009.pdf[/u rl]

It should be clear that this senate bill is motivated by and involves much more than "vaccines" and preventing terrorists from attacking us. The U.S. government is using biomedical technology for surveillance s well as behavior modification and tactical operations. What was presented to Congress and the public as "medical technology" is actually far less humanitarian and concealed as a "Special Access Program" (or "SAP"), which is official terminology for a "black" program. The "unacknowledged" classification level allows controls to insure existence of the program is not discovered... not even by Congress. "The Program" is the most closely held secret within the intelligence community and is so secret, the government advised former Agent Russell Tice that no members of Congress were cleared to hear about it. The lack of Congressional oversight has allowed abuse domestically, in the U.S., against Americans for partisan, personal and political purpose. Secrecy is fine but there must be oversight and protections for innocent Americans.

The CIA has released a document under FOIA provisions confirming that artificial retina and implantable biomedical intellectual property developed at the Alfred Mann Foundation is intelligence sources and methods. The reply states that the agency cannot release the records citing exemtions b1 (classified/national security) and b3 (sources and methods).
see:

www.larsonmedia.net/special_access/sa_docs/CIA_FOIA.pdf

[url=http://www.larsonmedia.net/special_access/sa_docs/Dick_Durbin_01242009.pdf]www.larsonmedia.net/special_access/sa_docs/Dick_Durbin_01242009.pdf[/u rl]

It should be clear that this senate bill is motivated by and involves much more than "vaccines" and preventing terrorists from attacking us. The U.S. government is using biomedical technology for surveillance s well as behavior modification and tactical operations. What was presented to Congress and the public as "medical technology" is actually far less humanitarian and concealed as a "Special Access Program" (or "SAP"), which is official terminology for a "black" program. The "unacknowledged" classification level allows controls to insure existence of the program is not discovered... not even by Congress. "The Program" is the most closely held secret within the intelligence community and is so secret, the government advised former Agent Russell Tice that no members of Congress were cleared to hear about it. The lack of Congressional oversight has allowed abuse domestically, in the U.S., against Americans for partisan, personal and political purpose. Secrecy is fine but there must be oversight and protections for innocent Americans.

Well that doesn't sound too good.

It has not been passed or anything yet has it?

I think there would be a problem passing it as the freedom of information act counters it but we shall see.