We need to be vigilant and improve our ability to rapidly detect and respond to chemical or biological attacks. We must provide our emergency personnel with the resources they need.
Provide the emergency personnel needed to rapidly detect and respond to chemical or biological attacks.
Occurrences
Evidence
The bill includes funding for laboratory facilities, operations, and infrastructure improvements for NBACC and CSAC. NBACC ... is one of the few biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) labs in the country dedicated to conducting experiments and studies to better understand biological vulnerabilities and hazards ... CSAC ... provides a crucial knowledge repository of chemical threat information, design and execution of laboratory and field tests, and a science-based threat and risk analysis capability for federal, state, and local governments and first responders. ... The bill provides $3.5 billion for grants and training to state, local, Tribal, and territorial entities to help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from both manmade and natural threats, including hurricanes, terrorist attacks, wildfires, and more.
The funding will enhance departments’ emergency response capabilities through hiring, training, and acquisition of critical emergency equipment. ... Baltimore City Fire Department ... provide training in trench rescue and hazardous materials response ... Baltimore County Fire Department ... advanced rescue training for 1,300 personnel ... The awards are provided through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), and the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant (FP&S) programs ...
Assessments
The promise was made in the 2002 federal House campaign context and concerned providing emergency personnel needed for rapid chemical or biological attack detection and response. The evidence shows Van Hollen later helped secure or announce federal funding for firefighter staffing, emergency response training, hazardous materials response, emergency equipment, biodefense and chemical-threat facilities, and preparedness grants. That materially advances the general emergency response and CBRN preparedness goal, but the record provided does not show that he delivered a discrete, comprehensive personnel program specifically providing the emergency personnel needed to rapidly detect and respond to chemical or biological attacks during his House term. Because the strongest evidence is from later Senate-era appropriations and delegation funding, credit should be partial with later-term timing, and effort credit is warranted.