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#SubOversight Releases Findings of Investigation into 2014 NIH Smallpox Discovery

Press Release

Date: April 20, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security

On the heels of a new report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the safety and security of U.S. bioresearch labs, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations released its own supplemental memo ahead of today's hearing. The memo details the committee's investigation on the 2014 discovery of smallpox vials at the NIH's Bethesda, Maryland, facility.

Majority staff for the committee found several issues of concern that require a further investigation by HHS. Among these issues are:

The failure to account for regulated select agents;
The failure to conduct comprehensive inventory of all select agent material; and
The failure to restrict unauthorized access to select agents.
These select agents include antibiotic-resistant anthrax and antibiotic-resistant plague.

The supplemental memo identifies additional issues that should be further investigated by the NIH and FDA, and highlights systemic, cultural, and behavioral factors that may need to be addressed within the agencies. Dr. Lawrence Tabak, the Principal Deputy Director for the NIH, and Dr. Segaran Pillai, Director of the Office of Laboratory Science and Safety for the FDA, will be testifying at the subcommittee's hearing this morning. Members will have an opportunity to question these witnesses about issues arising from the information presented in this memorandum.

"There's a problem when the government somehow loses track of smallpox and other deadly agents, only to have them turn up in a soggy cardboard box. What's worse, the urgency that should accompany such a discovery has failed to spur absolutely necessary changes," said full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA). "Today serves as an important opportunity to ask some of the agencies in question about their next steps to ensure safety for those working in the labs, as well as the general public."


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