Improving our nation’s defenses against bioterrorism is a key part of the U.S. government’s homeland security effort. The president's 2006 budget requests more than $4 billion for biodefense activities at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve local and state public health systems, to expand existing biosurveillance efforts, and to fund research on medical countermeasures against potential bioterror agents.

Within the HHS biodefense budget, approximately $1.7 billion will fund medical research and product development at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID is committed to accelerating development of medical tools to detect and counter the effects of a bioterrorist attack, including

• Vaccines to immunize the public against diseases caused by bioterrorism agents
• Diagnostic tests to help first responders and other medical personnel rapidly detect exposure and provide treatment
• Therapies to help patients exposed to bioterrorism agents regain their health