Having taken the U.S. Senate to the brink of the nuclear option over judicial filibusters, Republican majority leader Bill Frist is now warning Americans about other weapons of mass destruction. In a speech Wednesday at his alma mater Harvard Medical School, Frist called for a "Manhattan Project for the 21st century" to bolster civilian defense against manmade bioweapons such as anthrax and smallpox, and natural agents such as avian flu and Marburg virus. Without a coordinated program in place, Frist told the audience, "panic, suffering, and the spread of disease would intensify, the economy would become crippled, electrical power would flicker out, and food and medical supplies would fail to move." Or is that what happens when the Democrats start filibustering?
Frist's talk comes as the Congress considers changes to the BioShield law, which earmarks $5.6 billion in federal funds to create a biodefense stockpile. As The Deal recently reported, the so-called BioShield 2 bills could spur a new round of M&A among biopharmas, but critics call some of the proposed changes simply more corporate welfare for the pharmaceutical industry. — Alex Lash
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