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ANNA ESHOO JOINS BIPARTISAN COMMISSION ON BIODEFENSE
Former Congressional Leader Brings Passion for Public Health Security and Determination to Strengthen National Defense Against Biological Threats to the Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 11, 2025) – The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is pleased to welcome former Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of California as a new Commissioner. Representative Eshoo served her constituents – including those in Silicon Valley – from 1993 until the end of the 118th Congress in 2025, when she retired as Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“Several of our Commissioners – myself included – had the privilege of serving alongside Anna in Congress,” said Commission Co-Chair and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala. “The passion, leadership, deep knowledge, and bipartisan approach she brings to everything she does will make her a tremendous asset to the Commission. We are thrilled to have her.”
While in Congress, Eshoo led development of public health and biomedical legislation to enhance preparedness for biological events. She supported the initial passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in 2006, which included one of her top priorities: the establishment of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. She continued to sponsor and lead reauthorization efforts for that keystone law until her retirement earlier this year.
“Anna has been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen national biodefense for more than two decades,” said Commission Co-Chair and first Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor Tom Ridge. “America benefits greatly from leaders like her who continue to champion the cause of biodefense.”
Eshoo worked with Commissioner Fred Upton, former Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, to authorize the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016 and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in 2023. ARPA-H engages in high-risk, high-reward health and biomedical research that could be leveraged to reduce biological risk. She also partnered with Commissioner Susan Brooks to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in 2019.
“We cannot fear to hope,” said former Congresswoman Eshoo. “The biological threat continues to increase as the state of national biodefense remains in flux. I am grateful for the opportunity to join the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense and keep building on the progress I fought for during my time in office.”
About the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense was established in 2014 to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the state of U.S. biodefense efforts, and to issue recommendations to foster change. The Commission’s 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense, identified capability gaps and recommended changes to U.S. policy and law to strengthen national biodefense while optimizing resource investments. Other Commission publications have addressed critical needs for an Apollo Program for Biodefense, risk reduction, biodetection, agrodefense, budget reform, diagnostics, biodefense of critical infrastructure, smallpox and orthopoxvirus readiness, military biodefense, and state, local, tribal, and territorial response capabilities. In 2018 and 2022, the White House released the National Biodefense Strategy, and in 2022 and 2023, the Office of Management and Budget released the Biodefense Budget Crosscut, top recommendations from the Commission’s Blueprint for Biodefense. In 2021, the White House released the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan and subsequently produced executive orders and national security memoranda, taking up recommendations from the Commission’s Apollo Program and Athena Agenda reports. In 2025, the White House took up recommendations from the Athena Agenda in America’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. The Commission continues to address biodefense challenges and urge reform. Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor Tom Ridge and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala co-chair the Commission.