Commission Executive Director Dr. Asha M. George to Testify Before House Subcommittee Examining Agroterrorism and Defense of Food and Agriculture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steve Aaron
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House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology to Hold Public Hearing on September 16
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 15, 2025) – Dr. Asha M. George, Executive Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, will testify as an expert witness before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology tomorrow, September 16, at 2:00 p.m. The hearing, titled Surveying the Threat of Agroterrorism: Perspectives on Food, Agriculture, and Veterinary Defense will be held in Room 310 of the Cannon House Office Building and webcast live. The hearing will examine current federal policies and programs that defend food and agriculture from biological threats.
“Despite how essential the Food and Agriculture Critical Infrastructure Sector is to the Nation, federal attention to, and investment in, biodefense activities that support animal and plant health have historically lagged behind those for human health,” Dr. George will testify at the hearing. “A single animal or plant pathogen, introduced intentionally or spread naturally, could have devastating consequences for multiple industries in this sector.”
The Commission has issued two reports addressing biological threats to food and agriculture. In 2017, the Commission released Defense of Animal Agriculture, which contains recommendations for the investigation of events involving animal pathogens, development of animal medical countermeasures, information sharing, and coordination of federal biodefense activities impacting animal health. In 2022, the Commission released Boots on the Ground: Land-Grant Universities in the Fight Against Threats to Food and Agriculture. In this report, the Commission provides recommendations to engage the land-grant universities in using their capabilities to augment national biosurveillance, research and development, and outreach and education efforts with regard to food and agriculture.
“Since its inception in 2014, the Commission has recognized the importance of safeguarding food and agriculture from biological threats,” Dr. George will testify. “Deficiencies remain. The uneven response to last year’s highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemic demonstrates that we are not as prepared as we need to be for future threats. Not all states are taking the same approach to responding to disease threats to food and agriculture. The federal government lacks sufficient coordination and speed in addressing fast-moving novel threats. Agricultural producers need to be engaged as equal partners and educated about the risks posed by newly emerging and newly transmissible diseases. Medical countermeasure development, approval, and stockpiling are not where it needs to be.”
In May 2024, the Commission released The National Blueprint for Biodefense: Immediate Action Needed to Defend Against Biological Threats. This report incorporates the lessons learned by the Commission over the past eleven years. The Nation’s response to COVID-19, mpox, Ebola, highly pathogenic avian influenza, and numerous other pathogens that emerged since the Commission began in 2014 informed the report’s 36 recommendations and 185 action items.
Editor’s Note: Journalists interested in interviews with Dr. George should contact Steve Aaron by emailing saaron@teamavoq.com.
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 SLTT 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.