Senators Ask HHS to Investigate Biolab Safety; Fort Detrick Closure and Gain-of-Function Research Scrutinized
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Summary
Committee members pressed Secretary Kennedy about recent lab safety concerns, the Fort Detrick closure, FBI involvement and the department's decision to halt gain-of-function research pending review.
Senators used the HHS budget hearing to press Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a high-priority national-security and biosafety issue: laboratory safety at BSL-4 facilities and the department's handling of gain-of-function research.
Senator Rand Paul and others raised reports that an apparent deliberate breach at Fort Detrick led HHS to close the facility and bring the FBI in to investigate. Kennedy confirmed the FBI was investigating and characterized the incident as "a deliberate criminal act" that could be "equivalent to attempted murder" given the high case-fatality rate of some agents handled at the lab. He said the agency had "declared the end of gain of function studies" pending review and would convene experts for transparent oversight. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)
Committee members asked Kennedy to provide a report to Congress about the scope of gain-of-function research, the results of inspections and whether experiments at adjacent facilities, including aerosolization studies, merit additional oversight. Kennedy said he planned a trip to Fort Detrick with DHS and agency experts and pledged to be "absolutely transparent" about findings and regulatory recommendations.
Why it matters: Senators described the work as potentially catastrophic if safety practices fail and requested that HHS provide Congress with a review of current experiments, protocols and public reporting on investigations. There were no formal enforcement actions taken at the hearing; senators urged legislative follow-up and public reporting of investigative results.
What was directed or pledged: Kennedy committed to share findings from Fort Detrick and to propose regulatory methodologies for identifying and overseeing dangerous gain-of-function studies.