THANKS, W!:

The coronavirus pandemic is straining most federal and state emergency resources. But the strain--and the government's response--would have been far worse, if legislation enacted in the previous decade had not laid a solid foundation of expanded homeland security and emergency medical preparedness.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks--but that wasn't the only impetus. Another significant motivating factor was the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The latter attacks revealed serious weaknesses in America's preparedness for withstanding biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This sparked several initiatives to provide surge capabilities in the event of a regional or national medical disaster. 

In creating the DHS, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred a number of biodefense capabilities from other cabinet agencies into the new department. For example, it folded a number of biological, chemical, nuclear, and other WMD prevention and response operations, such as the Defense Department's National Bio-Weapons Defense Analysis Center into the Science & Technology Directorate at DHS.

It also transferred the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (now the Strategic National Stockpile) into the new department. Clearly, responding to major medical events, including biological threats, has always been a core component of the DHS mission.

Once the new department was up and running, Congress gave it legal authorities to supercharge pandemic and WMD preparedness efforts.

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