Congress Urged to Reauthorize Pandemic Preparedness Act
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- The Trump administration preserved the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within HHS and nominated a new assistant secretary to lead the agency, which coordinates the federal medical and public health response to biological threats and disasters.
- ASPR recently provided medical and operational support for the repatriation of Americans potentially exposed to hantavirus, and its BARDA division is funding medical countermeasures including a new initiative for Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidates.
- PAHPA, first enacted in 2006, has had its authorities expired since 2023, with the law operating under stopgap temporary extensions and without incorporating lessons from the past seven years.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been without a confirmed director for almost a year, and the authors urge Congress to confirm nominees for both ASPR and CDC.
- ASPR is preparing for a demanding summer that includes hurricane season, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and events tied to the nation's 250th anniversary — each requiring extensive multi-level planning.
- ASPR is implementing White House executive orders to strengthen domestic manufacturing of essential medicines and medical supplies, a priority the authors call both a public health and national security imperative after Covid-era supply chain failures.
- Opinion authors W. Craig Vanderwagen and Jennifer B. Alton are the founding ASPR assistant secretary and a lead drafter of the original PAHPA, respectively, writing from direct institutional knowledge of both.
Why it matters: With PAHPA's core authorities expired since 2023 and the CDC operating without a confirmed director for almost a year, federal health emergency coordination is heading into a high-demand stretch (hurricane season, 2026 World Cup, 250th anniversary events) on temporary legal footing and without permanent leadership confirmed at two critical agencies.
