They’ll Deliver For You, All Right

And they said His Transparency didn’t do anything for the country during his Christmas vacation in Hawaii.

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release December 30, 2009
Executive Order — Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack
ESTABLISHING FEDERAL CAPABILITY FOR THE TIMELY PROVISION OF
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES FOLLOWING A BIOLOGICAL ATTACK

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to plan and prepare for the timely provision of medical countermeasures to the American people in the event of a biological attack in the United States through a rapid Federal response in coordination with State, local, territorial, and tribal governments.

This policy would seek to: (1) mitigate illness and prevent death; (2) sustain critical infrastructure; and (3) complement and supplement State, local, territorial, and tribal government medical countermeasure distribution capacity.

Sec. 2. United States Postal Service Delivery of Medical Countermeasures. (a) The U.S. Postal Service has the capacity for rapid residential delivery of medical countermeasures for self administration across all communities in the United States. The Federal Government shall pursue a national U.S. Postal Service medical countermeasures dispensing model to respond to a large-scale biological attack.

(b) The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, in coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall establish a national U.S. Postal Service medical countermeasures dispensing model for U.S. cities to respond to a large-scale biological attack, with anthrax as the primary threat consideration.

(c) In support of the national U.S. Postal Service model, the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Defense, and the Attorney General, in coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, and in consultation with State and local public health, emergency management, and law enforcement officials, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall develop an accompanying plan for supplementing local law enforcement personnel, as necessary and appropriate, with local Federal law enforcement, as well as other appropriate personnel, to escort U.S. Postal workers delivering medical countermeasures.

Sec. 3. Federal Rapid Response. (a) The Federal Government must develop the capacity to anticipate and immediately supplement the capabilities of affected jurisdictions to rapidly distribute medical countermeasures following a biological attack. Implementation of a Federal strategy to rapidly dispense medical countermeasures requires establishment of a Federal rapid response capability.

(b) The Secretaries of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, within 90 days of the date of this order, shall develop a concept of operations and establish requirements for a Federal rapid response to dispense medical countermeasures to an affected population following a large-scale biological attack.

Sec. 4. Continuity of Operations. (a) The Federal Government must establish mechanisms for the provision of medical countermeasures to personnel performing missionessential functions to ensure that mission-essential functions of Federal agencies continue to be performed following a biological attack.

(b) The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall develop a plan for the provision of medical countermeasures to ensure that mission-essential functions of executive branch departments and agencies continue to be performed following a large-scale biological attack.

Sec. 5. General Provisions.

(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 30, 2009.

On the surface, this sound so very noble.  But if Obama’s lips are moving or he’s signing his name to a piece of paper, rest assured it’s not what it might seem.  H/T to Greg Howard for pointing out the dots.

It is, of course, in the bubble world of the Obama administration, sheer and serendipitous coincidence that the following contract modification was issued the day before the Executive Order:

 FBO DAILY ISSUE OF DECEMBER 31, 2009 FBO #2959
SPECIAL NOTICE

68 — rPA Anthrax Vaccine Advance Development

Notice Date

12/29/2009
 

Notice Type

Special Notice
 

NAICS

325414 — Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing
 

Contracting Office

Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, 330 Independence Avenue, SW, Rm G640, Washington, District of Columbia, 20201, United States
 

ZIP Code

20201
 

Solicitation Number

HHSO100200900103C
 

Archive Date

1/28/2010
 

Point of Contact

Jake Lewis, Phone: 202-205-3624, Darrick A Early, Phone: 202-260-0293
 

E-Mail Address

jake.lewis@hhs.gov, darrick.early@hhs.gov
(jake.lewis@hhs.gov, darrick.early@hhs.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 5.201(b) (1) (ii), the Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority (BARDA) intends to negotiate a contract modification with PharmAthene Inc. These activities exemplify the developmental, regulatory, and project management /Earned Value Management activities relevant for the expansion of the current development effort under BARDA contract (103C). These expansion areas include: Manufacturing activities such as process scale up and validation, assay validation, and non-clinical safety assessment and study plans. PharmAthene Inc. has been under contract with the US government since 2003 to develop an rPA vaccine via Contract N01-AI-30052. These development activities were transferred to BARDA as of 4/1/2009 (HHSO100200900103C). This product has matured as demonstrated by successful clinical and non clinical studies. Many of the (R&D) activities that are currently being executed have a direct impact on the government’s urgent need to devise effective measures to protect US citizens from harmful effects of anthrax spores used as instruments of terror. In addition, they impact the Contractor’s ability to successfully execute further development. Enabling the continued work will also maintain a properly balanced sources of suppliers for the requirements of acquisition program in the interest of rPA vaccine development to achieve industrial mobilization in case of an emergency. This contract increase level of effort does not represent a material difference between the modified contract and the contract that was originally awarded. The original contract adequately advised offerors of this type requirement found in the modification. This Notice of Intent is NOT a request for competitive proposals and a solicitation will not be issued. Parties may express their interest, to the Contracting Officer no later than 4 pm, Eastern Standard Time on January 13, 2010. Interested parties should submit no more than 3 pages explaining how they can meet this government’s requirement Response may be sent to: Primary Point of Contact: Jake L. Lewis, Contracting Officer Representative Jake.lewis@hhs.gov Secondary Point of Contact: Darrick Early, Contracting Officer Darrick.Early@hhs.gov
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/OOS/OASPHEP/HHSO100200900103C/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: US Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority, 330 Independence Avenue, SW, Room G640, Washington, District of Columbia, 20201, United States

Zip Code: 20201
 

Record

SN02032034-W 20091231/091229233922-84ccfb33ed5f43af62a1b47d4f35fa5d (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

 And why this extremely lucrative contract to one company?  All-too-familiar Democrat paybacks, courtesy of Tara O’Toole.  As reported last September in the Washington Times:

President Obama’s nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research.

But Dr. Tara O’Toole, whose confirmation as undersecretary of science and technology is pending, never reported her involvement with the lobbying group called the Alliance for Biosecurity in a recent government ethics filing.

Now, while it wasn’t exactly illegal, it does run directly counter to the spirit of ethical disclosure laws.  And when you dig down deeper, it becomes clear why.

Ethics rules require nominees to report any paid or unpaid positions held outside of government, including but not limited to those of “officer, trustee, general partner, representative, employee or any consultant of any corporation, firm, partnership or other business enterprise ….” Dr. O’Toole signed a letter on behalf of the group sent to the White House as recently as March.

In written testimony to Congress, Dr. O’Toole said the alliance was “created to protect the Center for Biosecurity’s status as an honest broker between the biopharma companies and the U.S. government.”

Dr. O’Toole was nominated less than four years after the alliance was formed in 2005. She has served as the group’s unpaid strategic director and has signed her name on more than a dozen letters sent to Congress and federal agencies.

The group’s letters to policymakers often seek more money for research and vaccines. She signed the letters as the group’s strategic director, in addition to listing her full-time paid job as director of the Center for Biosecurity, which is affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh.

The letters, including one that Dr. O’Toole sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, last fall, describe the Alliance for Biosecurity as a “collaboration” among the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies “working to develop vaccines, medicines and other medical countermeasures for the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile.”

Members include companies such as Pfizer Inc., Sig Technologies and PharmAthene Inc. The group discloses the letters and list of members on a Web site.

In an Oct. 31 [2008] letter to Mrs. Pelosi signed by Dr. O’Toole and two other alliance officials, the group called on Congress to include more than $900 million for the “advanced development of medical countermeasures” to be administered by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

The letter also was signed by the chief executive officer of member company PharmAthene, David Wright, who was one of the two first co-chairmen for the alliance after its creation in 2005.

Mr. Wright’s company has a big financial interest in securing work from the authority, according to investor filings. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing last summer disclosed that PharmAthene has been trying to win a contract administered by the authority to supply 25 million doses of an anthrax vaccine to the national stockpile, which is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Weekly Standard points it out in a bit more simple English:

PharmAthene is a company founded and run by Murtha cronies who have extremely close ties to O’Toole. In fact, O’Toole was head of the Center for Biosecurity, which is connected to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), and both Murtha and O’Toole’s friends are working feverishly to position UPMC for a major biosecurity, vaccine-production contract that would result in billions flowing to Murtha’s district, and O’Toole’s private equity and lobbyist friends. According a recent report, this facility would be run by a mysterious unnamed biotechnology company. Anyone care to guess who that unnamed company is rumored to be?

PharmAthene was founded by Joel McCleary, who also happens to be a founding partner at a DC-based private equity firm, Four Seasons Ventures, and an advisor to UPMC. Partnered with McCleary at Four Seasons is none other than James Ervin, a former Murtha aid and the man one goes to for a Murtha earmark, a favor PharmAthene has benefited from in the past. Ervin lobbies for PharmAthene and Four Seasons is heavily invested.

And that’s where O’Toole comes in. In addition to running the Center for Biosecurity, O’Toole advised the Alliance for Biosecurity, which we now know PharmAthene basically runs.

And slap my ass with a hairless cat if anthrax hasn’t popped up in New Hampshire, and was considered a possible threat just today in the Alabama offices of several of its Congress critters. 

Will wonders never cease?  Or will the cease come to only more and more of our freedoms as these spawns of a meth-crazed whore’s douche bag continue to lie, cheat, and steal our hard-earned tax dollars?