Why is the federal government funding expanded research into infectious diseases?
After letters containing anthrax were sent through the US postal system in late 2001, Congress funded a research agenda to protect America against those misusing anthrax and similar biological agents. To accomplish this agenda, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded funds through a competitive peer-review process to construct two National Biocontainment Laboratories (NBLs) and to establish a network of 13 Regional Biosafety Laboratories (RBLs) to research biological agents.