news

The Department of Defense is withholding more than $100 million combined from a military laboratory on Fort Detrick and a center at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

It is unclear as to why the defense department is withholding the $104 million from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Command Chemical Biological Center, although it might be related to the research shutdown of USAMRIID’s biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories over the summer.

It is also unknown how the $104 million is divided between Fort Detrick and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), along with Reps. David Trone (D-Md.), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Anthony Brown (D-Md.) announced Wednesday that they sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper questioning the decision to withholding funding, according to a press release. The congressmen requested an answer by Feb. 28.

"This process has been shrouded in secrecy at the DoD level," Van Hollen said in an interview.

In the letter, the congressmen expressed concern that funding was being withheld since September 2019 from two agencies that provide “critical contributions” to national security.

“As you know, missions that require both a highly-skilled workforce and the ability to surge in times of crisis, like chemical and biological research, cannot simply be slashed when no emergency is present,” the congressmen wrote in the letter.

The congressmen asked for the prompt release of the funding, which they wrote is necessary for the continued operation of the chemical biological center at Aberdeen Proving Ground and USAMRIID. Van Hollen said he would also like more transparency about the process. 

Part of the concern is that the Department of Defense is holding the funding in order to free it up for other projects, he said. 

"Which would be a huge mistake because it's very important to maintain a surge capacity at Fort Detrick," Van Hollen said. "And if that wasn't already well understood, the [new] coronavirus outbreak simply underscores the need, because Fort Detrick will be playing a role in responding to the coronavirus. And that just underscores the importance of having the capacity at Fort Detrick to address exactly this kind of situation."

USAMRIID spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden previously told the News-Post that USAMRIID is not currently involved in responding to the coronavirus, but is ready to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The congressmen learned about the funds being withheld on Thursday, according to press release. Van Hollen and Cardin then met with Brig. Gen. Michael Talley, commanding general of U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command on Fort Detrick, and Gen. John Murray, commanding general of the Army Futures Command, Van Hollen said. 

Talley and Murray were "alarmed" by the funding situation, Van Hollen said.

In the letter, they raise concerns that the defense department continues to “make drastic programmatic changes without consulting Congress.” Van Hollen said it is an "alarming pattern."

“As we have previously made clear [in a November 2019 letter], senior level budget reviews from the Office of the Secretary of Defense must be coordinated with Congress to ensure we are adhering to our Constitutional obligations,” according to the letter.