Democrats looking to blame Republicans for the lack of an Ebola vaccine may owe Dick Cheney an apology.
It turns out that as vice president, Cheney was the driving force behind more funding for the National Institutes of Health that helped lead to the development of Ebola vaccines being tested today.
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Since 2001, the National Institutes of Health’s budget to study biodefense measures has increased from $53 million to $1.6 billion.
Of the drugs now in testing phases, including some to help Americans diagnosed with Ebola, seven were developed because of the additional resources made available after 9/11.
In 2004, Congress passed Project Bioshield, legislation that allocated $5.6 billion for purchasing, developing and storing drugs that could be used in the event of a bioterrorist attack. When President George W. Bush signed the bill into law, he commended Cheney for his role in its passage.
“I want to thank the vice president for his hard work,” Bush said during remarks in the Rose Garden. “He was the point man in the White House on this piece of legislation and did excellent work.”
In addition to Project Bioshield, the government boosted funding for basic research that runs high risks of failure. From 2000 to 2013, Ebola funding at NIH increased from $840,000 to $42.5 million.
