WaPo: DHS Blasted for Axing Device to Battle Bioterrorism

The Department of Homeland Security has come under fire from its own inspector general for canceling a contract for a "fantastic" breakthrough device to help the U.S. battle bioterrorism.

A Silicon Valley startup had been on the verge of creating an apparatus that could test for tiny microorganisms at a rapid pace, which would have sped up the process of detecting possible bio-threats, according to The Washington Post.

The technology, about the size of a ski boot, would also have helped to protect the president, and the Secret Service had assumed a 20 percent share in the funding of the project, the paper said, citing government officials.

But six months before California-based NVS Technologies was due to deliver its first prototypes, the DHS pulled the plug on the deal. The IG’s internal audit noted that the decision was made by one official over the objections of several experts within the agency’s Science and Technology Directorate.

"This was really fantastic, a quantum leap," said one government scientist familiar with the NVS device, who asked to remain anonymous for fear for reprisals. "It allowed you to do things that could never be done before."

In a report due to be released within weeks, the inspector general said "substantial data" proved that the technology worked and would alert the U.S. to possible bio-terrorists.

After losing the contract, NVS Technologies is said to be going out of business, depriving the U.S. of a vital device that not only could have helped fight bio-terrorism but also Ebola, as well as create better tests for pathogens in food supplies, according to the Post.

In a statement on Thursday, DHS spokeswoman Ginette Magaña said the agency supported the audit’s recommendations "regarding the NVS contract" and had requested the report in the first place "to improve upon the management" of the contract.

"It is our fundamental responsibility to manage the Department of Homeland Security efficiently, and sound management is critical to our ability to execute our mission,’’ Magaña said.

Homeland officials have informed members of Congress that the contract was terminated because it is believed that current technologies could better meet the agency’s needs for confronting bio-threats, the newspaper reported.

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