GAO Probe Finds HHS, USDA Sold National Security-Sensitive Medical Devices – washingtonstand.com

GAO Probe Finds HHS, USDA Sold National Security-Sensitive Medical Devices  washingtonstand.com

Sophisticated biomedical devices subject to rigorous export controls due to their value in creating biological warfare weapons were nevertheless sold by officia Sophisticated biomedical devices subject to rigorous export controls due to their value in creating biological warfare weapons were nevertheless sold by officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) between 2022 and 2025. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigators said in a report made public October 1 that they “identified nine pieces of HHS and USDA laboratory equipment subject to export controls. Of the nine export-controlled items, seven belonged to HHS and two were from USDA. The nine export-controlled items that we identified included three freeze dryers and six mass spectrometers.” “Freeze dryers can be used to preserve biological material such as viruses and toxins, as well as to produce powders for easier dissemination.

Mass spectrometers are analytical instruments that can be used to identify and characterize proteins, and study their structures, functions, interactions, and modifications, such as how such proteins respond to viruses and treatments.” The nine items subject to export controls were among more than 1,300 pieces of equipment sold during the covered period through the General Services Administration (GSA), which is the “federal government’s housekeeping agency.” In addition to buying, building, maintaining, and leasing federal office properties, GSA