H.R. 8610 — what changed
Health Security and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 2 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 101 Office of Health Security
Establishment— The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended—
in section 103 (6 U.S.C. 113)—
in subsection (a)(2), by striking “Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs,” and inserting “Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs”; and
in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(6) A Chief Medical Officer.”
by adding at the end the following new title:
“XXIII Office of Health Security”
by redesignating section 1931 (6 U.S.C. 597) as section 2301 and transferring such section, as so redesignated, to appear after the heading for title XXIII, as added by paragraph (2);
in section 2301, as so redesignated and transferred—
by amending the section heading to read as follows: “Office of Health Security”;
by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
“(a) In general—There is in the Department an Office of Health Security.”
by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
“(b) Head of Office of Health Security
“(1) In general—The Office of Health Security shall be headed by a Chief Medical Officer (in this title referred to as the “Chief Medical Officer”), who shall be at the level of Assistant Secretary within the Department.
“(2) Qualifications; duties—The Chief Medical Officer shall—
“(A) be appointed by the President pursuant to section 103(d);
“(B) be a licensed physician possessing a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of medicine and public health; and
“(C) report directly to the Secretary.”
in subsection (c)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “medical issues related to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, including—” and inserting “medical, public health, and workforce health and safety matters, including issues related to—”;
in paragraph (1), by striking “the Secretary, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Assistant Secretary, and other Department officials” and inserting “the Secretary and all other Department officials”;
in paragraph (4), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
changed
by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (10); (11); and
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraphs:
“(5) delivering, advising, and supporting—
“(A) direct patient care; and
“(B) the organization, management, and staffing of component operations that deliver direct patient care;
“(6) advising the Secretary and the head of each component of the Department that delivers direct patient care regarding—
“(A) knowledge and skill standards for medical personnel and the assessment of such knowledge and skill;
“(B) the collection, storage, and oversight of medical records; and
“(C) contracts for the delivery of direct patient care, other medical services, and medical supplies;
“(7) advising the head of each component of the Department that delivers direct patient care regarding the recruitment and appointment of a component chief medical officer, or, as the case may be, the employee who functions in the capacity of a component chief medical officer;
changed
“(8) with respect to any psychological health counseling or assistance program of preparation and response for pandemics, ensuring the Department, including such a program protection of a law enforcement, operational, or support component the workforce of the Department, advising the head of each such component with such a program regarding—an emphasis on front line workers most at risk, through—
added “(A) health security planning; and
added “(B) provision of subject matter and planning expertise to the Chief Readiness Support Officer of the Department regarding stockpiling and distribution of supplies, including adequate personal protective equipment;
added “(9) with respect to any psychological health counseling or assistance program of the Department, including such a program of a law enforcement, operational, or support component of the Department, advising the head of each such component with such a program regarding—
“(A) ensuring such program includes safeguards against adverse action, including automatic referrals for a fitness for duty examination, by such component with respect to any employee solely because such employee self-identifies a need for psychological health counseling or assistance or receives such counseling or assistance;
“(B) increasing the availability and number of local psychological health professionals with experience providing psychological support services to personnel;
“(C) establishing a behavioral health curriculum for employees at the beginning of their careers to provide resources early regarding the importance of psychological health;
“(D) establishing periodic management training on crisis intervention and such component’s psychological health counseling or assistance program;
“(E) improving any associated existing employee peer support programs, including by making additional training and resources available for peer support personnel in the workplace across such component;
“(F) developing and implementing a voluntary alcohol treatment program that includes a safe harbor for employees who seek treatment;
added “(G) prioritizing, as appropriate, expertise in the provision of psychological health counseling and assistance for certain populations of the workforce, such as employees serving in positions within law enforcement, to help improve outcomes for such employees receiving such counseling or assistance; and
removed
“(G) prioritizing, as appropriate, cultural competence in the provision of psychological health counseling and assistance for certain populations of the workforce, such as employees serving in positions within law enforcement, to help improve outcomes for such employees receiving such counseling or assistance; and
“(H) including collaborating and partnering with key employee stakeholders and, for those components with employees with an exclusive representative, the exclusive representative with respect to such a program;
added “(10) in consultation with the Chief Information Officer of the Department—
removed
“(9) in consultation with the Chief Information Officer of the Department—
“(A) identifying methods and technologies for managing, updating, and overseeing patient records; and
“(B) setting standards for technology used by components of the Department regarding the collection, storage, and oversight of medical records; and”
by adding at the end the following new subsections:
“(d) Assistance and agreements—In furtherance of this section, the Chief Medical Officer, at the direction of the Secretary, may—
“(1) provide technical assistance, training, information, and distribute funds through grants and cooperative agreements to State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and nongovernmental organizations;
“(2) enter into agreements with appropriate Federal departments and other executive agencies; and
“(3) accept services from personnel of components of the Department and appropriate Federal departments and other executive agencies on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis.
“(e) Office of Health Security Privacy Officer
changed
“(1) In general—There shall be a Privacy Officer of the Office of Health Security, appointed designated by the Chief Medical Officer in consultation with the Privacy Officer of the Department, with primary responsibility for privacy policy and compliance within the Office and with respect to the carrying out of responsibilities described in subsection (c).
“(2) Duties—The Privacy Officer of the Office of Health Security shall—
“(A) report directly to the Chief Medical Officer;
changed
“(B) coordinate with and, as requested, provide information to support the Privacy Officer activities of the Department; Privacy Officer appointed under section 222; and
“(C) ensure privacy protections are integrated into all activities of the Office of Health Security, subject to the review and approval of the Privacy Officer of the Department.
“(f) Annual report—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter, the Chief Medical Officer shall submit to Congress a report on the activities of the Office of Health Security for the immediately preceding year.”
changed
by redesignating section 710 (6 U.S.C. 350) as section 2302 and transferring such section to appear after section 2301;2301 (as redesignated and transferred pursuant to paragraph (3));
in section 2302, as so redesignated and transferred—
changed
in subsection (a), by striking “Under Secretary of for Management” each place such term appears and inserting “Chief Medical Officer”; and
in subsection (b)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “Under Secretary for Management, in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer,” and inserting “Chief Medical Officer”; and
in paragraph (3), by striking “as deemed appropriate by the Under Secretary,”;
changed
by redesignating section 528 (6 U.S.C. 321q) as section 2303 and transferring such section to appear after section 2302; 2302, as so redesignated and transferred; and
in subsection (a) of section 2303, as so redesigned and transferred, by striking “Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office” and inserting “Chief Medical Officer”.
changed
Medical countermeasures program— The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 1932 (6 U.S.C. 597a) as section 2304 and transferring such section, as so redesignated, to appear after section 2303 (as redesignated and transferred pursuant to subsection (a)(7)) of title XXIII.
Transition and transfers—
In general— The individual appointed pursuant to section 1931(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 597) (as such section appeared on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act) of the Department of Homeland Security and serving as the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security on the day before such date of enactment, shall continue to serve as the Chief Medical Officer of the Department after such date without the need for reappointment.
Saving clause— The rule of construction set forth in section 2(hh) of the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011 (Public Law 112–166, 5 U.S.C. 3132 note) shall not apply to the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security (including the incumbent who holds the position on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act), and such officer shall be a Senior Executive Service position (as that term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code) and receive the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule (in accordance with section 5315 of such title).
Transfer— The Secretary of Homeland Security shall transfer to the Chief Medical Officer all functions, personnel, budget authority, and assets of—
changed
the Under Secretary for Management, relating to workforce health and medical support;support,
changed
the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, relating to the Chief Medical Officer (including the Medical Operations Directorate of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office); Office), and
the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, with respect to food, agriculture, and veterinary defense programs of such Office,
Technical and conforming amendments— The Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended—
by redesignating section 529 (6 U.S.C. 321r) as section 528;
changed
in section 704(3)(4) 704(e)(4) (6 U.S.C. 344(e)(4)), by striking “section 711(a)” and inserting “section 710(a)”;
by redesignating sections 711 (6 U.S.C. 351), 712 (6 U.S.C. 352), and 713 (6 U.S.C. 353) as sections 710, 711, and 712, respectively; and
in title XIX, by striking the enumerator and heading of subtitle C.
Clerical amendments— The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended—
by striking the item relating to section 528 (as in existence on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act);
by redesignating the item relating to section 529 as the item relating to section 528;
by striking the item relating to section 710 (as in existence on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act);
by redesignating the items relating to sections 711, 712, and 713 as the items relating to sections 710, 711, and 712, respectively;
by inserting after the item relating to section 1900 the following new item:
by inserting after the item relating to section 1928 the following new item:
by striking the items relating to subtitle C of title XIX (as in existence on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act); and
by adding at the end the following new items:
Sec. 201 Technical corrections; Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Advisory Committee; departmental biodefense strategy
Title XIX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 591 et seq.) is amended—
in the matter preceding subtitle A, by inserting after section 1900 the following new section:
“1900A. Rule of construction
“Nothing in this title may be construed as affecting in any manner or respect the operation of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or title XXI.”
in subtitle A, in section 1901(c) (6 U.S.C. 591(c))—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “serve as the Secretary’s principal advisor on”; and
by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the following new paragraphs:
“(1) serve as the Secretary’s principal advisor on matters and strategies relating to—
“(A) countering weapons of mass destruction; and
“(B) non-medical aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and non-conventional emerging terrorism threats;
“(2) coordinate the efforts of the Department to counter—
“(A) weapons of mass destruction;
“(B) non-medical aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats; and
“(C) other related emerging terrorism threats; and
“(3) enhance the ability of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners to prevent, detect, protect against, and mitigate the impacts of terrorist attacks in the United States involving—
“(A) weapons of mass destruction; or
“(B) non-medical aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and non-conventional emerging terrorism threats.”
in subtitle B—
in section 1921 (6 U.S.C. 591g), by striking “The Office shall be responsible” and all that follows through “interests of the United States.” and inserting the following:
“(1) coordinating the Department’s efforts and with other Federal Departments and agencies to counter weapons of mass destruction and non-medical aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and non-conventional emerging terrorism threats; and
“(2) enhancing the ability of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners to prevent, detect, protect against, and mitigate the impacts of—
“(A) weapons of mass destruction; and
“(B) non-medical aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and non-conventional emerging terrorism threats.”
in section 1923(a) (6 U.S.C. 592(a))—
changed
by redesignating paragraphs (13) and (14) as paragraphs (18) (19) and (19), (20), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (12) the following new paragraphs:
“(13) serve as the primary entity within the Department responsible for developing, acquiring, deploying, supporting, and operating a national biosurveillance system in support of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments;
“(14) support the enhancement of chemical and biological detection efforts of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and provide guidance, tools, and training to help ensure a managed, coordinated response among such entities;
“(15) collaborate with relevant Federal stakeholders, and receive input from industry, academia, and the national laboratories regarding chemical and biological surveillance efforts;
“(16) carry out a program to test and evaluate, in consultation with the Science and Technology Directorate and, as appropriate, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners, and in coordination with other relevant Federal agencies, technology to detect and report on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons or unauthorized material for use by the Department and such partners, and establish performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of individual detectors and detection systems in detecting such weapons or material—
“(A) under realistic operational and environmental conditions; and
“(B) against realistic adversary tactics and countermeasures;
changed
“(17) conduct, support, coordinate, and encourage, in consultation with State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners, and in coordination with the Science and Technology Directorate, transformational research and development efforts to generate new technologies to detect, protect against, and report on the illicit entry across the United States borders, or the transport, assembly, or use within the United States of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons or unauthorized material;”material;
added “(18) support and enhance the effective sharing and use of appropriate information regarding chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats and non-conventional emerging terrorism threats generated by elements of the intelligence community (as such term is defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), law enforcement agencies, other Federal agencies, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and foreign governments, as well as provide appropriate information to such entities;”
added
in section 1924 (6 U.S.C. 593)—
added
in the first sentence, by striking “section 1101 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (5 U.S.C. 3104 note)” and inserting “section 4092 of title 10, United States Code, except that such authorities shall be limited to facilitate the recruitment of experts in the chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear specialties”; and
added
by striking the second sentence;
added
in section 1928 (6 U.S.C. 596b)—
added
in subsection (c)(1), by striking “from among high-risk urban areas under section 2003” and inserting “based on the capability and capacity of the jurisdiction, as well as the relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences from terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events utilizing nuclear or other radiological materials”; and
added
by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
added “(d) Report—Not later than two years after the date of enactment of the Health Security and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report regarding the STC program.”
renumbered
was (5)(4)
by adding at the end the following new section:
“1929. Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Advisory Committee
“(a) Establishment—There is established in the Office a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as the “Advisory Committee”). The Advisory Committee shall make recommendations with respect to the activities of the Office.
“(b) Membership—The Assistant Secretary shall appoint not more than 18 individuals to serve as members of the Advisory Committee. Such individuals shall represent, to the extent practicable, a geographic (including urban and rural) and substantive cross section of officials from State, local, and Tribal governments, academia, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations. The Assistant Secretary shall seek to ensure one-third of the members are selected from the emergency management field and emergency response providers and State, local, and Tribal government officials. The Assistant Secretary shall seek to ensure the remaining members are—
“(1) individuals from the public or private sectors with expertise in chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents and weapons;
“(2) representatives from the national laboratories; and
“(3) such other individuals as the Assistant Secretary determines appropriate.
“(c) Responsibilities—The Advisory Committee shall—
“(1) advise the Assistant Secretary on all aspects of countering weapons of mass destruction;
“(2) incorporate State, local, and Tribal government, national laboratories, and private sector input in the development of the strategy and implementation plan of the Department for countering weapons of mass destruction; and
“(3) establish performance criteria for a national biological detection system and review any associated testing protocols for biological detection prototypes.
“(d) Consultation—The Assistant Secretary shall regularly consult and work with the Advisory Committee regarding the Office’s activities, including with respect to activities associated with the administration of Federal assistance provided by the Department, and the development of requirements for countering weapons of mass destruction programs.
“(e) Voluntary service and terms—The members of the Advisory Committee shall serve on the Advisory Committee on a voluntary basis. Members of may serve for up to three consecutive years, but a member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which such member’s predecessor was appointed may be appointed for the remainder of such term.
“(f) FACA—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee.”