IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3875 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

within the Department of Homeland Security a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Department of Homeland Security CBRNE Defense Act 

4 of 2015’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; Table of contents. 

Sec. 2. CBRNE Office. 

Sec. 3. Chemical Division. 

Sec. 4. Biological Division. 

Sec. 5. Nuclear Division. 

Sec. 6. Explosives Division. 

Sec. 7. Savings provisions. 

Sec. 8. Clerical amendments. 

7 SEC. 2. CBRNE OFFICE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 

9 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 title: 

11 ‘‘TITLE XXII—CBRNE OFFICE 

12 ‘‘Subtitle A—Chemical, Biological, 

13 Radiological, Nuclear, and Ex14 plosives Office 

15 ‘‘SEC. 2201. CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, NU16 CLEAR, AND EXPLOSIVES OFFICE. 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

18 Department a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, 

19 and Explosives Office (referred to in this title as the 

20 ‘CBRNE Office’). The CBRNE Office shall be comprised 

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1 clear Division, and the Explosives Division. The CBRNE 

2 Office may include a Health Division. 

3 ‘‘(b) MISSION OF OFFICE.—The mission of the 

4 CBRNE Office is to coordinate, strengthen, and provide 

5 chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives 

6 (CBRNE) capabilities in support of homeland security. 

7 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The Office shall be 

8 headed by an Assistant Secretary for the Chemical, Bio9 logical, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office (re10 ferred to in this title as the ‘Assistant Secretary’), who 

11 shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice 

12 and consent of the Senate. 

13 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Assistant Secretary 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) develop, coordinate, and maintain overall 

16 CBRNE strategy and policy for the Department; 

17 ‘‘(2) develop, coordinate, and maintain for the 

18 Department periodic CBRNE risk assessments; 

19 ‘‘(3) serve as the primary Department rep20 resentative for coordinating CBRNE activities with 

21 other Federal departments and agencies; 

22 ‘‘(4) provide oversight for the Department’s 

23 preparedness for CBRNE threats; 

24 ‘‘(5) provide support for operations during 

25 CBRNE threats or incidents; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) carry out such other responsibilities as the 

2 Secretary determines appropriate, consistent with 

3 this title. 

4 ‘‘(e) OTHER OFFICERS.—The Director of the Chem5 ical Division, the Director of the Biological Division, the 

6 Director of the Nuclear Division, and the Director of the 

7 Explosives Division shall report directly to the Assistant 

8 Secretary. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2202. COMPOSITION OF THE CBRNE OFFICE. 

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall transfer to the CBRNE Office, 

11 the functions, personnel, budget authority, and assets of 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) The Office of Health Affairs as in exist14 ence on the day before the date of the enactment of 

15 this title, including the Chief Medical Officer author16 ized under section 516, and the National Biosurveil17 lance Integration Center authorized under section 

18 316. 

19 ‘‘(2) The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office 

20 authorized under title XIX, as in existence on the 

21 date before the date of the enactment of this title 

22 (and redesignated as the Nuclear Division). 

23 ‘‘(3) CBRNE threat awareness and risk assess24 ment activities of the Science and Technology Direc25 torate. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The CBRNE functions of the Office of 

2 Policy and the Office of Operations Coordination. 

3 ‘‘(5) The Office for Bombing Prevention of the 

4 National Protection and Programs Directorate, as in 

5 existence on the day before the date of the enact6 ment of this title. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2203. HIRING AUTHORITY. 

8 ‘‘In hiring personnel for the CBRNE Office, the Sec9 retary shall have the hiring and management authorities 

10 provided in section 1101 of the Strom Thurmond National 

11 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (5 U.S.C. 

12 3104 note; Public Law 105–261), except that the term 

13 of appointments for employees under subsection (c)(1) of 

14 such section may not exceed 5 years before granting any 

15 extension under subsection (c)(2) of such section. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 2204. GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND 

17 OTHER TRANSACTIONS AND CONTRACTS. 

18 ‘‘The Assistant Secretary, in carrying out the respon19 sibilities under this title, may distribute funds through 

20 grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions 

21 and contracts. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 2205. TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

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1 ponents and other appropriate Federal departments 

2 and agencies, develop, coordinate, and update peri3 odically terrorism risk assessments of chemical, bio4 logical, radiological, and nuclear threats. 

5 ‘‘(2) COMPARISON.—The Assistant Secretary 

6 shall develop, coordinate, and update periodically an 

7 integrated terrorism risk assessment that assesses 

8 all of the threats referred to in paragraph (1) and, 

9 as appropriate, explosives threats, and compares 

10 each such threat against one another according to 

11 their relative risk. 

12 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN ASSESSMENT.—Each ter13 rorism risk assessment under this subsection shall 

14 include a description of the methodology used for 

15 each such assessment. 

16 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.—Each terrorism risk assess17 ment under this subsection shall be updated not less 

18 often than once every 2 years. 

19 ‘‘(5) PROVISION TO CONGRESS.—The Assistant 

20 Secretary shall provide a copy of each risk assess21 ment under this subsection to the Committee on 

22 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov24 ernmental Affairs of the Senate not later than 30 

25 days after completion of each such assessment. 


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1 ‘‘(b) METHODOLOGY.—In developing the terrorism 

2 risk assessments under subsection (a), the Assistant Sec3 retary, in consultation with appropriate Federal depart4 ments and agencies, shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) assess the proposed methodology to be 

6 used for such assessments; and 

7 ‘‘(2) consider the evolving threat to the United 

8 States as indicated by the intelligence community 

9 (as such term is defined in section 3(4) of the Na10 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))). 

11 ‘‘(c) USAGE.—The terrorism risk assessments re12 quired under subsection (a) shall be used to inform and 

13 guide allocation of resources for chemical, biological, radi14 ological, and nuclear threat activities of the Department. 

15 ‘‘(d) INPUT AND SHARING.—The Assistant Secretary 

16 shall, for each terrorism risk assessment under subsection 

17 (a)— 

18 ‘‘(1) seek input from national stakeholders and 

19 other Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial of20 ficials involved in efforts to counter chemical, bio21 logical, radiological, and nuclear threats; 

22 ‘‘(2) ensure that written procedures are in place 

23 to guide the development of such assessments, in24 cluding for input, review, and implementation pur25 poses, among relevant Federal partners; 


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1 ‘‘(3) share such assessments with Federal, 

2 State, local, tribal, and territorial officials with ap3 propriate security clearances and a need for the in4 formation in the classified versions of such assess5 ments; and 

6 ‘‘(4) to the maximum extent practicable, make 

7 available an unclassified version of such assessments 

8 for Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial offi9 cials involved in prevention and preparedness for 

10 chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 2206. CBRNE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC MES12 SAGING. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

14 with the Assistant Secretary, shall develop an overarching 

15 risk communication strategy for terrorist attacks and 

16 other high consequence events utilizing chemical, biologi17 cal, radiological, or nuclear agents or explosives that pose 

18 a high risk to homeland security, and shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) develop threat-specific risk communication 

20 plans, in coordination with appropriate Federal de21 partments and agencies; 

22 ‘‘(2) develop risk communication messages, in23 cluding pre-scripted messaging to the extent prac24 ticable; 


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1 ‘‘(3) develop clearly defined interagency proc2 esses and protocols to assure coordinated risk and 

3 incident communications and information sharing 

4 during incident response; 

5 ‘‘(4) engage private and nongovernmental enti6 ties in communications planning, as appropriate; 

7 ‘‘(5) identify ways to educate and engage the 

8 public about CBRNE threats and consequences; 

9 ‘‘(6) develop strategies for communicating using 

10 social and new media; and 

11 ‘‘(7) provide guidance on risk and incident com12 munications for CBRNE events to State, local, trib13 al, and territorial governments, and other stake14 holders, as appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(b) COMMUNICATION DURING RESPONSE.—The 

16 Secretary shall provide appropriate timely, accurate infor17 mation to the public, governmental partners, the private 

18 sector, and other appropriate stakeholders in the event of 

19 a suspected or confirmed terrorist attack or other high 

20 consequence event utilizing chemical, biological, radio21 logical, or nuclear agents or explosives that pose a high 

22 risk to homeland security. 

23 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS.—Not later than 

25 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 title, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

2 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 

3 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov4 ernmental Affairs of the Senate a report on current 

5 and future efforts of the Department to develop the 

6 communication strategy required under subsection 

7 (a). 

8 ‘‘(2) FINALIZATION.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date the report required under paragraph 

10 (1) is submitted, the Secretary shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

13 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the 

14 communication strategy required under subsection 

15 (a). 

16 ‘‘SEC. 2207. CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, NU17 CLEAR, AND EXPLOSIVES INTELLIGENCE AND 

18 INFORMATION SHARING. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary of Intel20 ligence and Analysis of the Department shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) support homeland security-focused intel22 ligence analysis of terrorist actors, their claims, and 

23 their plans to conduct attacks involving chemical, bi24 ological, radiological, or nuclear materials or explo25 sives against the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(2) support homeland security-focused intel2 ligence analysis of global infectious diseases, public 

3 health, food, agricultural, and veterinary issues; 

4 ‘‘(3) support homeland security-focused risk 

5 analysis and risk assessments of the homeland secu6 rity hazards described in paragraphs (1) and (2) by 

7 providing relevant quantitative and nonquantitative 

8 threat information; 

9 ‘‘(4) leverage existing and emerging homeland 

10 security intelligence capabilities and structures to 

11 enhance prevention, protection, response, and recov12 ery efforts with respect to a chemical, biological, ra13 diological, nuclear, or explosives attack; 

14 ‘‘(5) share appropriate information regarding 

15 such threats to appropriate State, local, tribal, and 

16 territorial authorities, as well as other national bio17 security and biodefense stakeholders; and 

18 ‘‘(6) perform other responsibilities, as assigned 

19 by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—Where appropriate, the Under 

21 Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis shall coordinate 

22 with the heads of other relevant Department components, 

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1 ter, and other Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial 

2 authorities, including officials from high-threat areas, to 

3 enable such entities to provide recommendations on opti4 mal information sharing mechanisms, including expedi5 tious sharing of classified information, and on how such 

6 entities can provide information to the Department. 

7 ‘‘(c) REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of the enactment of this section and annu10 ally thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary shall sub11 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

14 Senate a report on— 

15 ‘‘(A) the intelligence and information shar16 ing activities under subsections (a) and (b) and 

17 of all relevant entities within the Department to 

18 prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond 

19 to, mitigate, and recover from terrorist attacks 

20 and other high consequence events utilizing 

21 chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear 

22 agents or explosives that pose a high risk to 

23 homeland security; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the Department’s activities in accord25 ance with relevant intelligence strategies. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

2 Each report required under paragraph (1) shall also 

3 include— 

4 ‘‘(A) a description of methods established 

5 to assess progress of the Office of Intelligence 

6 and Analysis in implementing this section; and 

7 ‘‘(B) such assessment of such progress. 

8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

10 ‘intelligence community’ has the meaning given such 

11 term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 

12 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

13 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL BIOSECURITY AND BIODEFENSE

14 STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘national biosecurity 

15 and biodefense stakeholders’ means officials from 

16 Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial authori17 ties and individuals from the private sector who are 

18 involved in efforts to prevent, protect against, pre19 pare for, respond to, mitigate, and recover from a 

20 biological attack or other phenomena that may have 

21 serious health consequences for the United States, 

22 including infectious disease outbreaks.’’. 

23 (b) AFTER ACTION AND EFFICIENCIES REVIEW.— 

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

25 this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 


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1 through the Assistant Secretary for the Chemical, Biologi2 cal, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office of the 

3 Department of Homeland Security (established pursuant 

4 to section 2201 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

5 as added by subsection (a) of this section), shall submit 

6 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

8 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that— 

9 (1) reviews the functions and responsibilities of 

10 the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and 

11 Explosives Office of the Department (established 

12 pursuant to section 2201 of the Homeland Security 

13 Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a) of this sec14 tion) to identify and eliminate areas of unnecessary 

15 duplication; 

16 (2) provides a detailed accounting of the man17 agement and administrative expenditures and activi18 ties of the Office, including expenditures related to 

19 the establishment of the CBRNE Office, such as ex20 penditures associated with the utilization of the Sec21 retary’s authority to award retention bonuses pursu22 ant to Federal law; 

23 (3) identifies any potential cost savings and ef24 ficiencies within the CBRNE Office or its divisions; 

25 and 


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1 (4) identifies opportunities to enhance the effec2 tiveness of the management and administration of 

3 the CBRNE Office to improve operational impact 

4 and enhance efficiencies. 

5 (c) CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, NU6 CLEAR, AND EXPLOSIVES RESEARCH AND DEVELOP7 MENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security shall assess the organizational structure of 

10 the management and execution of the Department of 

11 Homeland Security’s chemical, biological, radio12 logical, nuclear, and explosives research and develop13 ment activities, and shall develop and submit to the 

14 Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on 

15 Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee 

16 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov18 ernmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropria19 tions of the Senate at the time the President sub20 mits the budget under section 1105 of title 31, 

21 United States Code, for the fiscal year that follows 

22 the issuance of the Comptroller General review re23 quired pursuant to subsection (d) a proposed organi24 zational structure for the management and execution 


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1 of such chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, 

2 and explosives research and development activities. 

3 (2) ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTIFICATION.—The 

4 Secretary of Homeland Security shall include in the 

5 assessment required under paragraph (1) a thorough 

6 justification and rationalization for the proposed or7 ganizational structure for management and execu8 tion of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and 

9 explosives research and development activities, in10 cluding the following: 

11 (A) A discussion of the methodology for 

12 determining such proposed organizational struc13 ture. 

14 (B) A comprehensive inventory of chem15 ical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explo16 sives research and development activities of the 

17 Department of Homeland Security and where 

18 each such activity will be located within or out19 side such proposed organizational structure. 

20 (C) Information relating to how such pro21 posed organizational structure will facilitate and 

22 promote coordination and requirements genera23 tion with customers. 

24 (D) Information relating to how such pro25 posed organizational structure will support the 


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1 development of chemical, biological, radiological, 

2 nuclear, and explosives research and develop3 ment priorities across the Department. 

4 (E) If the chemical, biological, radiological, 

5 nuclear, and explosives research and develop6 ment activities of the Department are not co-lo7 cated in such proposed organizational structure, 

8 a justification for such separation. 

9 (F) The strategy for coordination between 

10 the Under Secretary for Science and Tech11 nology and the Assistant Secretary for the 

12 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and 

13 Explosives Office on chemical, biological, radio14 logical, nuclear, and explosives research and de15 velopment activities. 

16 (G) Recommendations for necessary statu17 tory changes. 

18 (3) LIMITATION ON ACTION.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security may not take any action to reor20 ganize the structure referred to in paragraph (1) un21 less the Secretary receives prior authorization from 

22 the Committee on Homeland Security and the Com23 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on 


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1 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

2 Senate permitting any such action. 

3 (d) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW

4 OF CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, NUCLEAR, 

5 AND EXPLOSIVES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVI6 TIES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall conduct a review of the orga9 nizational structure of the Department of Homeland 

10 Security’s management and execution of chemical, 

11 biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives re12 search and development activities. 

13 (2) SCOPE.—The review required under para14 graph (1) shall include the following: 

15 (A) An assessment of the organizational 

16 structure for the management and execution of 

17 chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and 

18 explosives research and development activities 

19 of the Department of Homeland Security, in20 cluding identification of any overlap or duplica21 tion of effort. 

22 (B) Recommendations to streamline and 

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1 ical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explo2 sives research and development activities. 

3 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

5 General shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 

6 Security and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

7 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

9 Affairs of the Senate a report on the review required 

10 under this subsection. 

11 (e) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ANALYZED BY

12 THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO STATE, 

13 LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND PRIVATE ENTITIES WITH RESPON14 SIBILITIES RELATING TO HOMELAND SECURITY.—Para15 graph (8) of section 201(d) of the Homeland Security Act 

16 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

17 to agencies of State’’ and all that follows through the pe18 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘to State, local, tribal, terri19 torial, and appropriate private entities with such respon20 sibilities, and, as appropriate, to the public, in order to 

21 assist in preventing, protecting against, preparing for, re22 sponding to, mitigating, and recovering from terrorist at23 tacks against the United States.’’. 

24 (f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

25 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2) of section 103(a) (6 

2 U.S.C. 113(a)), by striking ‘‘Assistant Secretary for 

3 Health Affairs, the Assistant Secretary for Legisla4 tive Affairs, or the Assistant Secretary for Public 

5 Affairs,’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary for Leg6 islative Affairs or the Assistant Secretary for Public 

7 Affairs,’’; 

8 (2) in section 302 (6 U.S.C. 182)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (13) and 

10 (14) as paragraphs (14) and (15), respectively; 

11 and 

12 (B) by inserting after paragraph (12) the 

13 following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(13) collaborating with the Assistant Secretary 

15 for the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, 

16 and Explosives Office on all chemical, biological, and 

17 explosives research and development activities;’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (b) of section 307 (6 U.S.C. 

19 187), by adding at the end the following new para20 graph: 

21 ‘‘(8) CBRNE DEFENSE.—The Director shall 

22 coordinate with the Assistant Secretary for the 

23 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Ex24 plosives Office on all chemical, biological, and explo25 sives research and development activities.’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (c) of section 516 (6 U.S.C. 

2 321e)— 

3 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

4 by inserting ‘‘, including the health impacts of 

5 chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 

6 agents and explosives’’ after ‘‘natural disas7 ters’’; 

8 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(2) coordinating the Department’s policy, 

11 strategy, and preparedness for pandemics and 

12 emerging infectious diseases;’’; and 

13 (C) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘Under 

14 Secretary for Science and Technology’’ and in15 serting ‘‘Assistant Secretary for the Chemical, 

16 Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explo17 sives Office’’. 

18 SEC. 3. CHEMICAL DIVISION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XXII of the Homeland Se20 curity Act of 2002, as added by section 2 of this Act, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 

22 ‘‘Subtitle B—Chemical Division 

23 ‘‘SEC. 2211. CHEMICAL DIVISION. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

25 CBRNE Office a Chemical Division, headed by a Director 


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1 of the Chemical Division (in this subtitle referred to as 

2 the ‘Director’). 

3 ‘‘(b) MISSION AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Direc4 tor shall be responsible for coordinating departmental 

5 strategy and policy relating to terrorist attacks and other 

6 high-consequence events utilizing chemical agents that 

7 pose a high risk to homeland security, including the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(1) Developing and maintaining the Depart10 ment’s strategy against chemical threats. 

11 ‘‘(2) Serving as the Department representative 

12 for chemical threats and related activities with other 

13 Federal departments and agencies. 

14 ‘‘(3) Providing oversight of the Department’s 

15 preparedness, including operational requirements, 

16 for chemical threats. 

17 ‘‘(4) Enhancing the capabilities of Federal, 

18 State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and 

19 private entities as appropriate, against chemical 

20 threats. 

21 ‘‘(5) Evaluating and providing guidance to Fed22 eral, State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, 

23 and private entities as appropriate, on detection and 

24 communication technology that could be effective in 


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1 terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events 

2 utilizing chemical agents. 

3 ‘‘(6) Supporting and enhancing the effective 

4 sharing and use of appropriate information gen5 erated by the intelligence community (as such term 

6 is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 

7 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), law enforcement 

8 agencies, other Federal, State, local tribal, and terri9 torial governments, and foreign governments, on 

10 chemical threats. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 2212. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may, subject to the 

13 availability of appropriations for such purpose, partner 

14 with high-risk urban areas or facilities to conduct dem15 onstration projects to enhance, through Federal, State, 

16 local, tribal, and territorial governments, and private enti17 ties, capabilities of the United States to counter terrorist 

18 attacks and other high-consequence events utilizing chem19 ical agents that pose a high risk to homeland security. 

20 ‘‘(b) GOALS.—The Director may provide guidance 

21 and evaluations for all situations and venues at risk of 

22 terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events uti23 lizing chemical agents, such as at ports, areas of mass 

24 gathering, and transit facilities, and may— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ensure all high-risk situations and venues 

2 are studied; and 

3 ‘‘(2) ensure key findings and best practices are 

4 made available to State, local, tribal, and territorial 

5 governments and the private sector. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Director 

7 shall notify the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Home9 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate not 

10 later than 30 days before initiating a new demonstration 

11 project.’’. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

14 the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

15 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

16 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

17 Affairs of the Senate an assessment of the Department 

18 of Homeland Security’s programs and activities related to 

19 terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events uti20 lizing chemical agents that pose a high risk to homeland 

21 security. 

22 SEC. 4. BIOLOGICAL DIVISION. 

23 Title XXII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

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1 tion 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

2 end the following new subtitle: 

3 ‘‘Subtitle C—Biological Division 

4 ‘‘SEC. 2221. BIOLOGICAL DIVISION. 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 CBRNE Office a Biological Division, headed by a Director 

7 of the Biological Division (in this subtitle referred to as 

8 the ‘Director’). 

9 ‘‘(b) MISSION AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office 

10 shall be responsible for coordinating departmental strat11 egy and policy relating to terrorist attacks and other high12 consequence events utilizing biological agents that pose a 

13 high risk to homeland security, including the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Developing and maintaining the Depart15 ment’s strategy against biological threats. 

16 ‘‘(2) Serving as the Department representative 

17 for biological threats and related activities with 

18 other Federal departments and agencies. 

19 ‘‘(3) Providing oversight for the Department’s 

20 preparedness, including operational requirements, 

21 for biological threats. 

22 ‘‘(4) Enhancing the capabilities of Federal, 

23 State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and 

24 private entities as appropriate, against biological 

25 threats. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Supporting and enhancing the effective 

2 sharing and use of appropriate information gen3 erated by the intelligence community (as such term 

4 is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 

5 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), law enforcement 

6 agencies, other Federal, State, local, tribal, and ter7 ritorial governments, and foreign governments, on 

8 biological threats. 

9 ‘‘(6) Achieving a biological detection program. 

10 ‘‘(7) Maintaining the National Biosurveillance 

11 Integration Center, authorized under section 316.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. NUCLEAR DIVISION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XXII of the Homeland Se14 curity Act of 2002, as added by section 2 of this Act and 

15 as amended by sections 3 and 4 of this Act, is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 

17 ‘‘Subtitle D—Nuclear Division 

18 ‘‘SEC. 2231. NUCLEAR DIVISION. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall include 

20 within the CBRNE Office the Nuclear Division under title 

21 XIX, headed by the Director of the Nuclear Division (in 

22 this subtitle referred to as the ‘Director’) pursuant to sec23 tion 1901. 

24 ‘‘(b) MISSION AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addition 

25 to the responsibilities specified in title XIX, the Director 


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1 shall also be responsible for coordinating departmental 

2 strategy and policy relating to terrorist attacks and other 

3 high-consequence events utilizing nuclear or other radio4 logical materials, and for coordinating Federal efforts to 

5 detect and protect against the unauthorized importation, 

6 possession, storage, transportation, development, or use of 

7 a nuclear explosive device, fissile material, or radiological 

8 material in the United States, and to protect against an 

9 attack using such devices or materials against the people, 

10 territory, or interests of the United States, in accordance 

11 with title XIX.’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 Title XIX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the title heading, by striking ‘‘DOMES16 TIC NUCLEAR DETECTION OFFICE’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘NUCLEAR DIVISION’’; 

18 (2) in section 1901 (6 U.S.C. 591)— 

19 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘DOMES20 TIC NUCLEAR DETECTION OFFICE’’ and in21 serting ‘‘NUCLEAR DIVISION’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘There 

23 shall be established in the Department a Do24 mestic Nuclear Detection Office’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘There is in the Department a Nuclear Divi2 sion, located in the CBRNE Office’’; and 

3 (C) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Director 

4 for Domestic Nuclear Detection, who shall be 

5 appointed by the President’’ and inserting ‘‘Di6 rector of the Nuclear Division’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (a) of section 1902 (6 U.S.C. 

8 592)— 

9 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

10 (1)— 

11 (i) by inserting after ‘‘responsible for’’ 

12 the following: ‘‘coordinating departmental 

13 strategy and policy relating to terrorist at14 tacks and other high-consequence events 

15 utilizing nuclear or other radiological mate16 rials, and for’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘to protect’’ and in18 serting ‘‘protecting’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (11), in the matter pre20 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Domestic 

21 Nuclear Detection Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Nu22 clear Division’’; 

23 (4) by repealing section 1903 (6 U.S.C. 593); 

24 (5) in section 1906 (6 U.S.C. 596)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

2 (1)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘Domestic Nuclear De4 tection’’ and inserting ‘‘the Nuclear Divi5 sion’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (6) and 

7 (7) of’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘para9 graphs (6) and (7) of’’; 

10 (6) in section 1907 (6 U.S.C. 596a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘Annual’’ each place it ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘Biennial’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘each year’’ each place it 

14 appears and inserting ‘‘every 2 years’’; 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘previous year’’ each place 

16 it appears and inserting ‘‘previous 2 years’’; 

17 (D) in the heading of subsection (a), by 

18 striking ‘‘ANNUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL’’; 

19 and 

20 (E) subsection (b)— 

21 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘AN22 NUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL’’; 

23 (ii) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

24 ‘‘odd-numbered’’ after ‘‘each’’; and 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘an2 nual’’ and inserting ‘‘biennial’’; and 

3 (7) by adding at the end the following new sec4 tion: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1908. DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL 

6 NUCLEAR DETECTION ARCHITECTURE. 

7 ‘‘In carrying out the mission of the Office under sub8 paragraph (A) of section 1902(a)(4), the Director of the 

9 Nuclear Division shall provide support for planning, orga10 nization, equipment, training, exercises, and operational 

11 assessments to Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial 

12 governments to assist such governments in implementing 

13 radiological and nuclear detection capabilities in the event 

14 of terrorist attacks or other high-consequence events uti15 lizing nuclear or other radiological materials that pose a 

16 high risk to homeland security. Such capabilities shall be 

17 integrated into the enhanced global nuclear detection ar18 chitecture referred to in such section 1902(a)(4), and shall 

19 inform and be guided by architecture studies, technology 

20 needs, and research activities of the Office.’’. 

21 (c) REFERENCE.—Any reference in any law, regula22 tion, or rule to the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office or 

23 the Director for Domestic Nuclear Detection of the De24 partment of Homeland Security shall be deemed to be a 


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1 reference to the Nuclear Division or the Director of the 

2 Nuclear Division, respectively, of the Department. 

3 SEC. 6. EXPLOSIVES DIVISION. 

4 Title XXII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

5 as added by section 2 of this Act and as amended by sec6 tions 3, 4, and 5 of this Act, is further amended by adding 

7 at the end the following new subtitle: 

8 ‘‘Subtitle E—Explosives Division 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2241. EXPLOSIVES DIVISION. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

11 the CBRNE Office an Explosives Division, headed by a 

12 Director of the Explosives Division (in this subtitle re13 ferred to as the ‘Director’). 

14 ‘‘(b) MISSION AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Direc15 tor shall be responsible for coordinating departmental 

16 strategy and policy relating to terrorist attacks and other 

17 high-consequence events utilizing explosives that pose a 

18 high risk to homeland security, including the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Developing and maintaining the Depart20 ment’s strategy against explosives threats. 

21 ‘‘(2) Serving as the Department representative 

22 for explosives threats and related activities with 

23 other Federal departments and agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Providing oversight of the Department’s 

2 preparedness, including operational requirements, 

3 for explosives threats. 

4 ‘‘(4) Enhancing the capabilities of Federal, 

5 State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and 

6 private entities as appropriate, to counter terrorist 

7 attacks and other high-consequence events utilizing 

8 explosives. 

9 ‘‘(5) Evaluating and providing guidance to Fed10 eral, State, local, tribal, and territorial governments 

11 and appropriate private entities on detection and 

12 communication technology that could be effective 

13 during terrorist attacks or other high-consequence 

14 events utilizing explosives. 

15 ‘‘(6) Supporting and enhancing the effective 

16 sharing and use of appropriate information gen17 erated by the intelligence community (as such term 

18 is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 

19 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), law enforcement 

20 agencies, other Federal, State, local, tribal, and ter21 ritorial government agencies, and foreign govern22 ments, on explosives threats.’’. 

23 SEC. 7. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

24 Nothing in this Act shall change the authority of the 

25 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 


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1 Agency to lead the emergency management system of the 

2 United States. Nothing in this Act shall alter the responsi3 bility of the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of 

4 Homeland Security to serve as the principal advisor to the 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administrator of 

6 the Federal Emergency Management Agency on medical 

7 and public health issues pursuant to paragraph (1) of sec8 tion 516(c) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

9 U.S.C. 321e(c)). 

10 SEC. 8. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

11 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland 

12 Security Act of 2002 is amended— 

13 (1) by striking the item relating to title XIX 

14 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘TITLE XIX—NUCLEAR DIVISION’’; 

15 (2) by striking the item relating to section 1901 

16 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1901. Nuclear Division.’’; 

17 (3) by striking the item relating to section 

18 1903; 

19 (4) by adding after the item relating to section 

20 1907 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1908. Domestic Implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture.’’; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘TITLE XXII—CBRNE OFFICE 


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‘‘Subtitle A—Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives 

Office 

‘‘Sec. 2201. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office. 

‘‘Sec. 2202. Composition of the CBRNE Office. 

‘‘Sec. 2203. Hiring authority. 

‘‘Sec. 2204. Grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions and contracts. 

‘‘Sec. 2205. Terrorism risk assessments. 

‘‘Sec. 2206. CBRNE communications and public messaging. 

‘‘Sec. 2207. Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives intelligence and information sharing.’’. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Chemical Division 

‘‘Sec. 2211. Chemical Division. 

‘‘Sec. 2212. Demonstration projects.’’. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Biological Division 

‘‘Sec. 2221. Biological Division.’’. 

‘‘Subtitle D—Nuclear Division 

‘‘Sec. 2231. Nuclear Division.’’. 

‘‘Subtitle E—Explosives Division 

‘‘Sec. 2241. Explosives Division.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 10, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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