II 

Calendar No. 675 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4465 

[Report No. 117–276] 

To establish a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office and an Office 

of Health Security in the Department of Homeland Security, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2022 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 19, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 

Office and an Office of Health Security in the Department of Homeland Security, 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 ‘‘Offices of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and 

4 Health Security Act of 2022’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, table of contents. 

TITLE I—COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 

OFFICE 

Sec. 101. Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. 

Sec. 102. Rule of construction. 

TITLE II—OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY 

Sec. 201. Office of Health Security. 

Sec. 202. Medical countermeasures program. 

Sec. 203. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records. 

Sec. 204. Portability of licensure. 

Sec. 205. Technical and conforming amendments. 

7 TITLE I—COUNTERING WEAP8 ONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 

9 OFFICE 

10 SEC. 101. COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 

11 OFFICE. 

12 (a) HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002.—Title XIX 

13 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 590 et 

14 seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 1901 (6 U.S.C. 591)— 

16 (A) in subsection (c), by amending para17 graphs (1) and (2) to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(1) matters and strategies pertaining to— 

19 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu2 clear, and other related emerging threats; and 

3 ‘‘(2) coordinating the efforts of the Department 

4 to counter— 

5 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction; and 

6 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu7 clear, and other related emerging threats.’’; and 

8 (B) by striking subsection (e); 

9 (2) by amending section 1921 (6 U.S.C. 591g) 

10 to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1921. MISSION OF THE OFFICE. 

12 ‘‘The Office shall be responsible for— 

13 ‘‘(1) coordinating the efforts of the Department 

14 to counter— 

15 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction; and 

16 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu17 clear, and other related emerging threats; and 

18 ‘‘(2) enhancing the ability of Federal, State, 

19 local, Tribal, and territorial partners to prevent, de20 tect, protect against, and mitigate the impacts of at21 tacks using— 

22 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction against 

23 the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu2 clear, and other related emerging threats 

3 against the United States.’’; 

4 (3) in section 1922 (6 U.S.C. 591h)— 

5 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 

6 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub7 section (b); 

8 (4) in section 1923 (6 U.S.C. 592)— 

9 (A) by redesignating subsections (a) and 

10 (b) as subsections (b) and (d), respectively; 

11 (B) by inserting before subsection (b) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of coordi15 nating the efforts of the Department to counter 

16 weapons of mass destruction and chemical, biologi17 cal, radiological, and nuclear threats, the Office 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide expertise and guidance to De20 partment leadership and components on chem21 ical, biological, radiological, and nuclear mat22 ters, subject to the research, development, test23 ing, and evaluation coordination requirement 

24 described in subparagraph (G); 


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1 ‘‘(B) in coordination with the Office for 

2 Strategy, Policy, and Plans, lead development 

3 of policies and strategies to counter weapons of 

4 mass destruction and chemical, biological, radi5 ological, and nuclear threats on behalf of the 

6 Department; 

7 ‘‘(C) identify, assess, and prioritize capa8 bility gaps relating to the Department’s chem9 ical, biological, radiological, and nuclear stra10 tegic and mission objectives; 

11 ‘‘(D) in coordination with the Office of In12 telligence and Analysis, support components of 

13 the Department, and Federal, State, local, 

14 Tribal, and territorial partners, provide intel15 ligence and information analysis and reports on 

16 weapons of mass destruction and chemical, bio17 logical, radiological, nuclear, and other related 

18 emerging threats; 

19 ‘‘(E) in consultation with the Science and 

20 Technology Directorate, assess risk to the 

21 United States from weapons of mass destruc22 tion and chemical, biological, radiological, nu23 clear, and other related emerging threats; 

24 ‘‘(F) lead development and prioritization of 

25 Department requirements to counter weapons 


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1 of mass destruction and chemical, biological, ra2 diological, and nuclear threats, subject to the 

3 research, development, testing, and evaluation 

4 coordination requirement described in subpara5 graph (G), which requirements shall be— 

6 ‘‘(i) developed in coordination with 

7 end users; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) reviewed by the Joint Require9 ments Council, as directed by the Sec10 retary; 

11 ‘‘(G) in coordination with the Science and 

12 Technology Directorate, direct, fund, and co13 ordinate capability development activities to 

14 counter weapons of mass destruction and all 

15 chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 

16 research, development, test, and evaluation 

17 matters, including research, development, test18 ing, and evaluation expertise, threat character19 ization, technology maturation, prototyping, and 

20 technology transition; 

21 ‘‘(H) acquire, procure, and deploy counter 

22 weapons of mass destruction capabilities, and 

23 serve as the lead advisor of the Department on 

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1 ployment of counter-weapons of mass destruc2 tion capabilities; 

3 ‘‘(I) in coordination with the Office of 

4 Health Security, support components of the De5 partment, and Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 

6 territorial partners on chemical, biological, radi7 ological, and nuclear health matters; 

8 ‘‘(J) provide chemical, biological, radio9 logical, and nuclear expertise to Department 

10 and Federal partners to support engagements 

11 and efforts with international partners subject 

12 to the research, development, testing, and eval13 uation coordination requirement under subpara14 graph (G); and 

15 ‘‘(K) carry out any other duties assigned 

16 to the Office by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(2) DETECTION AND REPORTING.—For pur18 poses of the chemical, biological, radiological, and 

19 nuclear detection and reporting responsibilities of 

20 the Office, the Office shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) in coordination with end users, in22 cluding State, local, Tribal, and territorial part23 ners, as appropriate— 

24 ‘‘(i) carry out a program to test and 

25 evaluate technology, in consultation with 


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1 the Science and Technology Directorate, to 

2 detect and report on chemical, biological, 

3 radiological, and nuclear weapons or unau4 thorized material, in coordination with 

5 other Federal agencies, as appropriate, and 

6 establish performance metrics to evaluate 

7 the effectiveness of individual detectors 

8 and detection systems in detecting those 

9 weapons or material— 

10 ‘‘(I) under realistic operational 

11 and environmental conditions; and 

12 ‘‘(II) against realistic adversary 

13 tactics and countermeasures; 

14 ‘‘(B) in coordination with end users, con15 duct, support, coordinate, and encourage a 

16 transformational program of research and de17 velopment to generate and improve technologies 

18 to detect, protect against, and report on the il19 licit entry, transport, assembly, or potential use 

20 within the United States of chemical, biological, 

21 radiological, and nuclear weapons or unauthor22 ized material, and coordinate with the Under 

23 Secretary for Science and Technology on re24 search and development efforts relevant to the 


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1 mission of the Office and the Under Secretary 

2 for Science and Technology; 

3 ‘‘(C) before carrying out operational test4 ing under subparagraph (A), develop a testing 

5 and evaluation plan that articulates the require6 ments for the user and describes how these ca7 pability needs will be tested in developmental 

8 test and evaluation and operational test and 

9 evaluation; 

10 ‘‘(D) develop, acquire, and deploy equip11 ment to detect and report on chemical, biologi12 cal, radiological, and nuclear weapons or unau13 thorized material in support of Federal, State, 

14 local, Tribal, and territorial governments; 

15 ‘‘(E) support and enhance the effective 

16 sharing and use of appropriate information on 

17 chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 

18 threats and related emerging issues generated 

19 by elements of the intelligence community (as 

20 defined in section 3 of the National Security 

21 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), law enforce22 ment agencies, other Federal agencies, State, 

23 local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and 

24 foreign governments, as well as provide appro25 priate information to those entities; 


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1 ‘‘(F) consult, as appropriate, with the Fed2 eral Emergency Management Agency and other 

3 departmental components, on chemical, biologi4 cal, radiological, and nuclear threats and efforts 

5 to mitigate, prepare, and respond to all threats 

6 in support of the State, local, and Tribal com7 munities; and 

8 ‘‘(G) perform other duties as assigned by 

9 the Secretary.’’; 

10 (C) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

11 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik12 ing ‘‘MISSION’’ and inserting ‘‘RADIO13 LOGICAL AND NUCLEAR RESPONSIBIL14 ITIES’’; 

15 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (I) by inserting ‘‘deploy,’’ after 

17 ‘‘acquire,’’; and 

18 (II) by striking ‘‘deployment’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘operations’’; 

20 (iii) by striking paragraphs (6) 

21 through (10); 

22 (iv) redesignating paragraphs (11) 

23 and (12) as paragraphs (6) and (7), re24 spectively; 


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1 (v) in paragraph (6)(B), as so redesig2 nated, by striking ‘‘national strategic five3 year plan referred to in paragraph (10)’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘United States national tech5 nical nuclear forensics strategic planning’’; 

6 (vi) in paragraph (7)(C)(v), as so re7 designated— 

8 (I) in the matter preceding sub9 clause (I), by inserting ‘‘except as oth10 erwise provided,’’ before ‘‘require’’; 

11 and 

12 (II) in subclause (II)— 

13 (aa) in the matter preceding 

14 item (aa), by striking ‘‘death or 

15 disability’’ and inserting ‘‘death, 

16 disability, or a finding of good 

17 cause as determined by the As18 sistant Secretary (including ex19 treme hardship, extreme need, or 

20 the needs of the Office) and for 

21 which the Assistant Secretary 

22 may grant a waiver of the repay23 ment obligation’’; and 

24 (bb) in item (bb), by adding 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (vii) by striking paragraph (13); and 

2 (viii) by redesignating paragraph (14) 

3 as paragraph (8); and 

4 (D) by inserting after subsection (b), as so 

5 redesignated, the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL RESPONSIBIL7 ITIES.—The Office— 

8 ‘‘(1) shall be responsible for coordinating with 

9 other Federal efforts to enhance the ability of Fed10 eral, State, local, and Tribal governments to prevent, 

11 detect, protect against, and mitigate the impacts of 

12 chemical and biological threats against the United 

13 States; and 

14 ‘‘(2) shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) serve as a primary entity of the Fed16 eral Government to further develop, acquire, de17 ploy, and support the operations of a national 

18 biosurveillance system in support of Federal, 

19 State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, 

20 and improve that system over time; 

21 ‘‘(B) enhance the chemical and biological 

22 detection efforts of Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

23 and territorial governments and provide guid24 ance, tools, and training to help ensure a man25 aged, coordinated response; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) collaborate with the Biomedical Ad2 vanced Research and Development Authority, 

3 the Office of Health Security, the Defense Ad4 vanced Research Projects Agency, and the Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

6 and other relevant Federal stakeholders, and 

7 receive input from industry, academia, and the 

8 national laboratories on chemical and biological 

9 surveillance efforts.’’; 

10 (5) in section 1924 (6 U.S.C. 593), by striking 

11 ‘‘section 11011 of the Strom Thurmond National 

12 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (5 

13 U.S.C. 3104 note).’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4092 of 

14 title 10, United States Code, except that the author15 ity shall be limited to facilitate the recruitment of 

16 experts in the chemical, biological, radiological, or 

17 nuclear specialties.’’; 

18 (6) in section 1927(a)(1)(C) (6 U.S.C. 

19 596a(a)(1)(C))— 

20 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘required 

21 under section 1036 of the National Defense Au22 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010’’; 

23 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (C) in clause (iii), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(iv) includes any other information 

5 regarding national technical nuclear 

6 forensics activities carried out under sec7 tion 1923.’’; 

8 (7) in section 1928 (6 U.S.C. 596b)— 

9 (A) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘from 

10 among high-risk urban areas under section 

11 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘based on the capability 

12 and capacity of the jurisdiction, as well as the 

13 relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences 

14 from terrorist attacks and other high-con15 sequence events utilizing nuclear or other radio16 logical materials’’; and 

17 (B) by striking subsection (d) and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

20 of enactment of the Offices of Countering Weapons of 

21 Mass Destruction and Health Security Act of 2022, the 

22 Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

23 committees an update on the STC program.’’; and 

24 (8) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1929. ACCOUNTABILITY. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEPARTMENTWIDE STRATEGY.—Not later than 

3 180 days after the date of enactment of Offices of Coun4 tering Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security 

5 Act of 2022, and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary, 

6 in coordination with the Deputy Secretary, shall create a 

7 Departmentwide strategy and implementation plan to 

8 counter weapons of mass destruction and chemical, bio9 logical, radiological, and nuclear threats, which should— 

10 ‘‘(1) have clearly identified authorities, specified 

11 roles, objectives, benchmarks, accountability, and 

12 timelines; 

13 ‘‘(2) incorporate the perspectives of non-Federal 

14 and private sector partners; and 

15 ‘‘(3) articulate how the Department will con16 tribute to relevant national-level strategies and work 

17 with other Federal agencies. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall appro19 priately consider chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, 

20 and emerging threats when creating the strategy and im21 plementation plan required under subsection (a). 

22 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Office shall submit to the appro23 priate congressional committees a report on the updated 

24 Departmentwide strategy and implementation plan re25 quired under subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYEE MORALE.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the Offices of Countering 

3 Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security Act of 

4 2022, the Office shall submit to and brief the appropriate 

5 congressional committees on a strategy and plan to con6 tinuously improve morale within the Office. 

7 ‘‘(e) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

8 year after the date of enactment of the Offices of Coun9 tering Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security 

10 Act of 2022, the Comptroller General of the United States 

11 shall conduct a review of and brief the appropriate con12 gressional committees on— 

13 ‘‘(1) the efforts of the Office to prioritize the 

14 programs and activities that carry out the mission of 

15 the Office, including research and development; 

16 ‘‘(2) the consistency and effectiveness of stake17 holder coordination across the countering weapons of 

18 mass destruction mission, including operational and 

19 support components of the Department and State 

20 and local entities; and 

21 ‘‘(3) the efforts of the Office to manage and co22 ordinate the lifecycle of research and development 

23 within the Office and with other components of the 

24 Department, including the Science and Technology 

25 Directorate. 


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1 ‘‘(f) NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGI2 NEERING, AND MEDICINE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

4 agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, 

5 Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a consensus 

6 study and report to the Secretary and the appro7 priate congressional committees on— 

8 ‘‘(A) the role of the Department in pre9 paring, detecting, and responding to biological 

10 and health security threats to the homeland; 

11 ‘‘(B) recommendations to improve depart12 mental biosurveillance efforts against biological 

13 threats, including any relevant biological detec14 tion methods and technologies; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the feasibility of different techno16 logical advances for biodetection compared to 

17 the cost, risk reduction, and timeliness of those 

18 advances. 

19 ‘‘(2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after 

20 the date on which the Secretary receives the report 

21 required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

22 brief the appropriate congressional committees on— 

23 ‘‘(A) the implementation of the rec24 ommendations included in the report; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the status of biological detection at 

2 the Department, and, if applicable, timelines for 

3 the transition from Biowatch to updated tech4 nology. 

5 ‘‘(g) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

7 days after the date of enactment of the Offices of 

8 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and 

9 Health Security Act of 2022, the Secretary shall es10 tablish an advisory body to ensure effective and on11 going coordination of the efforts of the Department 

12 to counter weapons of mass destruction, to be known 

13 as the Advisory Council for Countering Weapons of 

14 Mass Destruction (in this subsection referred to as 

15 the ‘Advisory Council’). 

16 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Advi17 sory Council shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Assistant Sec19 retary; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, represent a 

21 geographic (including urban and rural) and 

22 substantive cross section of officials, from 

23 State, local, and Tribal governments, academia, 

24 the private sector, national laboratories, and 


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1 nongovernmental organizations, including, as 

2 appropriate— 

3 ‘‘(i) members selected from the emer4 gency management field and emergency re5 sponse providers; 

6 ‘‘(ii) State, local, and Tribal govern7 ment officials; 

8 ‘‘(iii) experts in the public and private 

9 sectors with expertise in chemical, biologi10 cal, radiological, and nuclear agents and 

11 weapons; 

12 ‘‘(iv) representatives from the national 

13 laboratories; and 

14 ‘‘(v) such other individuals as the As15 sistant Secretary determines to be appro16 priate. 

17 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.— The Advisory Coun18 cil shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) advise the Assistant Secretary on all 

20 aspects of countering weapons of mass destruc21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(B) incorporate State, local, and Tribal 

23 government, national laboratories, and private 

24 sector input in the development of the strategy 


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1 and implementation plan of the Department for 

2 countering weapons of mass destruction; and 

3 ‘‘(C) establish performance criteria for a 

4 national biological detection system and review 

5 the testing protocol for biological detection pro6 totypes. 

7 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION.—To ensure input from 

8 and coordination with State, local, and Tribal gov9 ernments, the Assistant Secretary shall regularly 

10 consult and work with the Advisory Council on the 

11 administration of Federal assistance provided by the 

12 Department, including with respect to the develop13 ment of requirements for countering weapons of 

14 mass destruction programs, as appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(5) VOLUNTARY SERVICE.—The members of 

16 the Advisory Council shall serve on the Advisory 

17 Council on a voluntary basis. 

18 ‘‘(6) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

19 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory 

20 Council.’’. 

21 (b) COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

22 ACT OF 2018.—Section 2 of the Countering Weapons of 

23 Mass Destruction Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–387; 132 

24 Stat. 5162) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(2) (6 U.S.C. 591 note), by 

2 striking ‘‘1927’’ and inserting ‘‘1926’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (g) (6 U.S.C. 591 note)— 

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

5 by striking ‘‘one year after the date of the en6 actment of this Act, and annually thereafter,’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘June 30 of each year,’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Secu9 rity, including research and development activi10 ties’’ and inserting ‘‘Security’’. 

11 (c) SECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY

12 PORT ACT OF 2006.—The Security and Accountability for 

13 Every Port Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in section 1(b) (Public Law 109–347; 120 

16 Stat 1884), by striking the item relating to section 

17 502; and 

18 (2) by striking section 502 (6 U.S.C. 592a). 

19 SEC. 102. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

20 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

21 title shall be construed to affect or diminish the authori22 ties or responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Science 

23 and Technology. 


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1 TITLE II—OFFICE OF HEALTH 

2 SECURITY 

3 SEC. 201. OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Homeland Security Act 

5 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 103 (6 U.S.C. 113)— 

7 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘the Assistant Sec9 retary for Health Affairs,’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘Affairs, or’’ and in11 serting ‘‘Affairs or’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (d), by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(6) A Chief Medical Officer.’’; 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘TITLE XXIII—OFFICE OF 

17 HEALTH SECURITY’’; 

18 (3) by redesignating section 1931 (6 U.S.C. 

19 597) as section 2301 and transferring such section 

20 to appear after the heading for title XXIII, as added 

21 by paragraph (2); and 

22 (4) in section 2301, as so redesignated— 

23 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY’’; 


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1 (B) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the De4 partment an Office of Health Security. 

5 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY.—The 

6 Office of Health Security shall be headed by a chief med7 ical officer, who shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) be the Assistant Secretary for Health Se9 curity and the Chief Medical Officer of the Depart10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(2) be a licensed physician possessing a dem12 onstrated ability in and knowledge of medicine and 

13 public health; 

14 ‘‘(3) be appointed by the President; and 

15 ‘‘(4) report directly to the Secretary.’’; 

16 (C) in subsection (c)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

18 (1), by striking ‘‘medical issues related to 

19 natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and 

20 other man-made disasters’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘oversight of all medical, public health, 

22 and workforce safety matters of the De23 partment’’; 

24 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, 

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1 gency Management Agency, the Assistant 

2 Secretary, and other Department officials’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘and all other Department 

4 officials’’; 

5 (iii) in paragraph (4), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

8 paragraph (12); and 

9 (v) by inserting after paragraph (4) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) overseeing all medical and public health 

12 activities of the Department, including the delivery, 

13 advisement, and oversight of direct patient care and 

14 the organization, management, and staffing of com15 ponent operations that deliver direct patient care; 

16 ‘‘(6) advising the head of each component of 

17 the Department that delivers direct patient care re18 garding the recruitment and appointment of a com19 ponent chief medical officer and deputy chief med20 ical officer or the employee who functions in the ca21 pacity of chief medical officer and deputy chief med22 ical officer; 

23 ‘‘(7) advising the Secretary and the head of 

24 each component of the Department that delivers di25 rect patient care regarding knowledge and skill 


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1 standards for medical personnel and the assessment 

2 of that knowledge and skill; 

3 ‘‘(8) advising the Secretary and the head of 

4 each component of the Department that delivers pa5 tient care regarding the collection, storage, and over6 sight of medical records; 

7 ‘‘(9) in consultation with the Chief Information 

8 Officer of the Department— 

9 ‘‘(A) identifying methods and technologies 

10 for managing, updating, and overseeing patient 

11 records; and 

12 ‘‘(B) setting standards for technology used 

13 by the components of the Department regarding 

14 the collection, storage, and oversight of medical 

15 records; 

16 ‘‘(10) advising the Secretary and the head of 

17 each component of the Department that delivers di18 rect patient care regarding contracts for the delivery 

19 of direct patient care, other medical services, and 

20 medical supplies; 

21 ‘‘(11) coordinating with the Countering Weap22 ons of Mass Destruction Office and other compo23 nents of the Department as directed by the Sec24 retary to enhance the ability of Federal, State, local, 

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1 tect, protect against, and mitigate the health effects 

2 of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 

3 issues; and’’; and 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE AND AGREEMENTS.—The Sec6 retary, acting through the Chief Medical Officer, in sup7 port of the medical and public health activities of the De8 partment, may— 

9 ‘‘(1) provide technical assistance, training, and 

10 information and distribute funds through grants and 

11 cooperative agreements to State, local, Tribal, and 

12 territorial governments and nongovernmental organi13 zations; 

14 ‘‘(2) enter into other transactions; 

15 ‘‘(3) enter into agreements with other Federal 

16 agencies; and 

17 ‘‘(4) accept services from personnel of compo18 nents of the Department and other Federal agencies 

19 on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis. 

20 ‘‘(e) OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY PRIVACY OFFI21 CER.—There shall be a Privacy Officer in the Office of 

22 Health Security with primary responsibility for privacy 

23 policy and compliance within the Office, who shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) report directly to the Chief Medical Offi25 cer; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) ensure privacy protections are integrated 

2 into all Office of Health Security activities, subject 

3 to the review and approval of the Privacy Officer of 

4 the Department to the extent consistent with the au5 thority of the Privacy Officer of the Department 

6 under section 222.’’; 

7 (5) by redesignating section 710 (6 U.S.C. 350) 

8 as section 2302 and transferring such section to ap9 pear after section 2301, as so redesignated; 

10 (6) in section 2302, as so redesignated— 

11 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Under 

12 Secretary for Management’’ each place that 

13 term appears and inserting ‘‘Chief Medical Offi14 cer’’; and 

15 (B) in subsection (b)— 

16 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

17 (1), by striking ‘‘Under Secretary for Man18 agement, in coordination with the Chief 

19 Medical Officer,’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief 

20 Medical Officer’’; and 

21 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘as 

22 deemed appropriate by the Under Sec23 retary,’’; 


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1 (7) by redesignating section 528 (6 U.S.C. 

2 321q) as section 2303 and transferring such section 

3 to appear after section 2302, as so redesignated; and 

4 (8) in section 2303(a), as so redesignated, by 

5 striking ‘‘Assistant Secretary for the Countering 

6 Weapons of Mass Destruction Office’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘Chief Medical Officer’’. 

8 (b) TRANSITION AND TRANSFERS.— 

9 (1) TRANSITION.—The individual appointed 

10 pursuant to section 1931 of the Homeland Security 

11 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 597) of the Department of 

12 Homeland Security, as in effect on the day before 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, and serving as the 

14 Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Home15 land Security on the day before the date of enact16 ment of this Act, shall continue to serve as the Chief 

17 Medical Officer of the Department on and after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act without the need for 

19 reappointment. 

20 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The rule of con21 struction described in section 2(hh) of the Presi22 dential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining 

23 Act of 2011 (5 U.S.C. 3132 note) shall not apply to 

24 the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of 

25 Homeland Security, including the incumbent who 


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1 holds the position on the day before the date of en2 actment of this Act, and such officer shall be paid 

3 pursuant to section 3132(a)(2) or 5315 of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

5 (3) TRANSFER.—The Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security shall transfer to the Chief Medical Officer 

7 of the Department of Homeland Security— 

8 (A) all functions, personnel, budget author9 ity, and assets of the Under Secretary for Man10 agement relating to workforce health and med11 ical support, as in existence on the day before 

12 the date of enactment of this Act; 

13 (B) all functions, personnel, budget au14 thority, and assets of the Assistant Secretary 

15 for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruc16 tion Office relating to the Chief Medical Officer, 

17 including the Medical Operations Directorate of 

18 the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 

19 Office, as in existence on the day before the 

20 date of enactment of this Act; and 

21 (C) all functions, personnel, budget author22 ity, and assets of the Assistant Secretary for 

23 the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 

24 Office associated with the efforts pertaining to 

25 the program coordination activities relating to 


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1 defending the food, agriculture, and veterinary 

2 defenses of the Office, as in existence on the 

3 day before the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 202. MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES PROGRAM. 

5 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 

6 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 1932 (6 

7 U.S.C. 597a) as section 2304 and transferring such sec8 tion to appear after section 2303, as so redesignated by 

9 section 201 of this Act. 

10 SEC. 203. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL QUALITY ASSUR11 ANCE RECORDS. 

12 Title XXIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

13 as added by this Act, is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 2305. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL QUALITY AS16 SURANCE RECORDS. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

19 ‘health care provider’ means an individual who— 

20 ‘‘(A) is— 

21 ‘‘(i) an employee of the Department; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a detailee to the Department 

23 from another Federal agency; 

24 ‘‘(iii) a personal services contractor of 

25 the Department; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) hired under a contract for serv2 ices; 

3 ‘‘(B) performs health care services as part 

4 of duties of the individual in that capacity; and 

5 ‘‘(C) has a current, valid, and unrestricted 

6 license or certification— 

7 ‘‘(i) that is issued by a State, the Dis8 trict of Columbia, or a commonwealth, ter9 ritory, or possession of the United States; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) that is for the practice of medi12 cine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, nurs13 ing, emergency medical services, or another 

14 health profession. 

15 ‘‘(2) MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE PRO16 GRAM.—The term ‘medical quality assurance pro17 gram’ means any activity carried out by the Depart18 ment to assess the quality of medical care, including 

19 activities conducted by individuals, committees, or 

20 other review bodies responsible for quality assurance, 

21 credentials, infection control, incident reporting, the 

22 delivery, advisement, and oversight of direct patient 

23 care and assessment (including treatment proce24 dures, blood, drugs, and therapeutics), medical 

25 records, health resources management review, and 


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1 identification and prevention of medical, mental 

2 health, or dental incidents and risks. 

3 ‘‘(3) MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE RECORD

4 OF THE DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘medical quality 

5 assurance record of the Department’ means all in6 formation, including the proceedings, records (in7 cluding patient records that the Department creates 

8 and maintains as part of a system of records), min9 utes, and reports that— 

10 ‘‘(A) emanate from quality assurance pro11 gram activities described in paragraph (2); and 

12 ‘‘(B) are produced or compiled by the De13 partment as part of a medical quality assurance 

14 program. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.—A medical 

16 quality assurance record of the Department that is created 

17 as part of a medical quality assurance program— 

18 ‘‘(1) is confidential and privileged; and 

19 ‘‘(2) except as provided in subsection (d), may 

20 not be disclosed to any person or entity. 

21 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE AND TESTI22 MONY.—Except as otherwise provided in this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) no part of any medical quality assurance 

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1 covery or admitted into evidence in any judicial or 

2 administrative proceeding; and 

3 ‘‘(2) an individual who reviews or creates a 

4 medical quality assurance record of the Department 

5 or who participates in any proceeding that reviews 

6 or creates a medical quality assurance record of the 

7 Department may not be permitted or required to 

8 testify in any judicial or administrative proceeding 

9 with respect to the record or with respect to any 

10 finding, recommendation, evaluation, opinion, or ac11 tion taken by that individual in connection with the 

12 record. 

13 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE AND TESTIMONY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

15 medical quality assurance record of the Department 

16 may be disclosed, and a person described in sub17 section (c)(2) may give testimony in connection with 

18 the record, only as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) To a Federal agency or private orga20 nization, if the medical quality assurance record 

21 of the Department or testimony is needed by 

22 the Federal agency or private organization to— 

23 ‘‘(i) perform licensing or accreditation 

24 functions related to Department health 

25 care facilities, a facility affiliated with the 


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1 Department, or any other location author2 ized by the Secretary for the performance 

3 of health care services; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) perform monitoring, required by 

5 law, of Department health care facilities, a 

6 facility affiliated with the Department, or 

7 any other location authorized by the Sec8 retary for the performance of health care 

9 services. 

10 ‘‘(B) To an administrative or judicial pro11 ceeding concerning an adverse action related to 

12 the credentialing of or health care provided by 

13 a present or former health care provider by the 

14 Department. 

15 ‘‘(C) To a governmental board or agency 

16 or to a professional health care society or orga17 nization, if the medical quality assurance record 

18 of the Department or testimony is needed by 

19 the board, agency, society, or organization to 

20 perform licensing, credentialing, or the moni21 toring of professional standards with respect to 

22 any health care provider who is or was a health 

23 care provider for the Department. 

24 ‘‘(D) To a hospital, medical center, or 

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1 ices, if the medical quality assurance record of 

2 the Department or testimony is needed by the 

3 institution to assess the professional qualifica4 tions of any health care provider who is or was 

5 a health care provider for the Department and 

6 who has applied for or been granted authority 

7 or employment to provide health care services 

8 in or on behalf of the institution. 

9 ‘‘(E) To an employee, a detailee, or a con10 tractor of the Department who has a need for 

11 the medical quality assurance record of the De12 partment or testimony to perform official duties 

13 or duties within the scope of their contract. 

14 ‘‘(F) To a criminal or civil law enforce15 ment agency or instrumentality charged under 

16 applicable law with the protection of the public 

17 health or safety, if a qualified representative of 

18 the agency or instrumentality makes a written 

19 request that the medical quality assurance 

20 record of the Department or testimony be pro21 vided for a purpose authorized by law. 

22 ‘‘(G) In an administrative or judicial pro23 ceeding commenced by a criminal or civil law 

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1 scribed in subparagraph (F), but only with re2 spect to the subject of the proceeding. 

3 ‘‘(2) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA4 TION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With the exception of 

6 the subject of a quality assurance action, per7 sonally identifiable information of any person 

8 receiving health care services from the Depart9 ment or of any other person associated with the 

10 Department for purposes of a medical quality 

11 assurance program that is disclosed in a med12 ical quality assurance record of the Department 

13 shall be deleted from that record before any dis14 closure of the record is made outside the De15 partment. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—The requirement 

17 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the 

18 release of information that is permissible under 

19 section 552a of title 5, United States Code 

20 (commonly known as the ‘Privacy Act of 

21 1974’). 

22 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—Noth23 ing in this section shall be construed— 

24 ‘‘(1) to authorize or require the withholding 

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1 mation regarding the results of medical quality as2 surance programs; or 

3 ‘‘(2) to authorize the withholding of any med4 ical quality assurance record of the Department 

5 from a committee of either House of Congress, any 

6 joint committee of Congress, or the Comptroller 

7 General of the United States if the record pertains 

8 to any matter within their respective jurisdictions. 

9 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA10 TION, RECORD, OR TESTIMONY.—A person or entity hav11 ing possession of or access to a medical quality assurance 

12 record of the Department or testimony described in this 

13 section may not disclose the contents of the record or testi14 mony in any manner or for any purpose except as provided 

15 in this section. 

16 ‘‘(g) EXEMPTION FROM FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

17 ACT.—A medical quality assurance record of the Depart18 ment shall be exempt from disclosure under section 

19 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code (commonly known 

20 as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’). 

21 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON CIVIL LIABILITY.—A person 

22 who participates in the review or creation of, or provides 

23 information to a person or body that reviews or creates, 

24 a medical quality assurance record of the Department 

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1 viding that information if the participation or provision 

2 of information was provided in good faith based on pre3 vailing professional standards at the time the medical 

4 quality assurance program activity took place. 

5 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION TO INFORMATION IN CERTAIN

6 OTHER RECORDS.—Nothing in this section shall be con7 strued as limiting access to the information in a record 

8 created and maintained outside a medical quality assur9 ance program, including the medical record of a patient, 

10 on the grounds that the information was presented during 

11 meetings of a review body that are part of a medical qual12 ity assurance program. 

13 ‘‘(j) PENALTY.—Any person who willfully discloses a 

14 medical quality assurance record of the Department other 

15 than as provided in this section, knowing that the record 

16 is a medical quality assurance record of the Department 

17 shall be fined not more than $3,000 in the case of a first 

18 offense and not more than $20,000 in the case of a subse19 quent offense. 

20 ‘‘(k) RELATIONSHIP TO COAST GUARD.—The re21 quirements of this section shall not apply to any medical 

22 quality assurance record of the Department that is created 

23 by or for the Coast Guard as part of a medical quality 

24 assurance program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. PORTABILITY OF LICENSURE. 

2 (a) TRANSFER.—Section 16005 of the CARES Act 

3 (6 U.S.C. 320 note) is redesignated as section 2306 of 

4 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and transferred so 

5 as to appear after section 2305, as added by section 203 

6 of this Act. 

7 (b) REPEAL.—Section 2306 of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002, as so redesignated by subsection (a), is 

9 amended by striking subsection (c). 

10 SEC. 205. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 

12 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in the table of contents in section 1(b) 

14 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135)— 

15 (A) by striking the items relating to sec16 tions 528 and 529 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 528. Transfer of equipment during a public health emergency.’’; 

17 (B) by striking the items relating to sec18 tions 710, 711, 712, and 713 and inserting the 

19 following: 

‘‘Sec. 710. Employee engagement. 

‘‘Sec. 711. Annual employee award program. 

‘‘Sec. 712. Acquisition professional career program.’’; 

20 (C) by inserting after the item relating to 

21 section 1928 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1929. Accountability.’’; 


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1 (D) by striking the items relating to sub2 title C of title XIX and sections 1931 and 

3 1932; and 

4 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘TITLE XXIII—OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY 

‘‘Sec. 2301. Office of Health Security. 

‘‘Sec. 2302. Workforce health and medical support. 

‘‘Sec. 2303. Coordination of Department of Homeland Security efforts related 

to food, agriculture, and veterinary defense against terrorism. 

‘‘Sec. 2304. Medical countermeasures program. 

‘‘Sec. 2305. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records. 

‘‘Sec. 2306. Portability of licensure.’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating section 529 (6 U.S.C. 

6 321r) as section 528; 

7 (3) in section 704(e)(4) (6 U.S.C. 344(e)(4)), 

8 by striking ‘‘section 711(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

9 710(a))’’; 

10 (4) by redesignating sections 711, 712, and 713 

11 as sections 710, 711, and 712, respectively; 

12 (5) in section 1923(b)(3) (6 U.S.C. 

13 592(b)(3))— 

14 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

15 ‘‘HAWAIIAN NATIVE-SERVING’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘NATIVE HAWAIIAN-SERVING’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘Hawaiian native-serving’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘ ‘Native Hawaiian-serving’’; 

19 (6) by striking the subtitle heading for subtitle 

20 C of title XIX; 


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1 (7) by striking section 1932 (6 U.S.C. 597a); 

2 and 

3 (8) in section 2306, as so redesignated by sec4 tion 204 of this Act— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘PORTABILITY OF LI6 CENSURE.’’ after ‘‘2306.’’; and 

7 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a) Not8 withstanding’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

11 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Of12 fices of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and 

13 Health Security Act of 2022’’. 

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

15 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, table of contents. 

TITLE I—COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OFFICE 

Sec. 101. Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. 

Sec. 102. Rule of construction. 

TITLE II—OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY 

Sec. 201. Office of Health Security. 

Sec. 202. Medical countermeasures program. 

Sec. 203. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records. 

Sec. 204. Portability of licensure. 

Sec. 205. Technical and conforming amendments. 


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1 TITLE I—COUNTERING WEAPONS 

2 OF MASS DESTRUCTION OFFICE 

3 SEC. 101. COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 

4 OFFICE. 

5 (a) HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002.—Title XIX 

6 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 590 et seq.) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in section 1901 (6 U.S.C. 591)— 

9 (A) in subsection (c), by amending para10 graphs (1) and (2) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(1) matters and strategies pertaining to— 

12 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction; and 

13 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu14 clear, and other related emerging threats; and 

15 ‘‘(2) coordinating the efforts of the Department 

16 to counter— 

17 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction; and 

18 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu19 clear, and other related emerging threats.’’; and 

20 (B) by striking subsection (e); 

21 (2) by amending section 1921 (6 U.S.C. 591g) to 

22 read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 1921. MISSION OF THE OFFICE. 

24 ‘‘The Office shall be responsible for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) coordinating the efforts of the Department 

2 to counter— 

3 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction; and 

4 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu5 clear, and other related emerging threats; and 

6 ‘‘(2) enhancing the ability of Federal, State, 

7 local, Tribal, and territorial partners to prevent, de8 tect, protect against, and mitigate the impacts of at9 tacks using— 

10 ‘‘(A) weapons of mass destruction against 

11 the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(B) chemical, biological, radiological, nu13 clear, and other related emerging threats against 

14 the United States.’’; 

15 (3) in section 1922 (6 U.S.C. 591h)— 

16 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 

17 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub18 section (b); 

19 (4) in section 1923 (6 U.S.C. 592)— 

20 (A) by redesignating subsections (a) and (b) 

21 as subsections (b) and (d), respectively; 

22 (B) by inserting before subsection (b), as so 

23 redesignated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(a) OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of coordi2 nating the efforts of the Department to counter weap3 ons of mass destruction and chemical, biological, ra4 diological, nuclear, and other related emerging 

5 threats, the Office shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) provide expertise and guidance to De7 partment leadership and components on chem8 ical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and other 

9 related emerging threats, subject to the research, 

10 development, testing, and evaluation coordina11 tion requirement described in subparagraph (G); 

12 ‘‘(B) in coordination with the Office for 

13 Strategy, Policy, and Plans, lead development of 

14 policies and strategies to counter weapons of 

15 mass destruction and chemical, biological, radio16 logical, nuclear, and other related emerging 

17 threats on behalf of the Department; 

18 ‘‘(C) identify, assess, and prioritize capa19 bility gaps relating to the strategic and mission 

20 objectives of the Department for weapons of mass 

21 destruction and chemical, biological, radio22 logical, nuclear, and other related emerging 

23 threats; 

24 ‘‘(D) in coordination with the Office of In25 telligence and Analysis, support components of 


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1 the Department, and Federal, State, local, Trib2 al, and territorial partners, provide intelligence 

3 and information analysis and reports on weap4 ons of mass destruction and chemical, biological, 

5 radiological, nuclear, and other related emerging 

6 threats; 

7 ‘‘(E) in consultation with the Science and 

8 Technology Directorate, assess risk to the United 

9 States from weapons of mass destruction and 

10 chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and 

11 other related emerging threats; 

12 ‘‘(F) lead development and prioritization of 

13 Department requirements to counter weapons of 

14 mass destruction and chemical, biological, radio15 logical, nuclear, and other related emerging 

16 threats, subject to the research, development, test17 ing, and evaluation coordination requirement de18 scribed in subparagraph (G), which requirements 

19 shall be— 

20 ‘‘(i) developed in coordination with 

21 end users; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) reviewed by the Joint Require23 ments Council, as directed by the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(G) in coordination with the Science and 

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1 nate capability development activities to counter 

2 weapons of mass destruction and all chemical, 

3 biological, radiological, nuclear, and other re4 lated emerging threats research, development, 

5 test, and evaluation matters, including research, 

6 development, testing, and evaluation expertise, 

7 threat characterization, technology maturation, 

8 prototyping, and technology transition; 

9 ‘‘(H) acquire, procure, and deploy counter 

10 weapons of mass destruction capabilities, and 

11 serve as the lead advisor of the Department on 

12 component acquisition, procurement, and deploy13 ment of counter-weapons of mass destruction ca14 pabilities; 

15 ‘‘(I) in coordination with the Office of 

16 Health Security, support components of the De17 partment, and Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 

18 territorial partners on chemical, biological, radi19 ological, nuclear, and other related emerging 

20 threats health matters; 

21 ‘‘(J) provide expertise on weapons of mass 

22 destruction and chemical, biological, radio23 logical, nuclear, and other related emerging 

24 threats to Department and Federal partners to 

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1 national partners subject to the research, devel2 opment, testing, and evaluation coordination re3 quirement under subparagraph (G); and 

4 ‘‘(K) carry out any other duties assigned to 

5 the Office by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(2) DETECTION AND REPORTING.—For purposes 

7 of the detection and reporting responsibilities of the 

8 Office for weapons of mass destruction and chemical, 

9 biological, radiological, nuclear, and other related 

10 emerging threats, the Office shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) in coordination with end users, includ12 ing State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners, 

13 as appropriate— 

14 ‘‘(i) carry out a program to test and 

15 evaluate technology, in consultation with 

16 the Science and Technology Directorate, to 

17 detect and report on weapons of mass de18 struction and chemical, biological, radio19 logical, nuclear, and other related emerging 

20 threats weapons or unauthorized material, 

21 in coordination with other Federal agencies, 

22 as appropriate, and establish performance 

23 metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of indi24 vidual detectors and detection systems in 

25 detecting those weapons or material— 


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1 ‘‘(I) under realistic operational 

2 and environmental conditions; and 

3 ‘‘(II) against realistic adversary 

4 tactics and countermeasures; 

5 ‘‘(B) in coordination with end users, con6 duct, support, coordinate, and encourage a 

7 transformational program of research and devel8 opment to generate and improve technologies to 

9 detect, protect against, and report on the illicit 

10 entry, transport, assembly, or potential use with11 in the United States of weapons of mass destruc12 tion and chemical, biological, radiological, nu13 clear, and other related emerging threats weap14 ons or unauthorized material, and coordinate 

15 with the Under Secretary for Science and Tech16 nology on research and development efforts rel17 evant to the mission of the Office and the Under 

18 Secretary for Science and Technology; 

19 ‘‘(C) before carrying out operational testing 

20 under subparagraph (A), develop a testing and 

21 evaluation plan that articulates the requirements 

22 for the user and describes how these capability 

23 needs will be tested in developmental test and 

24 evaluation and operational test and evaluation; 


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1 ‘‘(D) as appropriate, develop, acquire, and 

2 deploy equipment to detect and report on weap3 ons of mass destruction and chemical, biological, 

4 radiological, nuclear, and other related emerging 

5 threats weapons or unauthorized material in 

6 support of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and ter7 ritorial governments; 

8 ‘‘(E) support and enhance the effective shar9 ing and use of appropriate information on 

10 weapons of mass destruction and chemical, bio11 logical, radiological, nuclear, and other related 

12 emerging threats and related emerging issues 

13 generated by elements of the intelligence commu14 nity (as defined in section 3 of the National Se15 curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), law en16 forcement agencies, other Federal agencies, State, 

17 local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and 

18 foreign governments, as well as provide appro19 priate information to those entities; 

20 ‘‘(F) consult, as appropriate, with the Fed21 eral Emergency Management Agency and other 

22 departmental components, on weapons of mass 

23 destruction and chemical, biological, radio24 logical, nuclear, and other related emerging 

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1 spond to all threats in support of the State, 

2 local, and Tribal communities; and 

3 ‘‘(G) perform other duties as assigned by the 

4 Secretary.’’; 

5 (C) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

6 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik7 ing ‘‘MISSION’’ and inserting ‘‘RADIO8 LOGICAL AND NUCLEAR RESPONSIBIL9 ITIES’’; 

10 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (I) by inserting ‘‘deploy,’’ after 

12 ‘‘acquire,’’; and 

13 (II) by striking ‘‘deployment’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘operations’’; 

15 (iii) by striking paragraphs (6) 

16 through (10); 

17 (iv) redesignating paragraphs (11) and 

18 (12) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respec19 tively; 

20 (v) in paragraph (6)(B), as so redesig21 nated, by striking ‘‘national strategic five22 year plan referred to in paragraph (10)’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘United States national tech24 nical nuclear forensics strategic planning’’; 


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1 (vi) in paragraph (7)(C)(v), as so re2 designated— 

3 (I) in the matter preceding sub4 clause (I), by inserting ‘‘except as oth5 erwise provided,’’ before ‘‘require’’; and 

6 (II) in subclause (II)— 

7 (aa) in the matter preceding 

8 item (aa), by striking ‘‘death or 

9 disability’’ and inserting ‘‘death, 

10 disability, or a finding of good 

11 cause as determined by the Assist12 ant Secretary (including extreme 

13 hardship, extreme need, or the 

14 needs of the Office) and for which 

15 the Assistant Secretary may grant 

16 a waiver of the repayment obliga17 tion’’; and 

18 (bb) in item (bb), by adding 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (vii) by striking paragraph (13); and 

21 (viii) by redesignating paragraph (14) 

22 as paragraph (8); and 

23 (D) by inserting after subsection (b), as so 

24 redesignated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL RESPONSIBIL2 ITIES.—The Office— 

3 ‘‘(1) shall be responsible for coordinating with 

4 other Federal efforts to enhance the ability of Federal, 

5 State, local, and Tribal governments to prevent, de6 tect, protect against, and mitigate the impacts of 

7 chemical and biological threats against the United 

8 States; and 

9 ‘‘(2) shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) serve as a primary entity of the Fed11 eral Government to further develop, acquire, de12 ploy, and support the operations of a national 

13 biosurveillance system in support of Federal, 

14 State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, 

15 and improve that system over time; 

16 ‘‘(B) enhance the chemical and biological 

17 detection efforts of Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

18 and territorial governments and provide guid19 ance, tools, and training to help ensure a man20 aged, coordinated response; and 

21 ‘‘(C) collaborate with the Biomedical Ad22 vanced Research and Development Authority, the 

23 Office of Health Security, the Defense Advanced 

24 Research Projects Agency, and the National Aer25 onautics and Space Administration, and other 


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1 relevant Federal stakeholders, and receive input 

2 from industry, academia, and the national lab3 oratories on chemical and biological surveillance 

4 efforts.’’; 

5 (5) in section 1924 (6 U.S.C. 593), by striking 

6 ‘‘section 11011 of the Strom Thurmond National De7 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (5 

8 U.S.C. 3104 note).’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4092 of 

9 title 10, United States Code, except that the authority 

10 shall be limited to facilitate the recruitment of experts 

11 in the chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear 

12 specialties.’’; 

13 (6) in section 1927(a)(1)(C) (6 U.S.C. 

14 596a(a)(1)(C))— 

15 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘required 

16 under section 1036 of the National Defense Au17 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010’’; 

18 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (C) in clause (iii), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(iv) includes any other information 

24 regarding national technical nuclear 


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1 forensics activities carried out under section 

2 1923.’’; 

3 (7) in section 1928 (6 U.S.C. 596b)— 

4 (A) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘from 

5 among high-risk urban areas under section 

6 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘based on the capability 

7 and capacity of the jurisdiction, as well as the 

8 relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences 

9 from terrorist attacks and other high-consequence 

10 events utilizing nuclear or other radiological ma11 terials’’; and 

12 (B) by striking subsection (d) and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

15 of enactment of the Offices of Countering Weapons of Mass 

16 Destruction and Health Security Act of 2022, the Secretary 

17 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an 

18 update on the STC program.’’; and 

19 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1929. ACCOUNTABILITY. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEPARTMENTWIDE STRATEGY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of enactment of Offices of Countering 

24 Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security 

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1 retary shall create a Departmentwide strategy and 

2 implementation plan to counter weapons of mass de3 struction and chemical, biological, radiological, nu4 clear, and other related emerging threats, which 

5 should— 

6 ‘‘(A) have clearly identified authorities, 

7 specified roles, objectives, benchmarks, account8 ability, and timelines; 

9 ‘‘(B) incorporate the perspectives of non10 Federal and private sector partners; and 

11 ‘‘(C) articulate how the Department will 

12 contribute to relevant national-level strategies 

13 and work with other Federal agencies. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall ap15 propriately consider weapons of mass destruction and 

16 chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and other 

17 related emerging threats when creating the strategy 

18 and implementation plan required under paragraph 

19 (1). 

20 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The Office shall submit to the 

21 appropriate congressional committees a report on the 

22 updated Departmentwide strategy and implementa23 tion plan required under paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENTWIDE BIODEFENSE REVIEW AND

25 STRATEGY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the Offices of Coun3 tering Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Secu4 rity Act of 2022, the Secretary, in consultation with 

5 appropriate stakeholders representing Federal, State, 

6 Tribal, territorial, academic, private sector, and non7 governmental entities, shall conduct a Department8 wide review of biodefense activities and strategies. 

9 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—The review required under para10 graph (1) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) identify with specificity the biodefense 

12 lines of effort of the Department, including relat13 ing to biodefense roles, responsibilities, and capa14 bilities of components and offices of the Depart15 ment; 

16 ‘‘(B) assess how such components and offices 

17 coordinate internally and with public and pri18 vate partners in the biodefense enterprise; 

19 ‘‘(C) identify any policy, resource, capa20 bility, or other gaps in the Department’s ability 

21 to assess, prevent, protect against, and respond 

22 to biological threats; and 

23 ‘‘(D) identify any organizational changes or 

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1 cluding with respect to public and private part2 ners in the biodefense enterprise. 

3 ‘‘(3) STRATEGY.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 completion of the review required under paragraph 

5 (1), the Secretary shall issue a biodefense strategy for 

6 the Department that— 

7 ‘‘(A) is informed by such review and is 

8 aligned with section 1086 of the National De9 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (6 

10 U.S.C. 104; relating to the development of a na11 tional biodefense strategy and associated imple12 mentation plan, including a review and assess13 ment of biodefense policies, practices, programs, 

14 and initiatives) or any successor strategy; and 

15 ‘‘(B) shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) describe the biodefense mission and 

17 role of the Department, as well as how such 

18 mission and role relates to the biodefense 

19 lines of effort of the Department; 

20 ‘‘(ii) clarify, as necessary, biodefense 

21 roles, responsibilities, and capabilities of the 

22 components and offices of the Department 

23 involved in the biodefense lines of effort of 

24 the Department; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) establish how biodefense lines of 

2 effort of the Department are to be coordi3 nated within the Department; 

4 ‘‘(iv) establish how the Department en5 gages with public and private partners in 

6 the biodefense enterprise, including other 

7 Federal agencies, national laboratories and 

8 sites, and State, local, Tribal, and terri9 torial entities, with specificity regarding the 

10 frequency and nature of such engagement by 

11 Department components and offices with 

12 State, local, Tribal and territorial entities; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(v) include information relating to— 

15 ‘‘(I) milestones and performance 

16 metrics that are specific to the bio17 defense mission and role of the Depart18 ment described in clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(II) implementation of any oper20 ational changes necessary to carry out 

21 clauses (iii) and (iv). 

22 ‘‘(4) PERIODIC UPDATE.—Beginning not later 

23 than 5 years after the issuance of the biodefense strat24 egy and implementation plans required under para25 graph (3), and not less often than once every 5 years 


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1 thereafter, the Secretary shall review and update, as 

2 necessary, such strategy and plans. 

3 ‘‘(5) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—Not later 

4 than 30 days after the issuance of the biodefense strat5 egy and implementation plans required under para6 graph (3), the Secretary shall brief the Committee on 

7 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

8 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of 

9 the House of Representatives regarding such strategy 

10 and plans. 

11 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE MORALE.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of enactment of the Offices of Countering 

13 Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security Act of 

14 2022, the Office shall submit to and brief the appropriate 

15 congressional committees on a strategy and plan to continu16 ously improve morale within the Office. 

17 ‘‘(d) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of the Offices of Countering 

19 Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security Act of 

20 2022, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

21 conduct a review of and brief the appropriate congressional 

22 committees on— 

23 ‘‘(1) the efforts of the Office to prioritize the pro24 grams and activities that carry out the mission of the 

25 Office, including research and development; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the consistency and effectiveness of stake2 holder coordination across the mission of the Depart3 ment, including operational and support components 

4 of the Department and State and local entities; and 

5 ‘‘(3) the efforts of the Office to manage and co6 ordinate the lifecycle of research and development 

7 within the Office and with other components of the 

8 Department, including the Science and Technology 

9 Directorate. 

10 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEER11 ING, AND MEDICINE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

13 agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, 

14 Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a consensus 

15 study and report to the Secretary and the appropriate 

16 congressional committees on— 

17 ‘‘(A) the role of the Department in pre18 paring, detecting, and responding to biological 

19 and health security threats to the homeland; 

20 ‘‘(B) recommendations to improve depart21 mental biosurveillance efforts against biological 

22 threats, including any relevant biological detec23 tion methods and technologies; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the feasibility of different technological 

2 advances for biodetection compared to the cost, 

3 risk reduction, and timeliness of those advances. 

4 ‘‘(2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date on which the Secretary receives the report re6 quired under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall brief 

7 the appropriate congressional committees on— 

8 ‘‘(A) the implementation of the rec9 ommendations included in the report; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the status of biological detection at the 

11 Department, and, if applicable, timelines for the 

12 transition from Biowatch to updated technology. 

13 ‘‘(f) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of enactment of the Offices of Coun16 tering Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Secu17 rity Act of 2022, the Secretary shall establish an ad18 visory body to advise on the ongoing coordination of 

19 the efforts of the Department to counter weapons of 

20 mass destruction, to be known as the Advisory Coun21 cil for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (in 

22 this subsection referred to as the ‘Advisory Council’). 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Advi24 sory Council shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Assistant Sec2 retary; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, represent a 

4 geographic (including urban and rural) and sub5 stantive cross section of officials, from State, 

6 local, and Tribal governments, academia, the 

7 private sector, national laboratories, and non8 governmental organizations, including, as appro9 priate— 

10 ‘‘(i) members selected from the emer11 gency management field and emergency re12 sponse providers; 

13 ‘‘(ii) State, local, and Tribal govern14 ment officials; 

15 ‘‘(iii) experts in the public and private 

16 sectors with expertise in chemical, biologi17 cal, radiological, and nuclear agents and 

18 weapons; 

19 ‘‘(iv) representatives from the national 

20 laboratories; and 

21 ‘‘(v) such other individuals as the As22 sistant Secretary determines to be appro23 priate. 

24 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.— The Advisory Council 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) advise the Assistant Secretary on all 

2 aspects of countering weapons of mass destruc3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(B) incorporate State, local, and Tribal 

5 government, national laboratories, and private 

6 sector input in the development of the strategy 

7 and implementation plan of the Department for 

8 countering weapons of mass destruction; and 

9 ‘‘(C) establish performance criteria for a 

10 national biological detection system and review 

11 the testing protocol for biological detection proto12 types. 

13 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION.—To ensure input from and 

14 coordination with State, local, and Tribal govern15 ments, the Assistant Secretary shall regularly consult 

16 and work with the Advisory Council on the adminis17 tration of Federal assistance provided by the Depart18 ment, including with respect to the development of re19 quirements for countering weapons of mass destruc20 tion programs, as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(5) VOLUNTARY SERVICE.—The members of the 

22 Advisory Council shall serve on the Advisory Council 

23 on a voluntary basis. 


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1 ‘‘(6) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

2 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory 

3 Council.’’. 

4 (b) COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

5 ACT OF 2018.—Section 2 of the Countering Weapons of 

6 Mass Destruction Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–387; 132 

7 Stat. 5162) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)(2) (6 U.S.C. 591 note), by 

9 striking ‘‘1927’’ and inserting ‘‘1926’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (g) (6 U.S.C. 591 note)— 

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

12 by striking ‘‘one year after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter,’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘June 30 of each year,’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Secu16 rity, including research and development activi17 ties’’ and inserting ‘‘Security’’. 

18 (c) SECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY PORT

19 ACT OF 2006.—The Security and Accountability for Every 

20 Port Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (1) in section 1(b) (Public Law 109–347; 120 

22 Stat 1884), by striking the item relating to section 

23 502; and 

24 (2) by striking section 502 (6 U.S.C. 592a). 


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1 SEC. 102. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

3 title shall be construed to affect or diminish the authorities 

4 or responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Science and 

5 Technology. 

6 TITLE II—OFFICE OF HEALTH 

7 SECURITY 

8 SEC. 201. OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Homeland Security Act of 

10 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 103 (6 U.S.C. 113)— 

12 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘the Assistant Secretary 

14 for Health Affairs,’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘Affairs, or’’ and in16 serting ‘‘Affairs or’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (d), by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) A Chief Medical Officer.’’; 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘TITLE XXIII—OFFICE OF 

22 HEALTH SECURITY’’; 

23 (3) by redesignating section 1931 (6 U.S.C. 597) 

24 as section 2301 and transferring such section to ap25 pear after the heading for title XXIII, as added by 

26 paragraph (2); and 


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1 (4) in section 2301, as so redesignated— 

2 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

3 ‘‘CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY’’; 

5 (B) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and 

6 inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Depart8 ment an Office of Health Security. 

9 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY.—The 

10 Office of Health Security shall be headed by a chief medical 

11 officer, who shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) be the Assistant Secretary for Health Secu13 rity and the Chief Medical Officer of the Department; 

14 ‘‘(2) be a licensed physician possessing a dem15 onstrated ability in and knowledge of medicine and 

16 public health; 

17 ‘‘(3) be appointed by the President; and 

18 ‘‘(4) report directly to the Secretary.’’; 

19 (C) in subsection (c)— 

20 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

21 (1), by striking ‘‘medical issues related to 

22 natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and 

23 other man-made disasters’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘oversight of all medical, public health, and 


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1 workforce health and safety matters of the 

2 Department’’; 

3 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, 

4 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

5 Management Agency, the Assistant Sec6 retary, and other Department officials’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘and all other Department offi8 cials’’; 

9 (iii) in paragraph (4), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

12 paragraph (13); and 

13 (v) by inserting after paragraph (4) 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(5) overseeing all medical and public health ac16 tivities of the Department, including the delivery, ad17 visement, and oversight of direct patient care and the 

18 organization, management, and staffing of component 

19 operations that deliver direct patient care; 

20 ‘‘(6) advising the head of each component of the 

21 Department that delivers direct patient care regard22 ing the recruitment and appointment of a component 

23 chief medical officer and deputy chief medical officer 

24 or the employee who functions in the capacity of chief 

25 medical officer and deputy chief medical officer; 


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1 ‘‘(7) advising the Secretary and the head of each 

2 component of the Department that delivers direct pa3 tient care regarding knowledge and skill standards for 

4 medical personnel and the assessment of that knowl5 edge and skill; 

6 ‘‘(8) advising the Secretary and the head of each 

7 component of the Department that delivers patient 

8 care regarding the collection, storage, and oversight of 

9 medical records; 

10 ‘‘(9) with respect to any psychological health 

11 counseling or assistance program of the Department, 

12 including such a program of a law enforcement, oper13 ational, or support component of the Department, ad14 vising the head of each such component with such a 

15 program regarding— 

16 ‘‘(A) ensuring such program includes safe17 guards against adverse action, including auto18 matic referrals for a fitness for duty examina19 tion, by such component with respect to any em20 ployee solely because such employee self-identifies 

21 a need for psychological health counseling or as22 sistance or receives such counseling or assistance; 

23 ‘‘(B) increasing the availability and num24 ber of local psychological health professionals 


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1 with experience providing psychological support 

2 services to personnel; 

3 ‘‘(C) establishing a behavioral health cur4 riculum for employees at the beginning of their 

5 careers to provide resources early regarding the 

6 importance of psychological health; 

7 ‘‘(D) establishing periodic management 

8 training on crisis intervention and such compo9 nent’s psychological health counseling or assist10 ance program; 

11 ‘‘(E) improving any associated existing em12 ployee peer support programs, including by mak13 ing additional training and resources available 

14 for peer support personnel in the workplace 

15 across such component; 

16 ‘‘(F) developing and implementing a vol17 untary alcohol treatment program that includes 

18 a safe harbor for employees who seek treatment; 

19 ‘‘(G) including, when appropriate, collabo20 rating and partnering with key employee stake21 holders and, for those components with employees 

22 with an exclusive representative, the exclusive 

23 representative with respect to such a program; 

24 ‘‘(10) in consultation with the Chief Information 

25 Officer of the Department— 


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1 ‘‘(A) identifying methods and technologies 

2 for managing, updating, and overseeing patient 

3 records; and 

4 ‘‘(B) setting standards for technology used 

5 by the components of the Department regarding 

6 the collection, storage, and oversight of medical 

7 records; 

8 ‘‘(11) advising the Secretary and the head of 

9 each component of the Department that delivers direct 

10 patient care regarding contracts for the delivery of di11 rect patient care, other medical services, and medical 

12 supplies; 

13 ‘‘(12) coordinating with the Countering Weapons 

14 of Mass Destruction Office and other components of 

15 the Department as directed by the Secretary to en16 hance the ability of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 

17 territorial governments to prevent, detect, protect 

18 against, and mitigate the health effects of chemical, 

19 biological, radiological, and nuclear issues; and’’; and 

20 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE AND AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, 

22 acting through the Chief Medical Officer, in support of the 

23 medical and public health activities of the Department, 

24 may— 


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1 ‘‘(1) provide technical assistance, training, and 

2 information and distribute funds through grants and 

3 cooperative agreements to State, local, Tribal, and 

4 territorial governments and nongovernmental organi5 zations; 

6 ‘‘(2) enter into other transactions; 

7 ‘‘(3) enter into agreements with other Federal 

8 agencies; and 

9 ‘‘(4) accept services from personnel of compo10 nents of the Department and other Federal agencies 

11 on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis. 

12 ‘‘(e) OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY PRIVACY OFFI13 CER.—There shall be a Privacy Officer in the Office of 

14 Health Security with primary responsibility for privacy 

15 policy and compliance within the Office, who shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) report directly to the Chief Medical Officer; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) ensure privacy protections are integrated 

19 into all Office of Health Security activities, subject to 

20 the review and approval of the Privacy Officer of the 

21 Department to the extent consistent with the author22 ity of the Privacy Officer of the Department under 

23 section 222. 

24 ‘‘(f) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this section, and every 4 years thereafter, the Sec4 retary shall create a Departmentwide strategy and 

5 implementation plan to address health threats. 

6 ‘‘(2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

8 shall brief the appropriate congressional committees 

9 on the organizational transformations of the Office of 

10 Health Security, including how best practices were 

11 used in the creation of the Office of Health Security.’’; 

12 (5) by redesignating section 710 (6 U.S.C. 350) 

13 as section 2302 and transferring such section to ap14 pear after section 2301, as so redesignated; 

15 (6) in section 2302, as so redesignated— 

16 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

17 ‘‘MEDICAL SUPPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘SAFE18 TY’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Under 

20 Secretary for Management’’ each place that term 

21 appears and inserting ‘‘Chief Medical Officer’’; 

22 and 

23 (C) in subsection (b)— 

24 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

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1 agement, in coordination with the Chief 

2 Medical Officer,’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Med3 ical Officer’’; and 

4 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘as 

5 deemed appropriate by the Under Sec6 retary,’’; 

7 (7) by redesignating section 528 (6 U.S.C. 321q) 

8 as section 2303 and transferring such section to ap9 pear after section 2302, as so redesignated; and 

10 (8) in section 2303(a), as so redesignated, by 

11 striking ‘‘Assistant Secretary for the Countering 

12 Weapons of Mass Destruction Office’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘Chief Medical Officer’’. 

14 (b) TRANSITION AND TRANSFERS.— 

15 (1) TRANSITION.—The individual appointed 

16 pursuant to section 1931 of the Homeland Security 

17 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 597) of the Department of 

18 Homeland Security, as in effect on the day before the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, and serving as the Chief 

20 Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Secu21 rity on the day before the date of enactment of this 

22 Act, shall continue to serve as the Chief Medical Offi23 cer of the Department on and after the date of enact24 ment of this Act without the need for reappointment. 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The rule of con2 struction described in section 2(hh) of the Presidential 

3 Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 

4 2011 (5 U.S.C. 3132 note) shall not apply to the 

5 Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland 

6 Security, including the incumbent who holds the posi7 tion on the day before the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, and such officer shall be paid pursuant to section 

9 3132(a)(2) or 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (3) TRANSFER.—The Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity shall transfer to the Chief Medical Officer of 

12 the Department of Homeland Security— 

13 (A) all functions, personnel, budget author14 ity, and assets of the Under Secretary for Man15 agement relating to workforce health and safety, 

16 as in existence on the day before the date of en17 actment of this Act; 

18 (B) all functions, personnel, budget author19 ity, and assets of the Assistant Secretary for the 

20 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office 

21 relating to the Chief Medical Officer, including 

22 the Medical Operations Directorate of the Coun23 tering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, as in 

24 existence on the day before the date of enactment 

25 of this Act; and 


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1 (C) all functions, personnel, budget author2 ity, and assets of the Assistant Secretary for the 

3 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office 

4 associated with the efforts pertaining to the pro5 gram coordination activities relating to defend6 ing the food, agriculture, and veterinary defenses 

7 of the Office, as in existence on the day before the 

8 date of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 202. MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES PROGRAM. 

10 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et 

11 seq.) is amended by redesignating section 1932 (6 U.S.C. 

12 597a) as section 2304 and transferring such section to ap13 pear after section 2303, as so redesignated by section 201 

14 of this Act. 

15 SEC. 203. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL QUALITY ASSUR16 ANCE RECORDS. 

17 Title XXIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 

18 added by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 2305. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL QUALITY AS21 SURANCE RECORDS. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

24 ‘health care provider’ means an individual who— 

25 ‘‘(A) is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an employee of the Department; 

2 ‘‘(ii) a detailee to the Department from 

3 another Federal agency; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a personal services contractor of 

5 the Department; or 

6 ‘‘(iv) hired under a contract for serv7 ices; 

8 ‘‘(B) performs health care services as part of 

9 duties of the individual in that capacity; and 

10 ‘‘(C) has a current, valid, and unrestricted 

11 license or certification— 

12 ‘‘(i) that is issued by a State, the Dis13 trict of Columbia, or a commonwealth, ter14 ritory, or possession of the United States; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) that is for the practice of medi17 cine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, nurs18 ing, emergency medical services, or another 

19 health profession. 

20 ‘‘(2) MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM.— 

21 The term ‘medical quality assurance program’ means 

22 any activity carried out by the Department to assess 

23 the quality of medical care, including activities con24 ducted by individuals, committees, or other review 

25 bodies responsible for quality assurance, credentials, 


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1 infection control, incident reporting, the delivery, ad2 visement, and oversight of direct patient care and as3 sessment (including treatment procedures, blood, 

4 drugs, and therapeutics), medical records, health re5 sources management review, and identification and 

6 prevention of medical, mental health, or dental inci7 dents and risks. 

8 ‘‘(3) MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE RECORD OF

9 THE DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘medical quality assur10 ance record of the Department’ means all informa11 tion, including the proceedings, records (including 

12 patient records that the Department creates and 

13 maintains as part of a system of records), minutes, 

14 and reports that— 

15 ‘‘(A) emanate from quality assurance pro16 gram activities described in paragraph (2); and 

17 ‘‘(B) are produced or compiled by the De18 partment as part of a medical quality assurance 

19 program. 

20 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.—A medical 

21 quality assurance record of the Department that is created 

22 as part of a medical quality assurance program— 

23 ‘‘(1) is confidential and privileged; and 

24 ‘‘(2) except as provided in subsection (d), may 

25 not be disclosed to any person or entity. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE AND TESTI2 MONY.—Except as otherwise provided in this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) no part of any medical quality assurance 

4 record of the Department may be subject to discovery 

5 or admitted into evidence in any judicial or adminis6 trative proceeding; and 

7 ‘‘(2) an individual who reviews or creates a med8 ical quality assurance record of the Department or 

9 who participates in any proceeding that reviews or 

10 creates a medical quality assurance record of the De11 partment may not be permitted or required to testify 

12 in any judicial or administrative proceeding with re13 spect to the record or with respect to any finding, rec14 ommendation, evaluation, opinion, or action taken by 

15 that individual in connection with the record. 

16 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE AND TESTIMONY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

18 medical quality assurance record of the Department 

19 may be disclosed, and a person described in sub20 section (c)(2) may give testimony in connection with 

21 the record, only as follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) To a Federal agency or private orga23 nization, if the medical quality assurance record 

24 of the Department or testimony is needed by the 

25 Federal agency or private organization to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) perform licensing or accreditation 

2 functions related to Department health care 

3 facilities, a facility affiliated with the De4 partment, or any other location authorized 

5 by the Secretary for the performance of 

6 health care services; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) perform monitoring, required by 

8 law, of Department health care facilities, a 

9 facility affiliated with the Department, or 

10 any other location authorized by the Sec11 retary for the performance of health care 

12 services. 

13 ‘‘(B) To an administrative or judicial pro14 ceeding concerning an adverse action related to 

15 the credentialing of or health care provided by a 

16 present or former health care provider by the De17 partment. 

18 ‘‘(C) To a governmental board or agency or 

19 to a professional health care society or organiza20 tion, if the medical quality assurance record of 

21 the Department or testimony is needed by the 

22 board, agency, society, or organization to per23 form licensing, credentialing, or the monitoring 

24 of professional standards with respect to any 


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1 health care provider who is or was a health care 

2 provider for the Department. 

3 ‘‘(D) To a hospital, medical center, or other 

4 institution that provides health care services, if 

5 the medical quality assurance record of the De6 partment or testimony is needed by the institu7 tion to assess the professional qualifications of 

8 any health care provider who is or was a health 

9 care provider for the Department and who has 

10 applied for or been granted authority or employ11 ment to provide health care services in or on be12 half of the institution. 

13 ‘‘(E) To an employee, a detailee, or a con14 tractor of the Department who has a need for the 

15 medical quality assurance record of the Depart16 ment or testimony to perform official duties or 

17 duties within the scope of their contract. 

18 ‘‘(F) To a criminal or civil law enforcement 

19 agency or instrumentality charged under appli20 cable law with the protection of the public health 

21 or safety, if a qualified representative of the 

22 agency or instrumentality makes a written re23 quest that the medical quality assurance record 

24 of the Department or testimony be provided for 

25 a purpose authorized by law. 


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1 ‘‘(G) In an administrative or judicial pro2 ceeding commenced by a criminal or civil law 

3 enforcement agency or instrumentality described 

4 in subparagraph (F), but only with respect to 

5 the subject of the proceeding. 

6 ‘‘(2) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA7 TION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With the exception of 

9 the subject of a quality assurance action, person10 ally identifiable information of any person re11 ceiving health care services from the Department 

12 or of any other person associated with the De13 partment for purposes of a medical quality as14 surance program that is disclosed in a medical 

15 quality assurance record of the Department shall 

16 be deleted from that record before any disclosure 

17 of the record is made outside the Department. 

18 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—The requirement under 

19 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the release 

20 of information that is permissible under section 

21 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

22 known as the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’). 

23 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—Nothing 

24 in this section shall be construed— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to authorize or require the withholding from 

2 any person or entity aggregate statistical information 

3 regarding the results of medical quality assurance 

4 programs; or 

5 ‘‘(2) to authorize the withholding of any medical 

6 quality assurance record of the Department from a 

7 committee of either House of Congress, any joint com8 mittee of Congress, or the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States if the record pertains to any matter 

10 within their respective jurisdictions. 

11 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION, 

12 RECORD, OR TESTIMONY.—A person or entity having pos13 session of or access to a medical quality assurance record 

14 of the Department or testimony described in this section 

15 may not disclose the contents of the record or testimony in 

16 any manner or for any purpose except as provided in this 

17 section. 

18 ‘‘(g) EXEMPTION FROM FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

19 ACT.—A medical quality assurance record of the Depart20 ment shall be exempt from disclosure under section 

21 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code (commonly known 

22 as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’). 

23 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON CIVIL LIABILITY.—A person who 

24 participates in the review or creation of, or provides infor25 mation to a person or body that reviews or creates, a medVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:21 Dec 20, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4465.RS S4465

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1 ical quality assurance record of the Department shall not 

2 be civilly liable for that participation or for providing that 

3 information if the participation or provision of information 

4 was provided in good faith based on prevailing professional 

5 standards at the time the medical quality assurance pro6 gram activity took place. 

7 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION TO INFORMATION IN CERTAIN

8 OTHER RECORDS.—Nothing in this section shall be con9 strued as limiting access to the information in a record cre10 ated and maintained outside a medical quality assurance 

11 program, including the medical record of a patient, on the 

12 grounds that the information was presented during meet13 ings of a review body that are part of a medical quality 

14 assurance program. 

15 ‘‘(j) PENALTY.—Any person who willfully discloses a 

16 medical quality assurance record of the Department other 

17 than as provided in this section, knowing that the record 

18 is a medical quality assurance record of the Department 

19 shall be fined not more than $3,000 in the case of a first 

20 offense and not more than $20,000 in the case of a subse21 quent offense. 

22 ‘‘(k) RELATIONSHIP TO COAST GUARD.—The require23 ments of this section shall not apply to any medical quality 

24 assurance record of the Department that is created by or 


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1 for the Coast Guard as part of a medical quality assurance 

2 program.’’. 

3 SEC. 204. PORTABILITY OF LICENSURE. 

4 (a) TRANSFER.—Section 16005 of the CARES Act (6 

5 U.S.C. 320 note) is redesignated as section 2306 of the 

6 Homeland Security Act of 2002 and transferred so as to 

7 appear after section 2305, as added by section 203 of this 

8 Act. 

9 (b) REPEAL.—Section 2306 of the Homeland Security 

10 Act of 2002, as so redesignated by subsection (a), is amend11 ed by striking subsection (c). 

12 SEC. 205. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

13 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et 

14 seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) in the table of contents in section 1(b) (Pub16 lic Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135)— 

17 (A) by striking the items relating to sections 

18 528 and 529 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 528. Transfer of equipment during a public health emergency.’’; 

19 (B) by striking the items relating to sections 

20 710, 711, 712, and 713 and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 710. Employee engagement. 

‘‘Sec. 711. Annual employee award program. 

‘‘Sec. 712. Acquisition professional career program.’’; 


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1 (C) by inserting after the item relating to 

2 section 1928 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1929. Accountability.’’; 

3 (D) by striking the items relating to subtitle 

4 C of title XIX and sections 1931 and 1932; and 

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

‘‘TITLE XXIII—OFFICE OF HEALTH SECURITY 

‘‘Sec. 2301. Office of Health Security. 

‘‘Sec. 2302. Workforce health and safety. 

‘‘Sec. 2303. Coordination of Department of Homeland Security efforts related to 

food, agriculture, and veterinary defense against terrorism. 

‘‘Sec. 2304. Medical countermeasures program. 

‘‘Sec. 2305. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records. 

‘‘Sec. 2306. Portability of licensure.’’; 

6 (2) by redesignating section 529 (6 U.S.C. 321r) 

7 as section 528; 

8 (3) in section 704(e)(4) (6 U.S.C. 344(e)(4)), by 

9 striking ‘‘section 711(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 710(a))’’; 

11 (4) by redesignating sections 711, 712, and 713 

12 as sections 710, 711, and 712, respectively; 

13 (5) in section 1923(b)(3) (6 U.S.C. 592(b)(3))— 

14 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

15 ‘‘HAWAIIAN NATIVE-SERVING’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘NATIVE HAWAIIAN-SERVING’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘Hawaiian native-serving’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘ ‘Native Hawaiian-serving’’; 

19 (6) by striking the subtitle heading for subtitle C 

20 of title XIX; 


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1 (7) by striking section 1932 (6 U.S.C. 597a); 

2 and 

3 (8) in section 2306, as so redesignated by section 

4 204 of this Act— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘PORTABILITY OF LI6 CENSURE.’’ after ‘‘2306.’’; and 

7 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a) Not8 withstanding’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’. 


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Calendar No. 675 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4465 

[Report No. 117–276] 

A BILL 

To establish a Countering Weapons of Mass Defor other purposes. in the Department of Homeland Security, and struction Office and an Office of Health Security 

DECEMBER 19, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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