IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3493 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 21, 2015 

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

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

the Securing the Cities program to enhance the ability 

of the United States to detect and prevent terrorist attacks and other high consequence events utilizing nuclear 

or other radiological materials that pose a high risk 

to homeland security in high-risk urban areas, and for 

other purposes. 


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HR 3493 RFS

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing the Cities 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SECURING THE CITIES PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XIX of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 591 et seq.) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 1908. SECURING THE CITIES PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director for Domestic 

12 Nuclear Detection shall establish the ‘Securing the Cities’ 

13 (‘STC’) program to enhance the ability of the United 

14 States to detect and prevent terrorist attacks and other 

15 high consequence events utilizing nuclear or other radio16 logical materials that pose a high risk to homeland secu17 rity in high-risk urban areas. Through such program the 

18 Director shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) assist State, local, tribal, and territorial 

20 governments in designing and implementing, or en21 hancing existing, architectures for coordinated and 

22 integrated detection and interdiction of nuclear or 

23 other radiological materials that are out of regu24 latory control; 


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HR 3493 RFS

1 ‘‘(2) support the development of a region-wide 

2 operating capability to detect and report on nuclear 

3 and other radioactive materials out of operational 

4 control; 

5 ‘‘(3) provide resources to enhance detection, 

6 analysis, communication, and coordination to better 

7 integrate State, local, tribal, and territorial assets 

8 into Federal operations; 

9 ‘‘(4) facilitate alarm adjudication and provide 

10 subject matter expertise and technical assistance on 

11 concepts of operations, training, exercises, and alarm 

12 response protocols; 

13 ‘‘(5) communicate with, and promote sharing of 

14 information about the presence or detection of nu15 clear or other radiological materials among appro16 priate Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial 

17 governments, in a manner that ensures transparency 

18 with the jurisdictions served by such program; and 

19 ‘‘(6) provide any other assistance the Director 

20 determines appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF JURISDICTIONS.—In carrying 

22 out the program under subsection (a), the Director shall 

23 designate jurisdictions from among high-risk urban areas 

24 under section 2003, and other cities and regions, as appro25 priate. 


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

2 shall notify the Committee on Homeland Security and the 

3 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa4 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov5 ernmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations 

6 of the Senate not later than three days before the designa7 tion of new jurisdictions under subsection (b) or other 

8 changes to participating jurisdictions. 

9 ‘‘(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

10 the date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller 

11 General of the United States shall submit to the congres12 sional committees specified in subsection (c) an assess13 ment, including an evaluation of the effectiveness, of the 

14 STC program under this section. 

15 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—No 

16 funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

17 section. This section shall be carried out using amounts 

18 otherwise appropriated or made available for such pur19 pose.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

21 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

22 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

23 1907 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1908. Securing the Cities program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. MODEL EXERCISES. 

2 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Director for Domestic Nuclear De4 tection of the Department of Homeland Security shall re5 port to the Committee on Homeland Security and the 

6 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa7 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov8 ernmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations 

9 of the Senate on the feasibility of the Director developing 

10 model exercises to test the preparedness of jurisdictions 

11 participating in the Securing the Cities program under 

12 section 1908 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as 

13 added by section 2 of this Act) in meeting the challenges 

14 that may be posed by a range of nuclear and radiological 

15 threats. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 20, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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