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Union Calendar No. 260 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6174 

[Report No. 118–321] 

To improve the biodetection functions of the Department of Homeland 

Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2023 

Mr. STRONG (for himself, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. D’ESPOSITO, and Mr. 

SWALWELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

DECEMBER 19, 2023 

Additional sponsor: Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana 

DECEMBER 19, 2023 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

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•HR 6174 RH

A BILL 

To improve the biodetection functions of the Department 

of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

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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 ‘‘DHS Biodetection Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DHS UTILIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NA7 TIONAL LABORATORIES AND SITES FOR CER8 TAIN BIODETECTION RESEARCH AND DEVEL9 OPMENT RELATING TO THE MISSIONS OF 

10 THE DHS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu12 rity shall conduct an assessment of how the Department 

13 of Homeland Security has utilized Department of Energy 

14 national laboratories and sites regarding research and de15 velopment in carrying out the missions of the Department 

16 of Homeland Security, in accordance with section 309 of 

17 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 189). 

18 (b) STRATEGY ON BIODETECTION RESEARCH AND

19 DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Se22 curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

23 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

24 Senate the assessment required under subsection (a), to25 gether with a strategy for how the Department of HomeVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Dec 20, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6174.RH H6174
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1 land Security will conduct research and development in co2 ordination with Department of Energy national labora3 tories and sites to address biodetection research and devel4 opment of the Department of Homeland Security, includ5 ing the following: 

6 (1) Identifying biodetection technologies that 

7 can, either individually or together, meet the bio8 detection mission needs as outlined in Department 

9 of Homeland Security capabilities analysis and re10 quirements documents and informed by studies pro11 duced by the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States, such as the National Re-Assessment of the 

13 BioWatch Collector Network to Increase the Frac14 tion of Population Covered, as developed by the 

15 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office of 

16 the Department in November 2021, and other such 

17 future studies as applicable. 

18 (2) Developing an acquisition and procurement 

19 plan to acquire and provide, in accordance with Fed20 eral law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and 

21 Department of Homeland Security acquisition and 

22 procurement management directives, the biodetection 

23 technologies referred to in paragraph (1) to existing 

24 BioWatch jurisdictions. 

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1 (3) Conducting periodic external evaluations to 

2 identify gaps and potential failure points with re3 spect to such biodetection technologies, and recom4 mending contingency plans in the event such bio5 detection technologies do not perform as expected or 

6 intended. 

7 (4) Assisting, as appropriate and in partnership 

8 with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, 

9 institutions of higher education (as such term is de10 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), and the private sector, with 

12 the development of clearly defined program and 

13 technical requirements for future Department of 

14 Homeland Security environmental biodetection pro15 grams, including any related transformational pro16 gram of research and development. 

17 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one 

18 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security shall provide to the Com20 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa21 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov22 ernmental Affairs of the Senate an update of the assess23 ment and strategy required under this section, including 

24 any challenges to implementing such strategy. 

Union Calendar No. 260 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6174 

[Report No. 118–321] 

A BILL 

To improve the biodetection functions of the Depurposes. partment of Homeland Security, and for other 

DECEMBER 19, 2023 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed