I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6174 

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 

A BILL 

To improve the biodetection functions of 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Biodetection Im5 provement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DHS UTILIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NA2 TIONAL LABORATORIES AND SITES FOR CER3 TAIN BIODETECTION RESEARCH AND DEVEL4 OPMENT RELATING TO THE MISSIONS OF 

5 THE DHS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu7 rity shall conduct an assessment of how the Department 

8 of Homeland Security has utilized Department of Energy 

9 national laboratories and sites regarding research and de10 velopment in carrying out the missions of the Department 

11 of Homeland Security, in accordance with section 309 of 

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

13 (b) STRATEGY ON BIODETECTION RESEARCH AND

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

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

16 Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Se17 curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

19 Senate the assessment required under subsection (a), to20 gether with a strategy for how the Department of Home21 land Security will conduct research and development in co22 ordination with Department of Energy national labora23 tories and sites to address biodetection research and devel24 opment of the Department of Homeland Security, includ25 ing the following: 


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1 (1) Identifying biodetection technologies that 

2 can, either individually or together, meet the bio3 detection mission needs as outlined in Department 

4 of Homeland Security capabilities analysis and re5 quirements documents and informed by studies pro6 duced by the Comptroller General of the United 

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

8 BioWatch Collector Network to Increase the Frac9 tion of Population Covered, as developed by the 

10 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office of 

11 the Department in November 2021, and other such 

12 future studies as applicable. 

13 (2) Developing an acquisition and procurement 

14 plan to acquire and provide, in accordance with Fed15 eral law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and 

16 Department of Homeland Security acquisition and 

17 procurement management directives, the biodetection 

18 technologies referred to in paragraph (1) to existing 

19 BioWatch jurisdictions. 

20 (3) Conducting periodic external evaluations to 

21 identify gaps and potential failure points with re22 spect to such biodetection technologies, and recom23 mending contingency plans in the event such bio24 detection technologies do not perform as expected or 

25 intended. 


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1 (4) Assisting, as appropriate and in partnership 

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

3 institutions of higher education (as such term is de4 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), and the private sector, with 

6 the development of clearly defined program and 

7 technical requirements for future Department of 

8 Homeland Security environmental biodetection pro9 grams, including any related transformational pro10 gram of research and development. 

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

12 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary of Homeland Security shall provide to the Com14 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa15 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov16 ernmental Affairs of the Senate an update of the assess17 ment and strategy required under this section, including 

18 any challenges to implementing such strategy. 

Æ 


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