I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3256 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to reauthorize and improve 

the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. RICHMOND (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to reauthorize 

and improve the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Ter6 rorist Attacks Act of 2019’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program. 

Sec. 4. Protection and sharing of information. 

Sec. 5. Civil enforcement. 

Sec. 6. Whistleblower protection. 

Sec. 7. Chemical Security Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 8. Implementation plan and report to Congress. 

Sec. 9. Study on risks posed by excluded facilities. 

Sec. 10. Study on feasibility of waiver program. 

Sec. 11. Comptroller General reports. 

Sec. 12. Voluntary mechanism for reporting drones and other emerging threats. 

Sec. 13. Regulations regarding specific products and mixtures containing 

chemicals of interest. 

Sec. 14. Termination. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 2101 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

5 (6 U.S.C. 621) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4)(E), by striking ‘‘subject to 

7 regulation’’ and inserting ‘‘regulated’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘that 

10 is in effect on the day before the date of enact11 ment of the Protecting and Securing Chemical 

12 Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014;’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘or this title’’; and 

14 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘that 

15 is in effect on the day before the date of enact16 ment of the Protecting and Securing Chemical 

17 Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014;’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘or this title’’; 


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1 (3) by striking paragraphs (6), (7), and (8); 

2 and 

3 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

4 (14) as paragraphs (6) through (11), respectively. 

5 SEC. 3. CHEMICAL FACILITY ANTI-TERRORISM STANDARDS 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ADDITIONAL CFATS PROGRAM REQUIRE8 MENT.—Section 2102(a)(2) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 622) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

13 and inserting a semicolon; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(E) verify information submitted by a 

17 covered chemical facility prior to assigning such 

18 facility a lower risk tier or determining that 

19 such facility no longer presents a high level of 

20 security risk; and 

21 ‘‘(F) develop a voluntary program for 

22 chemical facilities to address potential security 

23 risks at such facilities.’’. 


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1 (b) EMPLOYEE INPUT REGARDING SECURITY MEAS2 URES.—Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 2102 

3 of such Act (6 U.S.C. 622) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYEE CONSULTATION AND AWARE5 NESS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) EMPLOYEE CONSULTATION REQUIRE7 MENT.—A facility’s security vulnerability as8 sessment and site security plan shall be devel9 oped in consultation with— 

10 ‘‘(i) at least one facility employee, in 

11 addition to the facility security officer or 

12 other individual who serves as a point of 

13 contact under section 27.230(a)(17) of 

14 title 6, Code of Federal Regulations, and 

15 the corresponding guidance issued under 

16 section 27.220(d) of such title, or any suc17 cessor thereto, who possesses relevant 

18 knowledge, experience, training, or edu19 cation pertaining to matters of site secu20 rity; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a facility where fa22 cility employees are represented by a bar23 gaining agent, at least one employee rep24 resentative who— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is selected by the bargaining 

2 agent at that facility; and 

3 ‘‘(II) has relevant knowledge, ex4 perience, training, or education per5 taining to matters of site security. 

6 ‘‘(B) RECORD OF EMPLOYEE CONSULTA7 TION.—A covered chemical facility shall main8 tain a written record of the employee consulta9 tion required by subparagraph (A), including a 

10 record of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the name of the employee with 

12 whom the facility security officer or other 

13 similar official consulted; 

14 ‘‘(ii) how often and when such con15 sultation took place; 

16 ‘‘(iii) what mechanisms the facility 

17 used to capture feedback; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) any recommendations that were 

19 offered, accepted, or rejected as part of the 

20 security vulnerability assessment or site se21 curity plan. 

22 ‘‘(C) ACCESS TO EMPLOYEES.—Each 

23 owner or operator of a covered chemical facility 

24 shall, upon request, provide to an employee of 

25 the Department engaged in carrying out audits 


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1 and inspections of such facility access to any 

2 employee who participated in the development 

3 of the facility’s security vulnerability assess4 ment and site security plan. 

5 ‘‘(D) EMPLOYEE AWARENESS.—The Sec6 retary shall produce a poster for display in 

7 areas of covered chemical facilities and chemical 

8 facilities of interest shall be required to display 

9 that are accessible to facility employees to in10 form employees of the facility about program 

11 requirements under this title and the whistle12 blower protections provided under section 

13 2105.’’. 

14 (c) SITE SECURITY PLANS.— 

15 (1) DISAPPROVAL.—Subsection (c)(1)(B) of 

16 section 2102 of such Act (6 U.S.C. 622) is amend17 ed— 

18 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; and 

20 (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall disapprove a site security 

23 plan if— 

24 ‘‘(I) the plan fails to satisfy the 

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1 tablished pursuant to subsection 

2 (a)(2)(C); or 

3 ‘‘(II) the plan fails to include the 

4 name, organizational affiliation, and 

5 phone number of a local emergency 

6 manager or local emergency response 

7 provider and a documented policy to 

8 contact the local emergency manager 

9 or local emergency response provider 

10 at least annually regarding emergency 

11 response procedures at the facility.’’. 

12 (2) ASSESSMENTS.—Paragraph (3) of sub13 section (c) of such section is amended to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(3) SITE SECURITY PLAN ASSESSMENTS.—In 

16 approving or disapproving a site security plan under 

17 this subsection, the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) employ the risk assessment policies 

19 and procedures developed under this title; and 

20 ‘‘(B) confirm that the covered chemical fa21 cility has complied with the employee consulta22 tion requirements in paragraph (2) of sub23 section (b), including by reviewing and record24 ing compliance with the record-keeping requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:42 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3256.IH H3256

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1 ments under subparagraph (B) of that para2 graph.’’. 

3 (d) ELIMINATION OF EXPEDITED APPROVAL PRO4 GRAM.—Section 2102(c) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 622) is 

5 amended by striking paragraph (4). 

6 (e) AUDITS AND INSPECTIONS.— 

7 (1) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT.—Subparagraph 

8 (B) of paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of section 

9 2102 of such Act (6 U.S.C. 622) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘under this title using’’ and inserting ‘‘at 

11 chemical facilities of interest and covered chemical 

12 facilities and shall obtain information and records to 

13 ensure compliance with this title. Such audits and 

14 inspections shall be conducted using’’. 

15 (2) REPORTING STRUCTURE.—Subparagraph 

16 (D) of such paragraph is amended— 

17 (A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or any 

18 successor organization that implements the re19 quirements of subsection (a)(2),’’ after ‘‘De20 partment’’; and 

21 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, or any 

22 successor organization that implements the re23 quirements of subsection (a)(2),’’ after ‘‘De24 partment’’. 


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1 (3) STANDARDS FOR AUDITORS AND INSPEC2 TORS.—Subparagraph (E) of such paragraph is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘For each individual responsible 

7 for carrying out audits or inspections on 

8 behalf of the Secretary, the Secretary’’; 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘to ensure such indi10 viduals receive’’ before ‘‘the training’’; and 

11 (iii) by striking ‘‘and retraining of 

12 each individual used by the Department as 

13 an auditor or inspector, including each in14 dividual employed by the Department and 

15 all nondepartmental or nongovernmental 

16 personnel’’ and inserting ‘‘, continuing 

17 education, and other professional develop18 ment tools necessary to carry out duties 

19 and responsibilities’’; and 

20 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘require21 ments’’ and inserting ‘‘necessary to audit and 

22 inspect compliance with all aspects of the risk23 based performance standards, including stand24 ards related to cybersecurity,’’. 


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1 (4) EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS.—Such sub2 section is further amended by adding at the end the 

3 following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(4) AUDIT OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN.— 

5 As part of the audit and inspection process under 

6 this subsection, the Secretary shall provide for an 

7 annual review of the compliance of a chemical facil8 ity with the requirements under subsection 

9 (c)(1)(B)(ii)(B) and the adherence of the facility to 

10 the emergency response requirements under such 

11 subsection.’’. 

12 (f) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Section 2102(e) of such Act 

13 (6 U.S.C. 622(e)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

15 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

16 inserting ‘‘and other malicious acts’’ after ‘‘ter17 rorism’’; and 

18 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘severe eco19 nomic consequences and the potential loss of 

20 human life in the event of the facility being 

21 subject to attack, compromise, infiltration, or 

22 exploitation by terrorists’’ and inserting ‘‘con23 sequences in event of the facility being subject 

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1 ploitation of chemicals of interest by a terrorist 

2 or other malicious actor’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

6 (ii) as clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively; 

7 (ii) by inserting before clause (ii), as 

8 so redesignated, the following new clause 

9 (i): 

10 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines that a 

11 chemical facility of interest does not 

12 present a high level of security risk;’’; and 

13 (iii) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

14 by inserting ‘‘or chemical facility of inter15 est’’ after ‘‘covered chemical facility’’; 

16 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘information on’’ and 

18 all that follows and inserting ‘‘information 

19 on—’’; and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

21 clauses: 

22 ‘‘(i) how the Secretary confirmed the 

23 information that was the basis for the 

24 change or determination described in sub25 paragraph (A); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) actions taken or practices em2 ployed by the facility to reduce or remove 

3 terrorism-related chemical security risks, 

4 where applicable.’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

6 subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INFORMA8 TION.—For the purposes of subsection (a) of 

9 section 2103— 

10 ‘‘(i) information described in subpara11 graph (B)(i) shall be given protections 

12 from public disclosure under such sub13 section; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) information described in sub15 paragraph (B)(ii) shall not be given protec16 tions from public disclosure under such 

17 subsection.’’; 

18 (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para19 graph (6); 

20 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol21 lowing new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(4) SHARING INFORMATION WITH EMERGENCY

23 RESPONSE PROVIDERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

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1 sion centers (as that term is defined in section 

2 210A(j)(1) of this Act) and State and local gov3 ernment officials such information as the Sec4 retary determines necessary to ensure that 

5 emergency response providers are prepared and 

6 provided with the situational awareness needed 

7 to respond to security incidents at covered 

8 chemical facilities. 

9 ‘‘(B) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall disseminate information under subpara11 graph (A) to individuals identified and entities 

12 described in such subparagraph in a secure and 

13 expeditious manner. 

14 ‘‘(5) PRACTICES THAT MAY REDUCE CHEMICAL

15 SECURITY RISKS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the informa17 tion maintained under paragraph (3)(B)(ii) re18 garding actions taken or practices employed by 

19 chemical facilities of interest to successfully re20 duce or remove terrorism-related chemical secu21 rity risks, the Secretary shall develop voluntary, 

22 publicly available practices that could be used 

23 to guide other facility owners and operators in 

24 preventing, reducing, and mitigating chemical 

25 security risks. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SENSITIVE INFORMA2 TION.—In developing and disseminating prac3 tices under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

4 shall protect from public disclosure all informa5 tion described in section 2103(a).’’; and 

6 (5) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by para7 graph (3) of this subsection— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 

9 (i) in subclause (aa), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

10 at the end; 

11 (ii) in subclause (bb), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 

13 (iii) by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new subclause: 

15 ‘‘(cc) determined that a chemical 

16 facility of interest did not present a 

17 high level of risk; and’’; 

18 (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘(C) for the period beginning on the date 

21 that is one year before the date of the enact22 ment of the Protecting and Securing Chemical 

23 Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2019 

24 and ending on the date of the enactment of 


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1 such Act, the average length of time required 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(i) review and approve site security 

4 plans or alternative security programs for 

5 covered chemical facilities; 

6 ‘‘(ii) ensure a facility has achieved full 

7 implementation of planned security meas8 ures; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) conduct a compliance inspection, 

10 including the average length of time in11 spectors spend on an individual compliance 

12 inspection;’’; 

13 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 

16 subparagraph (I); and 

17 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

18 the following new subparagraphs: 

19 ‘‘(F) a detailed summary of reports and 

20 other information generated under paragraph 

21 (3) regarding facilities that receive a change in 

22 tier or that are determined not to present a 

23 high level of security risk; 

24 ‘‘(G) a detailed summary of practices iden25 tified and disseminated under such paragraph; 


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1 ‘‘(H) actions taken and results produced in 

2 implementing the practices, to the extent fea3 sible; and’’. 

4 (g) SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND MIXTURES.—Such sec5 tion (6 U.S.C. 622) is further amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(f) SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND MIXTURES CON8 TAINING CHEMICALS OF INTEREST.—The Secretary may 

9 exclude a specific product or mixture that contains a 

10 chemical of interest at or above the minimum concentra11 tion listed on Appendix A to part 27 of title 6, Code of 

12 Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, from any 

13 reporting requirements under this section if the Secretary 

14 determines that the product or mixture does not present 

15 a risk for which the chemical of interest contained within 

16 the product or mixture was included on Appendix A.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. PROTECTION AND SHARING OF INFORMATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2103(a) of the Homeland 

19 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 623(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘with respect to information in 

21 the possession of the Department, the Secretary 

22 shall protect’’ after ‘‘any other provision of law,’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘information,’’; 

24 (3) by striking the comma after ‘‘records’’; and 

25 (4) by striking ‘‘shall be given protections’’. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZED RECIPIENTS.—Such section is fur2 ther amended— 

3 (1) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (f); 

4 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

5 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

6 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol7 lowing new subsection (b): 

8 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED RECIPIENTS OF INFORMATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request, the Sec10 retary shall make available information protected 

11 pursuant to subsection (a), to the following recipi12 ents: 

13 ‘‘(A) State, local, and regional fusion cen14 ters (as that term is defined in section 

15 210A(j)(i) of this Act) and State and local gov16 ernment officials, including law enforcement 

17 and emergency response providers. 

18 ‘‘(B) Members of Congress. 

19 ‘‘(C) Members of the Chemical Security 

20 Advisory Committee under section 2010 of this 

21 Act. 

22 ‘‘(D) The Comptroller General of the 

23 United States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NONDEPARTMENTAL INFORMATION.—In2 formation is not protected pursuant to subsection 

3 (a) if it is— 

4 ‘‘(A) not in the possession of the Depart5 ment; 

6 ‘‘(B) developed under this title but has 

7 been previously produced or developed for other 

8 purposes; and 

9 ‘‘(C) is already publicly available, readily 

10 discoverable, or otherwise lawfully disclosed.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

12 Section 2104 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

13 (6 U.S.C. 624) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

16 ‘‘14 days after date on which’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘three days after the date on which’’; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘180 

19 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘section 

21 2102(a)(2)(B) or any requirement issued by the Sec22 retary thereunder’’ after ‘‘comply with’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or other ma24 licious act’’ after ‘‘terrorist incident’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, except as 

2 provided in section 2105(a)(5) regarding whistle3 blower retaliation’’ before the period at the end. 

4 SEC. 6. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

5 Section 2105 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

6 (6 U.S.C. 625) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not 

9 later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facili11 ties from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014, the 

12 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; 

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

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), in the absence of the written 

18 consent of an individual who submits a report 

19 under paragraph (1)— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall keep confiden21 tial the identity of and any identifying in22 formation relating to that individual; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) any such report shall be subject 

24 to the protections on information under 

25 section 2103 of this Act to the extent that 


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1 the report does not consist of publicly 

2 available information. 

3 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—In a case in which it is 

4 necessary to disclose the identity of or any iden5 tifying information relating to an individual 

6 who submits a report under paragraph (1) be7 cause it is essential to investigate the informa8 tion contained in the report or because of com9 pulsory legal process, the Secretary shall pro10 vide timely advance notice to the individual of 

11 such disclosure.’’; 

12 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(3) RESPONSE TO REPORTS.—If a report sub15 mitted under paragraph (1) contains information 

16 identifying the individual making the report, the 

17 Secretary, or the designee of the Secretary shall, by 

18 not later than 15 days after the date on which the 

19 report is received, respond to the individual directly 

20 and acknowledge receipt of the report.’’; 

21 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

22 (i) by amending subparagraph (C) to 

23 read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(C) OPPORTUNITY FOR REVIEW.—In any 

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1 formation received under the procedure estab2 lished under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

3 provide for review of the action if a petition for 

4 review is filed within 20 calendar days of the 

5 date of issuance of the order for the action.’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (D)— 

8 (I) by striking ‘‘unless the Sec9 retary determines’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

10 except that the Secretary may provide 

11 for a 30-day extension if the Secretary 

12 determines’’; 

13 (II) by striking ‘‘that the viola14 tion providing a basis for the action 

15 continues to exist.’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘that—’’; and 

17 (III) by adding at the end the 

18 following new clauses: 

19 ‘‘(i) the violation providing a basis for 

20 the action continues to exist; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) such period is insufficient to 

22 complete the review of the action.’’; and 

23 (E) in paragraph (6)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘discharge an em2 ployee or otherwise discriminate 

3 against an employee with respect to 

4 the compensation provided to, or 

5 terms, conditions, or privileges of the 

6 employment of, the employee because 

7 the employee (or an individual acting 

8 pursuant to a request of the em9 ployee) submitted a report under 

10 paragraph (1).’’ and inserting ‘‘dis11 charge an employee or otherwise dis12 criminate against an employee or 

13 former employee with respect to the 

14 compensation provided to, or terms, 

15 conditions, or privileges associated 

16 with current or past employment of, 

17 the employee or former employee be18 cause the employee or former em19 ployee (or an individual acting pursu20 ant to a request of the employee or 

21 former employee) submitted a report 

22 under paragraph (1).’’; 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B), in the mat24 ter preceding clause (i), by— 


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1 (I) inserting ‘‘or former em2 ployee’’ after ‘‘An employee’’; and 

3 (II) inserting ‘‘or former em4 ployee (or an individual acting pursu5 ant to a request of the employee or 

6 former employee)’’ after ‘‘the em7 ployee’’; and 

8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURE AND REMEDY.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish a procedure for the review 

13 and investigation of complaints of reprisals 

14 prohibited under subparagraph (A) and for 

15 remedies for violations of such subpara16 graph. 

17 ‘‘(ii) JUDICIAL REMEDIES.—Nothing 

18 in this title shall be construed to deny an 

19 individual who submits a complaint for any 

20 reprisal prohibited under subparagraph (A) 

21 from seeking a judicial remedy against the 

22 owner or operator of the chemical facility 

23 of interest as long as the individual has ex24 hausted administrative remedies.’’; and 

25 (2) by striking subsection (d). 


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1 SEC. 7. CHEMICAL SECURITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XXI of the Homeland Secu3 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 2110. CHEMICAL SECURITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab7 lish a standing Chemical Security Advisory Committee to 

8 advise the Secretary on the implementation of this title. 

9 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

11 shall be comprised of 12 members selected by the 

12 Secretary, which shall include at least one individual 

13 who is a multi-disciplinary stakeholder with scientific 

14 or other expertise representing each of the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) Industry. 

16 ‘‘(B) Academia. 

17 ‘‘(C) Labor. 

18 ‘‘(D) Emergency response providers. 

19 ‘‘(E) Local emergency planners. 

20 ‘‘(F) Environmental, community, or public 

21 health advocates, particularly for communities 

22 with high concentrations of covered chemical fa23 cilities. 

24 ‘‘(G) Cybersecurity and information policy. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed 

2 for an initial term of three years and may be re3 appointed for one additional three-year term. 

4 ‘‘(3) CHAIR.—The Committee shall have a 

5 chair, who shall be selected by the members of the 

6 Committee. 

7 ‘‘(4) PAY.—Members shall serve without pay. 

8 ‘‘(5) QUORUM.—A majority of members of the 

9 Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum but a 

10 lesser number may hold hearings. 

11 ‘‘(c) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Advisory Committee 

12 may establish subcommittees to assesses and recommend 

13 improvements to the risk tiering methodology for chemical 

14 facilities, the risk-based performance standards for chem15 ical facilities, risk reduction strategies, and other aspects 

16 of the program under this title as the Secretary deter17 mines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION PROTECTION.—Members of Advi19 sory Committee shall maintain information protections 

20 pursuant to section 2103 of this Act. Any member who 

21 needs to access classified information to carry out assess22 ments and recommendations for improving the risk tiering 

23 methodology for chemical facilities shall have an appro24 priate security clearance. 


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1 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than January 30 

2 each year, the chair shall submit to the Committee on 

3 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen4 ate and to the Committee on Homeland Security and the 

5 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

6 Representatives a report on the activities of the Com7 mittee during the year preceding the year during which 

8 the report is submitted. 

9 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Advi10 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to 

11 the Committee established under this section.’’. 

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

13 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 

14 the item relating to section 2109 the following new item: 

‘‘2110. Chemical Security Advisory Committee.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND REPORT TO CON16 GRESS. 

17 (a) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 120 

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security shall develop, and submit to 

20 Congress, an implementation plan outlining how the Sec21 retary plans to— 

22 (1) aggregate, anonymize, and analyze data col23 lected from covered chemical facilities or chemical 

24 facilities of interest to identify practices that such 


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1 facilities have employed to successfully reduce or re2 move terrorism-related chemical security risks; 

3 (2) develop voluntary, publicly available, prac4 tices based on such data, which may be updated as 

5 necessary, to guide facility owners and operators in 

6 preventing, reducing, and managing security risks; 

7 and 

8 (3) disseminate such practices to chemical facil9 ity owners and operators through an appropriate 

10 medium or system, including by making such prac11 tices available to the public to the greatest extent 

12 practicable. 

13 (b) REPORT.— 

14 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than two years 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the sta17 tus of implementation plan required under sub18 section (a), a description of the voluntary, publicly 

19 available, practices identified, and the system or me20 dium used to disseminate such practices to chemical 

21 facility owners and operators. 

22 (2) ANNUAL UPDATES.—Not later than one 

23 year after the submission of the report required 

24 under paragraph (1), and annually thereafter, the 

25 Secretary shall submit to Congress information on 


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1 changes to the voluntary practices information dis2 seminated and bases for such changes, information 

3 on feedback collected from facility owners and opera4 tors regarding the extent to which voluntary prac5 tices were adopted, and information on what impact 

6 the dissemination of voluntary practices have had on 

7 the effectiveness of the program. 

8 SEC. 9. STUDY ON RISKS POSED BY EXCLUDED FACILITIES. 

9 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security shall enter into an agreement with a non-Depart11 ment of Homeland Security entity for the conduct of an 

12 independent assessment of— 

13 (1) the implications for national security and 

14 homeland security of exempting from regulation 

15 under title XXI of the Homeland Security Act of 

16 2002 (6 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) excluded facilities, as 

17 such term is defined in section 2101(4) of such Act; 

18 (2) the implications for such excluded facilities 

19 of exempting such facilities from regulation; and 

20 (3) the implications of exempting such facilities 

21 from regulation for the communities located in the 

22 same geographic areas as such facilities. 

23 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 16 

24 months after entering into an agreement under subsection 

25 (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to 


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1 the appropriate congressional committees a report that in2 cludes the findings and recommendations of the inde3 pendent assessment required by subsection (a). 

4 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

5 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com6 mittees’’ means— 

7 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

8 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

9 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

10 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

11 House of Representatives. 

12 SEC. 10. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF WAIVER PROGRAM. 

13 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security shall conduct a study to assess the feasibility and 

15 desirability of establishing a process under which certain 

16 chemical facilities, as determined by the Secretary, may 

17 apply to for a waiver of certain regulatory requirements 

18 under title XXI of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

19 (6 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) upon showing that— 

20 (1) the requirements under such title are cov21 ered, to the same extent and in the same manner, 

22 under another Federal regulatory program; 

23 (2) the facility is in full and complete compli24 ance with such other Federal regulatory program, as 


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1 shown through timely scheduled inspections, audits, 

2 and other supporting evidence; and 

3 (3) the facility has not, during the five-year pe4 riod preceding the date on which a waiver is re5 quested, been subject to an enforcement action 

6 brought by the Federal regulator overseeing such 

7 regulatory program or been found to be noncompli8 ant with any aspect of such regulatory program. 

9 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than two 

10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appro12 priate congressional committees a report that includes de13 tailed findings regarding the establishment of the process 

14 described in subsection (a) and, if appropriate, rec15 ommendations for implementation. 

16 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

17 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’’ means— 

19 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

20 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

21 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

22 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

23 House of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 11. REVIEW OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF ATTACKS ON 

2 COVERED CHEMICAL FACILITIES ON OTHER 

3 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 

4 (a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Director of the Cyber5 security and Infrastructure Security Agency shall— 

6 (1) conduct a review of the risk assessment ap7 proach and corresponding tiering methodology for 

8 covered chemical facilities required pursuant to sec9 tion 2102(e)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 

10 2002, as amended by this Act, and assess the extent 

11 to which the approach and tiering methodology takes 

12 into account— 

13 (A) the nature of the area surrounding the 

14 chemical facility, the presence of nearby facili15 ties or other critical infrastructure, and other 

16 features of the community that could contribute 

17 to the consequences of a terrorist attack or ex18 ploitation of chemicals of interest; and 

19 (B) the potential effects on the health and 

20 economic conditions of communities dispropor21 tionately vulnerable to the consequences of a 

22 terrorist attack or exploitation of chemicals of 

23 interest; and 

24 (2) develop a plan to ensure that when the 

25 tiering methodology is next updated, the nature of 

26 the surrounding area, the presence of nearby faciliVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:42 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3256.IH H3256

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1 ties or other critical infrastructure, and other fea2 tures of the community that could contribute to the 

3 consequences of a terrorist attack or exploitation of 

4 chemicals of interest and impacts on communities 

5 disproportionately vulnerable to the consequences of 

6 a terrorist attack or exploitation of chemicals of in7 terest are better integrated. 

8 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di11 rector shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a report on the review and plan required 

13 under subsection (a). 

14 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con16 gressional committees’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

20 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

21 of the House of Representatives. 

22 SEC. 12. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS. 

23 (a) EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF RISK24 BASED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.— 


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1 (1) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

4 conduct a study and submit to the appropriate con5 gressional committees a report on the effectiveness 

6 of the risk-based performance standards used by the 

7 Department of Homeland Security under title XXI 

8 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

9 621 et seq.) in protecting businesses, employees, the 

10 economy, the public, and national security against 

11 existing and evolving threats of concern. 

12 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report re13 quired by paragraph (1) shall address— 

14 (A) the sufficiency of security risk deter15 minations and countermeasures under title XXI 

16 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

17 U.S.C. 621 et seq.); and 

18 (B) the need for revised or additional 

19 methods to address evolving security risks. 

20 (b) EVALUATION OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT.— 

21 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall conduct a study and submit to the appropriate con24 gressional committees a report on— 


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1 (1) how the Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 documents, maintains, and uses information on 

3 tiering changes pursuant to section 2102(e)(3) of 

4 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

5 622(e)(3)); and 

6 (2) how management, maintenance, utility, and 

7 use of the information could be improved to better 

8 identify and disseminate practices to reduce chemical 

9 security risks. 

10 (c) EVALUATION OF PRACTICES TO REDUCE CHEM11 ICAL SECURITY RISKS.—Not later than 18 months after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

13 General of the United States shall submit to the appro14 priate congressional committees a report on the effective15 ness of the development and distribution by the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security of practices to address chemical se17 curity risks and of any actions taken or results produced 

18 in response to such practices. 

19 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

20 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means— 

22 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

23 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

2 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

3 House of Representatives. 

4 SEC. 13. VOLUNTARY MECHANISM FOR REPORTING 

5 DRONES AND OTHER EMERGING THREATS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home8 land Security, acting through the Director of the Cyberse9 curity and Infrastructure Security Agency, shall establish 

10 a secure communications and information technology in11 frastructure or platform that allows facility owners and 

12 operators to report, on a voluntary basis, information on 

13 emerging threats, including terrorism threats posed by un14 manned aircraft systems (as defined in section 331(9) of 

15 the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public 

16 Law 112–95; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note)) to covered chemical 

17 facilities. 

18 (b) PLATFORM CAPABILITIES.—The Secretary shall 

19 ensure that the secure communications and information 

20 technology infrastructure or platform established pursuant 

21 to subsection (a) is designed to support data mining and 

22 other advanced analytic tools to access, receive, and ana23 lyze data and information to facilitate the reporting of the 

24 information described in subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 14. REGULATIONS REGARDING SPECIFIC PRODUCTS 

2 AND MIXTURES CONTAINING CHEMICALS OF 

3 INTEREST. 

4 Not later than one year after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

6 prescribe regulations to enact a process through which the 

7 Secretary can be petitioned to exclude a product or mix8 ture under subsection (f) of section 2102 of the Homeland 

9 Security Act, as added by section 3. In collecting informa10 tion from petitioners under such subsection, the Secretary 

11 shall not be subject to subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 

12 44, United States Code, or section 553 of title 5, United 

13 States Code. 

14 SEC. 15. PREVIOUSLY APPROVED FACILITIES. 

15 In the case of a chemical facility that is a covered 

16 chemical facility under title XXI of the Homeland Security 

17 Act of 2002 for which the Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 approved a site security plan under such title before the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall not re20 quire the facility to resubmit the site security plan solely 

21 by reason of the enactment of this Act or the amendments 

22 made by this Act. 

23 SEC. 16. TERMINATION. 

24 Section 5 of the Protecting and Securing Chemical 

25 Facilities From Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014 (Public 

26 Law 113–254; 6 U.S.C. 621 note) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘the date that is 4 years after the effective date of this 

2 Act’’ and inserting ‘‘May 1, 2025’’. 

Æ 


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