IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1887 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2016 

Received 

MAY 26, 2016 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Comptroller General of the United States 

to assess a study on the alternatives for the disposition 

of Plum Island Animal Disease Center, 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. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Federal Government has owned Plum 

4 Island, New York, since 1899. 

5 (2) Since 1954, the Plum Island Animal Dis6 ease Center has conducted unrivaled scientific re7 search on a variety of infectious animal-borne dis8 eases, including foot-and-mouth disease, resulting, 

9 most recently, in the development of a new cell line 

10 that rapidly and reliably detects this highly debili11 tating disease of livestock. 

12 (3) Over 62 years, the Center has had a strong, 

13 proven record of safety. 

14 (4) $23,200,000 in Federal dollars have been 

15 spent on upgrades to, and the maintenance of, the 

16 Center since January 2012. 

17 (5) In addition to the Center, Plum Island con18 tains cultural, historical, ecological, and natural re19 sources of regional and national significance. 

20 (6) Plum Island is situated where the Long Is21 land Sound and Peconic Bay meet, both of which 

22 are estuaries that are part of the National Estuary 

23 Program and are environmentally and economically 

24 significant to the region. 

25 (7) The Federal Government has invested hun26 dreds of millions of Federal dollars over the last two 


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1 decades to make long-term improvements with re2 spect to the conservation and management needs of 

3 Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay. 

4 (8) The Department of Homeland Security has 

5 undertaken a study to consider alternatives for the 

6 final disposition of Plum Island, including an anal7 ysis of— 

8 (A) conservation of the island’s resources; 

9 (B) any remediation responsibilities; 

10 (C) the need for any legislative changes; 

11 (D) cost; and 

12 (E) any revenues from the alternatives. 

13 SEC. 2. REPORT REQUIRED ON STUDY BY DEPARTMENT OF 

14 HOMELAND SECURITY ON CLEAN UP AND AL15 TERNATIVE USES OF PLUM ISLAND. 

16 (a) ASSESSMENT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

17 (1) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller 

18 General of the United States shall conduct an as19 sessment of the study by the Department of Home20 land Security on the options for the disposition of 

21 Plum Island referred to in section 1(8). Such assess22 ment shall include a determination of whether the 

23 methodologies used by the Department in conducting 

24 such study adequately support the Department’s 

25 findings with respect to the following: 


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1 (A) The possible alternative uses for Plum 

2 Island, including the transfer of ownership to 

3 another Federal agency, a State or local govern4 ment, a nonprofit organization, or a combina5 tion thereof for the purpose of education, re6 search, or conservation. 

7 (B) The possible issues and implications, if 

8 any, of pursuing such alternative uses for Plum 

9 Island. 

10 (C) The potential cost to be incurred for 

11 expenses related to the transition, cleanup, and 

12 hazard mitigation of Plum Island by a recipient 

13 of such property. 

14 (2) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date on which the Department of 

16 Homeland Security completes the study referred to 

17 in section 1(8), the Comptroller General of the 

18 United States shall submit to Congress a report con19 taining the following: 

20 (A) The results of the assessment de21 scribed under paragraph (1). 

22 (B) A description of the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security’s coordination with the Ad24 ministrator of General Services, the Secretary 

25 of the Interior, and the Administrator of the 


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1 Environmental Protection Agency in conducting 

2 the Department of Homeland Security study re3 ferred to in section 1(8). 

4 (b) STUDY BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

5 (1) STUDY REQUIRED.—If the Comptroller 

6 General of the United States determines that the 

7 methodologies referred to in subsection (a)(1) do not 

8 adequately support the Department of Homeland 

9 Security’s findings related to an issue described in 

10 subparagraphs (A) through (C) of such subsection, 

11 the Comptroller General shall conduct a study on 

12 any such issue. 

13 (2) REPORT REQUIRED.—If the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States conducts a study under 

15 paragraph (1), not later than 1 year after the date 

16 on which the Department of Homeland Security 

17 completes the study referred to in section 1(8), the 

18 Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a re19 port containing the results of the study conducted 

20 under paragraph (1). 

21 SEC. 3. SUSPENSION OF ACTION. 

22 No action may be taken to carry out section 538 of 

23 title V of division D of the Consolidated Appropriations 

24 Act, 2012 (Public Law 112–74; 125 Stat. 976) until at 

25 least 180 days after the reports required by subsection 


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1 (a)(2) of section 2 and, if applicable, subsection (b)(2) of 

2 such section have been submitted to Congress. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 16, 2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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