IB 

Union Calendar No. 241 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6873 

[Report No. 117–322] 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Office for 

Bombing Prevention to address terrorist explosive threats, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2022 

Mr. MALINOWSKI (for himself and Mr. CRAWFORD) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

MAY 13, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Ms. NORTON, Mr. CARSON, Ms. TITUS, and Mrs. 

DEMINGS

MAY 13, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 28, 2022] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

the Office for Bombing Prevention to address terrorist 

explosive threats, 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 ‘‘Bombing Prevention Act 

5 of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFICE FOR BOMBING PREVENTION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XXII of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following new subtitle: 

10 ‘‘Subtitle D—Bombing Prevention 

11 ‘‘SEC. 2241. OFFICE FOR BOMBING PREVENTION. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

13 the Department an Office for Bombing Prevention (in this 

14 section referred to as the ‘Office’). 

15 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The Office shall have the primary 

16 responsibility within the Department for enhancing the 

17 ability and coordinating the efforts of the United States to 

18 deter, detect, prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond 

19 to terrorist explosive threats and attacks in the United 

20 States, including by carrying out the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) Advising the Secretary on matters related to 

22 terrorist explosive threats and attacks in the United 

23 States. 

24 ‘‘(2) Coordinating the efforts of the Department 

25 to counter terrorist explosive threats and attacks in 


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1 the United States, including by carrying out the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(A) Developing, in coordination with the 

4 Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans, 

5 the Department’s strategy against terrorist ex6 plosives threats and attacks, including efforts to 

7 support the security and preparedness of critical 

8 infrastructure and the public sector and private 

9 sector. 

10 ‘‘(B) Leading the prioritization of the De11 partment’s efforts against terrorist explosive 

12 threats and attacks, including preparedness and 

13 operational requirements. 

14 ‘‘(C) Ensuring, in coordination with the 

15 Under Secretary for Science and Technology and 

16 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

17 Management Agency, the identification, evalua18 tion, and availability of effective technology ap19 plications through field pilot testing and acquisi20 tion of such technology applications by the pub21 lic sector to deter, detect, prevent, protect 

22 against, mitigate, and respond to terrorist explo23 sive threats and attacks in the United States. 

24 ‘‘(D) Providing advice and recommenda25 tions to the Administrator of the Federal EmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 May 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6873.RH H6873

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1 gency Management Agency regarding the effec2 tive use of grants authorized under section 2002. 

3 ‘‘(E) In coordination with the Assistant 

4 Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass De5 struction, aligning Department efforts related to 

6 terrorist explosive threats and attacks in the 

7 United States and weapons of mass destruction. 

8 ‘‘(3) Engaging other Federal departments and 

9 agencies, including Sector Risk Management Agen10 cies, regarding terrorist explosive threats and attacks 

11 in the United States. 

12 ‘‘(4) Facilitating information sharing and deci13 sion support of the public and private sector involved 

14 in deterrence, detection, prevention, protection 

15 against, mitigation of, and response to terrorist explo16 sive threats and attacks in the United States. Such 

17 sharing and support may include the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Operating and maintaining a secure 

19 information sharing system that allows the shar20 ing of critical information and data relating to 

21 terrorist explosive attack tactics, techniques, pro22 cedures, and security capabilities, including in23 formation and data described in paragraph (6) 

24 and section 2242. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Working with international partners, 

2 in coordination with the Office for International 

3 Affairs of the Department, to develop and share 

4 effective practices to deter, prevent, detect, protect 

5 against, mitigate, and respond to terrorist explo6 sive threats and attacks in the United States. 

7 ‘‘(5) Promoting security awareness among the 

8 public and private sector and the general public re9 garding the risks posed by the misuse of explosive pre10 cursor chemicals and other bomb-making materials. 

11 ‘‘(6) Providing training, guidance, assessments, 

12 and planning assistance to the public and private sec13 tor, as appropriate, to help counter the risk of ter14 rorist explosive threats and attacks in the United 

15 States. 

16 ‘‘(7) Conducting analysis and planning for the 

17 capabilities and requirements necessary for the public 

18 and private sector, as appropriate, to deter, detect, 

19 prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond to ter20 rorist explosive threats and attacks in the United 

21 States by carrying out the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) Maintaining a database on capabili23 ties and requirements, including capabilities and 

24 requirements of public safety bomb squads, explo25 sive detection canine teams, special tactics 


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1 teams, public safety dive teams, and recipients of 

2 services described in section 2242. 

3 ‘‘(B) Applying the analysis derived from the 

4 database described in subparagraph (A) with re5 spect to the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) Evaluating progress toward clos7 ing identified gaps relating to national 

8 strategic goals and standards related to de9 terring, detecting, preventing, protecting 

10 against, mitigating, and responding to ter11 rorist explosive threats and attacks in the 

12 United States. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Informing decisions relating to 

14 homeland security policy, assistance, train15 ing, research, development efforts, testing 

16 and evaluation, and related requirements 

17 regarding deterring, detecting, preventing, 

18 protecting against, mitigating, and re19 sponding to terrorist explosive threats and 

20 attacks in the United States. 

21 ‘‘(8) Promoting secure information sharing of 

22 sensitive material and promoting security awareness, 

23 including by carrying out the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) Operating and maintaining a secure 

25 information sharing system that allows the sharVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 May 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6873.RH H6873

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1 ing among and between the public and private 

2 sector of critical information relating to explo3 sive attack tactics, techniques, and procedures. 

4 ‘‘(B) Educating the public and private sec5 tors about explosive precursor chemicals. 

6 ‘‘(C) Working with international partners, 

7 in coordination with the Office for International 

8 Affairs of the Department, to develop and share 

9 effective practices to deter, detect, prevent, protect 

10 against, mitigate, and respond to terrorist explo11 sive threats and attacks in the United States. 

12 ‘‘(D) Executing national public awareness 

13 and vigilance campaigns relating to terrorist ex14 plosive threats and attacks in the United States, 

15 preventing explosive attacks, and activities and 

16 measures underway to safeguard the United 

17 States. 

18 ‘‘(E) Working with relevant stakeholder or19 ganizations. 

20 ‘‘(9) Providing any other assistance the Sec21 retary determines necessary. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 2242. COUNTERING EXPLOSIVE DEVICES TECHNICAL 

23 ASSISTANCE. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon request, the Secretary 

25 shall, to the extent practicable, provide to the public and 


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1 private sector technical assistance services to support the 

2 security and preparedness of such sectors, as appropriate, 

3 to counter terrorist explosive threats and attacks that pose 

4 a risk in certain jurisdictions, including vulnerable and 

5 disadvantaged communities, to critical infrastructure fa6 cilities, or to special events, as appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Technical assistance services pro8 vided pursuant to subsection (a) shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) support the planning and implementation 

10 of effective measures to deter, detect, prevent, protect 

11 against, mitigate, and respond to terrorist explosive 

12 threats and attacks in the United States, including ef13 fective strategic risk management and emergency op14 erations plans; 

15 ‘‘(2) support the security of explosive precursor 

16 chemicals and other bomb-making materials outside of 

17 regulatory control; 

18 ‘‘(3) support efforts to prepare for and respond 

19 to bomb threats or other acts involving the malicious 

20 conveyance of false information concerning terrorist 

21 explosive threats and attacks in the United States; 

22 ‘‘(4) make available resources to enhance deter23 rence, prevention, detection, protection, mitigation, 

24 and response capabilities for terrorist explosive 

25 threats and attacks in the United States, including 


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1 coordination and communication, to better integrate 

2 State, local, Tribal, and territorial and private sector 

3 capabilities and assets, as appropriate, with Federal 

4 operations; 

5 ‘‘(5) make available augmenting resources, as 

6 appropriate, to enable State, local, Tribal, and terri7 torial governments to sustain and refresh their capa8 bilities; 

9 ‘‘(6) track performance in meeting the goals and 

10 associated plans of the provision of such technical as11 sistance; and 

12 ‘‘(7) include any other assistance the Secretary 

13 determines necessary. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 2243. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER DEPARTMENT COM15 PONENTS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The authority of the Secretary 

17 under this subtitle shall not affect or diminish the authority 

18 or the responsibility of any officer of any other Federal 

19 agency with respect to the command, control, or direction 

20 of the functions, personnel, funds, assets, or liabilities of 

21 any other such Federal agency. 

22 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS.—Nothing in this 

23 subtitle or any other provision of law may be construed to 

24 affect or reduce the responsibilities of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruc2 tion Office or the Assistant Secretary of the Office, in3 cluding with respect to any asset, function, or mission 

4 of the Office or the Assistant Secretary, as the case 

5 may be; 

6 ‘‘(2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

7 or the Administrator of the Agency, including the di8 version of any asset, function, or mission of the Agen9 cy or the Administrator as the case may be; or 

10 ‘‘(3) the Transportation Security Administration 

11 or the Administrator of the Administration, including 

12 the diversion of any asset, function, or mission of the 

13 Administration or the Administrator, as the case may 

14 be.’’. 

15 (b) STRATEGY AND REPORTS.— 

16 (1) STRATEGY.—Not later than one year after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of the 

18 Office for Bombing Prevention of the Department of 

19 Homeland Security (established pursuant to section 

20 2241 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added 

21 by subsection (a)), in consultation with the heads of 

22 other components of the Department and the heads of 

23 other Federal agencies, as appropriate, shall develop 

24 a strategy to align the Office’s activities with the 

25 threat environment and stakeholder needs, and make 


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1 the public and private sector aware of the Office’s ca2 pabilities. Such strategy shall include the following 

3 elements: 

4 (A) Information on terrorist explosive 

5 threats, tactics, and attacks in the United States. 

6 (B) Information, by region of the United 

7 States, regarding public and private sector enti8 ties likely to be targeted by terrorist explosive 

9 threats and attacks in the United States, includ10 ing historically black colleges and universities 

11 and minority serving institutions, places of wor12 ship, health care facilities, transportation sys13 tems, commercial facilities, and government fa14 cilities. 

15 (C) Guidance on how outreach to owners 

16 and operators of critical infrastructure (as such 

17 term is defined in section 1016(e) of Public Law 

18 107–56 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))) in a region should 

19 be prioritized. 

20 (D) A catalogue of the services and training 

21 currently offered by the Office, and a description 

22 of how such services and trainings assist the 

23 public and private sector to deter, detect, pre24 vent, protect against, mitigate, and respond to 


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1 terrorist explosive threats and attacks in the 

2 United States. 

3 (E) Long-term objectives of the Office, in4 cluding future service and training offerings. 

5 (F) Metrics for measuring the effectiveness 

6 of services and trainings offered by the Office. 

7 (G) An assessment of resource requirements 

8 necessary to implement such strategy. 

9 (H) A description of how the Office partners 

10 with other components of the Department and 

11 other Federal agencies to carry out its mission. 

12 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than one year after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act and annually there14 after, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub15 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

16 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

17 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

18 Senate a report describing the activities of the Office 

19 for Bombing Prevention of the Department of Home20 land Security (established pursuant to section 2241 of 

21 the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by sub22 section (a)). Each such report shall include informa23 tion on the following: 

24 (A) Changes to terrorist explosive threats, 

25 tactics, and attacks in the United States. 


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1 (B) Changes to the types of public and pri2 vate sector entities likely to be targeted by ter3 rorist explosive threats and attacks in the United 

4 States. 

5 (C) The number of trainings, assessments, 

6 and other engagements carried out by the Office 

7 within each region of the United States, includ8 ing a description of the critical infrastructure 

9 sector or stakeholder served. 

10 (D) The number of trainings, assessments, 

11 or other engagements the Office was asked to con12 duct but did not, and an explanation relating 

13 thereto. 

14 (E) The effectiveness of the trainings, assess15 ments, or other engagements provided by the Of16 fice based on the metrics described in paragraph 

17 (1)(F). 

18 (F) Any changes or anticipated changes in 

19 the trainings, assessments, and other engage20 ments, or any other services, offered by the Of21 fice, and an explanation relating thereto. 

22 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

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

24 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2238 

25 the following new items: 


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‘‘Subtitle D—Bombing Prevention 

‘‘Sec. 2241. Office for Bombing Prevention. 

‘‘Sec. 2242. Countering explosive devices technical assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 2243. Relationship to other Department components and Federal agencies.’’. 

1 SEC. 3. EXPLOSIVES TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Security 

3 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 323. EXPLOSIVES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

7 Under Secretary for Science and Technology, and in coordi8 nation with the head of the Office for Bombing Prevention 

9 and the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of 

10 Mass Destruction Office, and in consultation with the At11 torney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the head of 

12 any other relevant Federal department or agency, including 

13 Sector Risk Management Agencies, shall ensure coordina14 tion and information sharing regarding nonmilitary re15 search, development, testing, and evaluation activities of the 

16 Federal Government relating to the deterrence, detection, 

17 prevention, protection against, mitigation of, and response 

18 to terrorist explosive threats and attacks in the United 

19 States. 

20 ‘‘(b) LEVERAGING MILITARY RESEARCH.—The Sec21 retary, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and 

22 Technology, and in coordination with the head of the Office 

23 for Bombing Prevention and the Assistant Secretary for the 


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1 Countering of Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, shall 

2 consult with the Secretary of Defense and the head of any 

3 other relevant Federal department or agency, including Sec4 tor Risk Management Agencies, to ensure that, to the max5 imum extent possible, military policies and procedures, and 

6 research, development, testing, and evaluation activities re7 lating to the deterrence, detection, prevention, protection 

8 against, mitigation of, and response to terrorist explosive 

9 threats and attacks in the United States are adapted to 

10 nonmilitary uses.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

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

13 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 322 

14 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 323. Explosives research and development.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 241 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6873 

[Report No. 117–322] 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

purposes. address terrorist explosive threats, and for other establish the Office for Bombing Prevention to 

MAY 13, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS