H. R. 7213 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

An Act 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Countering Weapons 

of Mass Destruction Office, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Weapons of Mass 

Destruction Act of 2018’’. 

SEC. 2. COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OFFICE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title XIX of the Homeland Security Act of 

2002 (6 U.S.C. 591 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) in the title heading, by striking ‘‘DOMESTIC 

NUCLEAR DETECTION OFFICE’’ and inserting ‘‘COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OFFICE’’; 

(2) by striking section 1901 and inserting the following: 

‘‘SEC. 1900. DEFINITIONS. 

‘‘In this title: 

‘‘(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘Assistant Secretary’ 

means the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons 

of Mass Destruction Office. 

‘‘(2) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘intelligence 

community’ has the meaning given such term in section 3(4) 

of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

‘‘(3) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Countering 

Weapons of Mass Destruction Office established under section 

1901(a). 

‘‘(4) WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.—The term ‘weapon 

of mass destruction’ has the meaning given the term in section 

101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 

U.S.C. 1801). 

‘‘Subtitle A—Countering Weapons of Mass 

Destruction Office 

‘‘SEC. 1901. COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OFFICE. 

‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Department 

a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. 

‘‘(b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The Office shall be headed by an 

Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, who shall be appointed by the President. 
H. R. 7213—2 

‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Assistant Secretary shall serve as 

the Secretary’s principal advisor on— 

‘‘(1) weapons of mass destruction matters and strategies; 

and 

‘‘(2) coordinating the efforts of the Department to counter 

weapons of mass destruction. 

‘‘(d) DETAILS.—The Secretary may request that the Secretary 

of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of State, the 

Attorney General, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the 

heads of other Federal agencies, including elements of the intelligence community, provide for the reimbursable detail of personnel 

with relevant expertise to the Office. 

‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—The Office shall terminate on the date that 

is 5 years after the date of the enactment of the Countering 

Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018.’’; 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘Subtitle B—Mission of the Office 

‘‘SEC. 1921. MISSION OF THE OFFICE. 

‘‘The Office shall be responsible for coordinating with other 

Federal efforts and developing a strategy and policy for the Department to plan for, detect, and protect against the importation, possession, storage, transportation, development, or use of unauthorized 

chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials, devices, or 

agents in the United States and to protect against an attack using 

such materials, devices, or agents against the people, territory, 

or interests of the United States. 

‘‘SEC. 1922. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS 

AND FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

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

under this title shall not affect or diminish the authority or the 

responsibility of any officer of the Department or any officer of 

any other Federal agency with respect to the command, control, 

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

of any component of the Department or any other Federal agency. 

‘‘(b) OFFICE FOR STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS.—Not later than 

one year after the date of the enactment of the Countering Weapons 

of Mass Destruction Act of 2018, the Assistant Secretary shall, 

in coordination with the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and 

Plans, submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

strategy and implementation plan to direct programs within the 

Office and to integrate those programs with other programs and 

activities of the Department. 

‘‘(c) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—Nothing in 

this title or any other provision of law may be construed to affect 

or reduce the responsibilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Administrator of the Agency, including the 

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

Administrator of the Agency.’’; 

(4) by striking section 1905; 

(5) by redesignating sections 1902, 1903, 1904, 1906, and 

1907 as sections 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, and 1927, respectively, 

and transferring such sections to appear after section 1922, 

as added by paragraph (3); 
H. R. 7213—3 

(6) in section 1923, as redesignated— 

(A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MISSION OF

OFFICE’’ and inserting ‘‘RESPONSIBILITIES’’; and 

(B) in subsection (a)(11), by striking ‘‘Domestic Nuclear 

Detection Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Office’’; 

(7) in section 1925, as redesignated, in subsection (a), in 

the first sentence, by striking ‘‘section 1902’’ and inserting 

‘‘section 1923’’; 

(8) in section 1926, as redesignated— 

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

(i) by striking ‘‘Director for Domestic Nuclear 

Detection’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’; and 

(ii) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (6) and (7) of section 

1902(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1923’’; and 

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (6) and 

(7) of section 1902(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1923’’; 

(9) in section 1927, as redesignated— 

(A) in subsection (a)(1)(C), in the matter preceding 

clause (i), by striking ‘‘Director of the Domestic Nuclear 

Detection Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’; and 

(B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘section 1902’’ and 

inserting ‘‘section 1923’’; and 

(10) by inserting after section 1927, as redesignated, the 

following: 

‘‘SEC. 1928. SECURING THE CITIES PROGRAM. 

‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, through the Assistant 

Secretary, shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘Securing 

the Cities’ or ‘STC’ program, to enhance the ability of the United 

States to detect and prevent terrorist attacks and other high-consequence events utilizing nuclear or other radiological materials 

that pose a high risk to homeland security in high-risk urban 

areas. 

‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Through the STC program the Secretary 

shall— 

‘‘(1) assist State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments 

in designing and implementing, or enhancing existing, architectures for coordinated and integrated detection and interdiction 

of nuclear or other radiological materials that are out of regulatory control; 

‘‘(2) support the development of an operating capability 

to detect and report on nuclear and other radiological materials 

out of regulatory control; 

‘‘(3) provide resources to enhance detection, analysis, 

communication, and coordination to better integrate State, 

local, Tribal, and territorial assets into Federal operations; 

‘‘(4) facilitate alarm adjudication and provide subject matter 

expertise and technical assistance on concepts of operations, 

training, exercises, and alarm response protocols; 

‘‘(5) communicate with, and promote sharing of information 

about the presence or detection of nuclear or other radiological 

materials among appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 

territorial government agencies, in a manner that ensures 

transparency with the jurisdictions designated under subsection 

(c); 
H. R. 7213—4 

‘‘(6) provide augmenting resources, as appropriate, to 

enable State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to sustain and refresh their capabilities developed under the STC 

program; 

‘‘(7) monitor expenditures under the STC program and 

track performance in meeting the goals of the STC program; 

and 

‘‘(8) provide any other assistance the Secretary determines 

appropriate. 

‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF JURISDICTIONS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the STC program under 

subsection (a), the Secretary shall designate jurisdictions from 

among high-risk urban areas under section 2003. 

‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall 

notify the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee 

on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate not later 

than 3 days before the designation of a new jurisdiction under 

paragraph (1) or any change to a jurisdiction previously designated under that paragraph. 

‘‘(d) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, an implementation 

plan for carrying out the STC program that includes— 

‘‘(i) a discussion of the goals of the STC program 

and a strategy to achieve those goals; 

‘‘(ii) performance metrics and milestones for the 

STC program; 

‘‘(iii) measures for achieving and sustaining 

capabilities under the STC program; and 

‘‘(iv) costs associated with achieving the goals of 

the STC program. 

‘‘(B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one 

year after the date of the enactment of the Countering 

Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018, the Secretary 

shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

and the Comptroller General of the United States the 

implementation plan required by subparagraph (A). 

‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year after the 

submission of the implementation plan under paragraph (1)(B), 

the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

committees and the Comptroller General a report that 

includes— 

‘‘(A) an assessment of the effectiveness of the STC 

program, based on the performance metrics and milestones 

required by paragraph (1)(A)(ii); and 

‘‘(B) proposals for any changes to the STC program, 

including an explanation of how those changes align with 

the strategy and goals of the STC program and, as appropriate, address any challenges faced by the STC program. 

‘‘(3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—Not later than 18 

months after the submission of the report required by paragraph (2), the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

evaluating the implementation plan required by paragraph (1) 
H. R. 7213—5 

and the report required by paragraph (2), including an assessment of progress made with respect to the performance metrics 

and milestones required by paragraph (1)(A)(ii) and the 

sustainment of the capabilities of the STC program. 

‘‘(4) BRIEFING AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—Before 

making any changes to the structure or requirements of the 

STC program, the Assistant Secretary shall— 

‘‘(A) consult with the appropriate congressional 

committees; and 

‘‘(B) provide to those committees— 

‘‘(i) a briefing on the proposed changes, including 

a justification for the changes; 

‘‘(ii) documentation relating to the changes, 

including plans, strategies, and resources to implement 

the changes; and 

‘‘(iii) an assessment of the effect of the changes 

on the capabilities of the STC program, taking into 

consideration previous resource allocations and stakeholder input.’’. 

(b) REFERENCES AND CONSTRUCTION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Any reference in any law, regulation, 

document, paper, or other record of the United States to— 

(A) the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office shall be 

deemed to be a reference to the Countering Weapons of 

Mass Destruction Office; and 

(B) the Director for Domestic Nuclear Detection shall 

be deemed to be a reference to the Assistant Secretary 

for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. 

(2) CONSTRUCTION.—Sections 1923 through 1927 of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002, as redesignated by subsection 

(a), shall be construed to cover the chemical and biological 

responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for the Countering 

Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. 

(3) AUTHORITY.—The authority of the Director of the 

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to make grants or enter 

into cooperative agreements is transferred to the Assistant 

Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 

Office, and such authority shall be construed to include grants 

for all purposes of title XIX of the Homeland Security Act 

of 2002, as amended by this Act. 

(c) CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER.— 

(1) REPEAL.—Title V of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

(6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by striking section 516. 

(2) AMENDMENT.—Title XIX of the Homeland Security Act 

of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 591 et seq.), as amended by subsection (a), 

is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Chief Medical Officer 

‘‘SEC. 1931. CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Office a Chief Medical Officer, 

who shall be appointed by the President. The Chief Medical Officer 

shall report to the Assistant Secretary. 

‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individual appointed as Chief Medical Officer shall be a licensed physician possessing a demonstrated 

ability in and knowledge of medicine and public health. 
H. R. 7213—6 

‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Chief Medical Officer shall have 

the responsibility within the Department for medical issues related 

to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, including— 

‘‘(1) serving as the principal advisor on medical and public 

health issues to the Secretary, the Administrator of the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency, the Assistant Secretary, and 

other Department officials; 

‘‘(2) providing operational medical support to all components of the Department; 

‘‘(3) as appropriate, providing medical liaisons to the components of the Department, on a reimbursable basis, to provide 

subject matter expertise on operational medical issues; 

‘‘(4) coordinating with Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

governments, the medical community, and others within and 

outside the Department, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Assistant Secretary 

for Preparedness and Response of the Department of Health 

and Human Services, with respect to medical and public health 

matters; and 

‘‘(5) performing such other duties relating to such responsibilities as the Secretary may require.’’. 

(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in section 

1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by 

striking the item relating to section 516. 

(d) WORKFORCE HEALTH AND MEDICAL SUPPORT.—Title VII of 

the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended 

by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SEC. 710. WORKFORCE HEALTH AND MEDICAL SUPPORT. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Management shall 

be responsible for workforce-focused health and medical activities 

of the Department. The Under Secretary for Management may 

further delegate responsibility for those activities, as appropriate. 

‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Under Secretary for Management, 

in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer, shall— 

‘‘(1) provide oversight and coordinate the medical and 

health activities of the Department for the human and animal 

personnel of the Department; 

‘‘(2) establish medical, health, veterinary, and occupational 

health exposure policy, guidance, strategies, and initiatives for 

the human and animal personnel of the Department; 

‘‘(3) as deemed appropriate by the Under Secretary, provide 

medical liaisons to the components of the Department, on a 

reimbursable basis, to provide subject matter expertise on 

occupational medical and public health issues; 

‘‘(4) serve as the primary representative for the Department 

on agreements regarding the detail of Commissioned Corps 

officers of the Public Health Service of the Department of 

Health and Human Services to the Department, except that 

components of the Department shall retain authority for 

funding, determination of specific duties, and supervision of 

such detailed Commissioned Corps officers; and 

‘‘(5) perform such other duties relating to the responsibilities described in this subsection as the Secretary may require.’’. 

(e) TRANSFERS; ABOLISHMENT.— 
H. R. 7213—7 

(1) TRANSFERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

transfer to— 

(A) the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office 

all functions, personnel, budget authority, and assets of— 

(i) the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, as in 

existence on the day before the date of the enactment 

of this Act; and 

(ii) the Office of Health Affairs, as in existence 

on the day before the date of the enactment of this 

Act, except for the functions, personnel, budget 

authority, and assets of such office necessary to perform the functions specified in section 710 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (relating to workforce health 

and medical support), as added by this Act; and 

(B) the Management Directorate of the Department 

of Homeland Security all functions, personnel, budget 

authority, and assets of the Office of Health Affairs, as 

in existence on the day before the date of the enactment 

of this Act, that are necessary to perform the functions 

of such section 710. 

(2) ABOLISHMENT.—Upon completion of all transfers pursuant to paragraph (1)— 

(A) the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office of the 

Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Health 

Affairs of the Department of Homeland Security are abolished; and 

(B) the positions of Assistant Secretary for Health 

Affairs and Director for Domestic Nuclear Detection are 

abolished. 

(f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

(1) OTHER OFFICERS.—Paragraph (4) of section 103(d) of 

the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 113(d)) is amended 

by striking ‘‘A Director for Domestic Nuclear Detection’’ and 

inserting ‘‘An Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons 

of Mass Destruction Office’’. 

(2) NATIONAL BIOSURVEILLANCE INTEGRATION CENTER.— 

Section 316(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

195b(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretary shall’’ and inserting 

‘‘Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, shall’’. 

(3) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—Section 317(f) of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 195c(f)) is amended 

by striking ‘‘the Chief Medical Officer,’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass 

Destruction Office,’’. 

(4) FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED.—Section 505(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended— 

(A) by striking paragraph (4); 

(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4); 

and 

(C) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by striking 

‘‘through (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘through (3)’’. 

(5) COORDINATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

EFFORTS RELATED TO FOOD, AGRICULTURE, AND VETERINARY

DEFENSE AGAINST TERRORISM.—Section 528(a) of the Homeland 

Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 321q(a)) is amended by striking 
H. R. 7213—8 

‘‘Health Affairs,’’ and inserting ‘‘the Countering Weapons of 

Mass Destruction Office,’’. 

(g) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, AND NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES.—Not later 

than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

annually thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a briefing and report to the appropriate congressional committees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 

2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) on— 

(1) the organization and management of the chemical, 

biological, radiological, and nuclear activities of the Department 

of Homeland Security, including research and development 

activities, and the location of each activity under the organizational structure of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 

Office; 

(2) a comprehensive inventory of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear activities, including research and development activities, of the Department of Homeland Security, highlighting areas of collaboration between components, coordination with other agencies, and the effectiveness and accomplishments of consolidated chemical, biological, radiological, and 

nuclear activities of the Department of Homeland Security, 

including research and development activities; 

(3) information relating to how the organizational structure 

of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office will 

enhance the development of chemical, biological, radiological, 

and nuclear priorities and capabilities across the Department 

of Homeland Security; 

(4) a discussion of any resulting cost savings and efficiencies gained through activities described in paragraphs (1) 

and (2); 

(5) information on how the Assistant Secretary for the 

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office is coordinating 

with the Under Secretary of Science and Technology of the 

Department of Homeland Security on research and development 

activities; and 

(6) recommendations for any necessary statutory changes, 

or, if no statutory changes are necessary, an explanation of 

why no statutory or organizational changes are necessary. 

(h) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents in section 

1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended— 

(1) by striking the item relating to section 516; 

(2) inserting after the item relating to section 709 the 

following: 

‘‘Sec. 710. Workforce health and medical support.’’; 

and 

(3) by striking the items relating to title XIX (including 

items relating to section 1901 through section 1907) and 

inserting the following: 

‘‘TITLE XIX—COUNTERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OFFICE 

‘‘Sec. 1900. Definitions. 

‘‘Subtitle A—Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office 

‘‘Sec. 1901. Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Mission of the Office 

‘‘Sec. 1921. Mission of the Office. 
H. R. 7213—9 

‘‘Sec. 1922. Relationship to other Department components and Federal agencies. 

‘‘Sec. 1923. Responsibilities. 

‘‘Sec. 1924. Hiring authority. 

‘‘Sec. 1925. Testing authority. 

‘‘Sec. 1926. Contracting and grant making authorities. 

‘‘Sec. 1927. Joint annual interagency review of global nuclear detection architecture. 

‘‘Sec. 1928. Securing the Cities program. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Chief Medical Officer 

‘‘Sec. 1931. Chief Medical Officer.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.