I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 484

To make certain amendments to the Homeland Security Act of 2002. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 29, 2003

Mr. OSE (for himself, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. CASTLE, and Mr. LEACH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Select Committee on 

Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and 

Commerce, Science, and Government Reform, 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 make certain amendments to the Homeland Security Act 

of 2002.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. 

4 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 

5 107–296) is amended—

6 (1) in section 308, by striking subsections (a) 

7 through (c)(1) and inserting in lieu thereof the fol8 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

2 the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, shall 

3 carry out the responsibilities under section 302(4) through 

4 both extramural and intramural programs. 

5 ‘‘(b) EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

7 through the Under Secretary for Science and Tech8 nology, shall operate extramural research, develop9 ment, demonstration, testing, and evaluation pro10 grams so as to—

11 ‘‘(A) ensure that colleges, universities, pri12 vate research institutes, and companies (and 

13 consortia thereof) from as many areas of the 

14 United States as practicable participate; 

15 ‘‘(B) ensure that the research funded is of 

16 high quality, as determined through merit re17 view processes developed under section 302(14); 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) distribute funds through grants, co20 operative agreements, and contracts. 

21 ‘‘(2) UNIVERSITY-BASED CENTERS FOR HOME22 LAND SECURITY.—

23 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary, act24 ing through the Under Secretary for Science 

25 and Technology, shall designate a university-
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1 based center or several university-based centers 

2 for homeland security. The purpose of the cen3 ter or these centers shall be to establish a co4 ordinated, university-based system to enhance 

5 the Nation’s homeland security. 

6 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION.—Cri7 teria for the designation of colleges or univer8 sities as a center for homeland security, shall 

9 include, but are not limited to, demonstrated 

10 expertise in the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) The training of first responders. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Responding to incidents involving 

13 weapons of mass destruction and biological 

14 warfare. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Emergency and diagnostic med16 ical services. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Chemical, biological, radiological, 

18 and nuclear countermeasures or detection. 

19 ‘‘(v) Animal and plant health and 

20 diagnostics. 

21 ‘‘(vi) Food safety. 

22 ‘‘(vii) Water and wastewater oper23 ations. 

24 ‘‘(viii) Port and waterway security. 

25 ‘‘(ix) Multi-modal transportation. 
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1 ‘‘(x) Information security and infor2 mation engineering. 

3 ‘‘(xi) Engineering. 

4 ‘‘(xii) Educational outreach and tech5 nical assistance. 

6 ‘‘(xiii) Border transportation and se7 curity. 

8 ‘‘(xiv) The public policy implications 

9 and public dissemination of homeland secu10 rity related research and development. 

11 ‘‘(C) DISCRETION OF SECRETARY.—With 

12 respect to the designation of any given univer13 sity-based center for homeland security, the 

14 Secretary may except certain criteria as speci15 fied in section 308(b)(2)(B) to the extent they 

16 are unnecessary to further homeland security 

17 interests for the purpose of that designation, 

18 and consider additional criteria beyond those 

19 specified in section 308(b)(2)(B) if necessary to 

20 meet the needs of homeland security. Upon des21 ignation of a university-based center for home22 land security, the Secretary shall that day pub23 lish in the Federal Register the criteria that 

24 were excepted or added in the selection process
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1 and the justification for the set of criteria that 

2 were used for that designation. 

3 ‘‘(D) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Sec4 retary shall report annually, from the date of 

5 enactment, to Congress concerning the imple6 mentation of this section. That report shall in7 dicate which center or centers have been des8 ignated and how the designation or designations 

9 enhance homeland security, as well as report 

10 any decisions to revoke or modify such designa11 tions. 

12 ‘‘(E) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA13 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry 

15 out this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(c) INTRAMURAL PROGRAMS.—

17 ‘‘(1) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the du18 ties under section 302, the Secretary, acting through 

19 the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, 

20 may draw upon the expertise of any laboratory of 

21 the Federal Government, whether operated by a con22 tractor or the Government.’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection 835(d) by striking all after 

24 the word ‘‘security’’ and inserting in lieu thereof a 

25 period. 
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1 SEC. 2. NON-PREJUDICIAL REPEAL OF SECTIONS 1714 

2 THROUGH 1717 OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY 

3 ACT OF 2002. 

4 (a) REPEAL.—In accordance with subsection (c), sec5 tions 1714 through 1717 of the Homeland Security Act 

6 of 2002 (Public Law 107–296) are repealed. 

7 (b) APPLICATION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

8 ACT.—The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 

9 seq.) shall be applied and administered as if the sections 

10 repealed by subsection (a) had never been enacted. 

11 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No inference shall be 

12 drawn from the enactment of sections 1714 through 1717 

13 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–

14 296), or from this repeal, regarding the law prior to enact15 ment of sections 1714 through 1717 of the Homeland Se16 curity Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296). Further, no 

17 inference shall be drawn that subsection (a) or (b) effects 

18 any change in that prior law, or that Leroy v. Secretary 

19 of Health and Human Services, Office of Special Master, 

20 No. 02–392V (October 11, 2002), was incorrectly decided. 

21 (d) SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

22 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that—

23 (1) the Nation’s ability to produce and develop 

24 new and effective vaccines faces significant chal25 lenges, and important steps are needed to revitalize 

26 our immunization efforts in order to ensure an ade-
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1 quate supply of vaccines and to encourage the devel2 opment of new vaccines; 

3 (2) these steps include ensuring that patients 

4 who have suffered vaccine-related injuries have the 

5 opportunity to seek fair and timely redress, and that 

6 vaccine manufacturers, manufacturers of compo7 nents or ingredients of vaccines, and physicians and 

8 other administrators of vaccines have adequate pro9 tections; 

10 (3) prompt action is particularly critical given 

11 that vaccines are a front line of defense against com12 mon childhood and adult diseases, as well as against 

13 current and future biological threats; and 

14 (4) not later than 6 months after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, the Committee on Energy 

16 and Commerce should report a bill addressing the 

17 issues described in paragraphs (1) through (3). 

18 SEC. 3. WAIVERS RELATING TO CONTRACTS WITH COR19 PORATE EXPATRIATES. 

20 Section 835 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

21 (Public Law 107–296) is amended by striking subsection 

22 (d) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS.—The Secretary shall waive sub24 section (a) with respect to any specific contract if the Sec-
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1 retary determines that the waiver is required in the inter2 est of homeland security.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

5 as though enacted as part of the Homeland Security Act 

6 of 2002 (Public Law 107–296).

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