II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3263 

To establish a Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department of Homeland 

Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2010 

Mr. AKAKA (for himself and Mr. ENSIGN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department 

of Homeland Security, 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. CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER OF DEPARTMENT 

4 OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu6 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 317. CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Department a 

3 Chief Veterinary Officer, who shall be appointed by the 

4 Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(b) REPORTING RELATIONSHIP.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Veterinary Offi7 cer shall report directly to the Chief Medical Officer. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If an individual other than 

9 the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs is serving 

10 as the Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Veterinary 

11 Officer shall report directly to the Assistant Sec12 retary for Health Affairs. 

13 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individual appointed as 

14 Chief Veterinary Officer shall be a veterinarian who pos15 sesses— 

16 ‘‘(1) a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of 

17 veterinary public health and emergency prepared18 ness; and 

19 ‘‘(2) other professional experience, as deter20 mined by the Secretary, including experience in agri21 culture, food defense, and disaster medicine. 

22 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Chief Veterinary Offi23 cer shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) be the head of the division of the Depart25 ment with primary responsibility for veterinary 

26 issues, food defense, and agriculture security; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) have primary responsibility within the De2 partment for responsibilities relating to veterinary 

3 medicine and veterinary public health, including— 

4 ‘‘(A) serving as the principal authority in 

5 the Department responsible for advising the 

6 Secretary, in coordination with the Assistant 

7 Secretary for Health Affairs, on veterinary pub8 lic health, food defense, and agricultural secu9 rity issues; 

10 ‘‘(B) providing guidance for the health and 

11 welfare of the working animals of the Depart12 ment, including those used to enhance transpor13 tation, border, and maritime security, and for 

14 other purposes; 

15 ‘‘(C) leading the policy initiatives of the 

16 Department relating to— 

17 ‘‘(i) food, animal, and agricultural in18 cidents, and the impact of such incidents 

19 on animal and public health; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) overall domestic preparedness for 

21 and collective response to agricultural ter22 rorism; 

23 ‘‘(D) serving as the principal point of con24 tact in the Office of Health Affairs for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) all veterinary preparedness and 

2 response research and development; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) sharing homeland security veteri4 nary medical information with Department 

5 officials, including all components with vet6 erinary, food, or agricultural interests; 

7 ‘‘(E) serving as the principal point of con8 tact within the Department with respect to vet9 erinary homeland security issues for— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Department of Agriculture, 

11 the Department of Defense, the Depart12 ment of Health and Human Services, and 

13 other Federal departments and agencies; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) State, local, and tribal govern16 ments, the veterinary community, and 

17 other entities within and outside the De18 partment; and 

19 ‘‘(F) performing such other duties relating 

20 to the responsibilities of the Chief Veterinary 

21 Officer as the Secretary may require. 

22 ‘‘(e) ADVANCE NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION RE23 QUIRED.—Not later than 180 days before carrying out 

24 any reorganization within the Department that would af25 fect any responsibility of the Chief Veterinary Officer, the 


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1 Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees a report on the proposed reorganization.’’. 

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

4 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the 

5 end of the items relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Sec. 317. Chief Veterinary Officer.’’. 

Æ 


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