IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3263 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

in the Department of Homeland Security a medical countermeasures program, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Medical Counter3 measures Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title XIX of the 

6 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1932. MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

10 medical countermeasures program to facilitate personnel 

11 readiness, and protection for the Department’s employees 

12 and working animals in the event of a chemical, biological, 

13 radiological, nuclear, or explosives attack, naturally occur14 ring disease outbreak, or pandemic, and to support De15 partment mission continuity. 

16 ‘‘(b) OVERSIGHT.—The Chief Medical Officer of the 

17 Department shall provide programmatic oversight of the 

18 medical countermeasures program established pursuant to 

19 subsection (a), and shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) develop Department-wide standards for 

21 medical countermeasure storage, security, dis22 pensing, and documentation; 

23 ‘‘(2) maintain a stockpile of medical counter24 measures, including antibiotics, antivirals, and radio25 logical countermeasures, as appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(3) preposition appropriate medical counter2 measures in strategic locations nationwide, based on 

3 threat and employee density, in accordance with ap4 plicable Federal statutes and regulations; 

5 ‘‘(4) provide oversight and guidance regarding 

6 the dispensing of stockpiled medical counter7 measures; 

8 ‘‘(5) ensure rapid deployment and dispensing of 

9 medical countermeasures in a chemical, biological, 

10 radiological, nuclear, or explosives attack, naturally 

11 occurring disease outbreak, or pandemic; 

12 ‘‘(6) provide training to Department employees 

13 on medical countermeasure dispensing; and 

14 ‘‘(7) support dispensing exercises. 

15 ‘‘(c) MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES WORKING

16 GROUP.—The Chief Medical Officer shall establish a med17 ical countermeasures working group comprised of rep18 resentatives from appropriate components and offices of 

19 the Department to ensure that medical countermeasures 

20 standards are maintained and guidance is consistent. 

21 ‘‘(d) MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES MANAGE22 MENT.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the en23 actment of this section, the Chief Medical Officer shall de24 velop and submit to the Secretary an integrated logistics 

25 support plan for medical countermeasures, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a methodology for determining the ideal 

2 types and quantities of medical countermeasures to 

3 stockpile and how frequently such methodology shall 

4 be reevaluated; 

5 ‘‘(2) a replenishment plan; and 

6 ‘‘(3) inventory tracking, reporting, and rec7 onciliation procedures for existing stockpiles and 

8 new medical countermeasure purchases. 

9 ‘‘(e) STOCKPILE ELEMENTS.—In determining the 

10 types and quantities of medical countermeasures to stock11 pile under subsection (d), the Chief Medical Officer shall 

12 utilize, if available— 

13 ‘‘(1) Department chemical, biological, radio14 logical, and nuclear risk assessments; and 

15 ‘‘(2) Centers for Disease Control and Preven16 tion guidance on medical countermeasures. 

17 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Home21 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the 

22 plan developed in accordance with subsection (d) and brief 

23 such Committees regarding implementing the require24 ments of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘medical 

2 countermeasures’ means antibiotics, antivirals, radio3 logical countermeasures, and other countermeasures that 

4 may be deployed to protect the Department’s employees 

5 and working animals in the event of a chemical, biological, 

6 radiological, nuclear, or explosives attack, naturally occur7 ring disease outbreak, or pandemic.’’. 

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

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

10 amended by adding after the item relating to section 1931 

11 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1932. Medical countermeasures.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 20, 2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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