IB 
Union Calendar No. 432 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4941 
[Report No. 109–729, Part I] 
To reform the science and technology programs and activities of the 
Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2006 
Mr. REICHERT (for himself and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
DECEMBER 8, 2006 
Additional sponsors: Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. 
DENT, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN 
of California, and Mr. SHAYS 
DECEMBER 8, 2006 
Reported with an amendment and referred to the Committee on Science for 
a period ending not later than December 8, 2006, for consideration of 
such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction 
of that committee pursuant to clause 1(o), rule X. Referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce for a period ending not later than De-
cember 8, 2006, for consideration of such provisions of the bill and 
amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to 
clause 1(f), rule X 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
DECEMBER 8, 2006 
Committees on Science and Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to 
the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and or-
dered to be printed 
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[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 14, 2006] 
A BILL 
To reform the science and technology programs and activities 
of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Security 
Science and Technology Enhancement Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR HOMELAND SECURITY 
EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Title III of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 314. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR HOMELAND SECU-
RITY EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING. 
‘‘(a) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Under Secretary for Science and Tech-
nology, and in consultation with other components of 
the Department, as appropriate, and the National In-
stitute of Standards and Technology, shall support 
the development, promulgation, and updating as nec-
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essary of national voluntary consensus standards for 
the performance, use, and validation of equipment 
used by Federal, State, and local government and 
nongovernment emergency response providers, and by 
the components of the Department. Such standards— 
‘‘(A) shall be, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, consistent with any existing voluntary 
consensus standards; 
‘‘(B) shall take into account, as appro-
priate, new types of terrorism threats and re-
sponsibilities of the Department that may not 
have been contemplated when such existing 
standards were developed; 
‘‘(C) shall be focused on maximizing inter-
operability, interchangeability, durability, flexi-
bility, efficiency, efficacy, portability, sustain-
ability, and safety; and 
‘‘(D) shall cover all appropriate uses of the 
equipment. 
‘‘(2) REQUIRED CATEGORIES.—In carrying out 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall specifically con-
sider national voluntary consensus standards for the 
performance, use, and validation of the following cat-
egories of equipment: 
‘‘(A) Thermal imaging equipment. 
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‘‘(B) Radiation detection and analysis 
equipment. 
‘‘(C) Biological detection and analysis 
equipment. 
‘‘(D) Chemical detection and analysis 
equipment. 
‘‘(E) Decontamination and sterilization 
equipment. 
‘‘(F) Personal protective equipment, includ-
ing garments, boots, gloves, and hoods and other 
protective clothing. 
‘‘(G) Respiratory protection equipment. 
‘‘(H) Interoperable communications, includ-
ing wireless and wireline voice, video, and data 
networks. 
‘‘(I) Explosive detection and analysis equip-
ment, and technologies and methods to mitigate 
the impact of explosive devices or materials. 
‘‘(J) Containment vessels. 
‘‘(K) Contaminant-resistant vehicles. 
‘‘(L) Aerial platforms. 
‘‘(M) Special rescue equipment. 
‘‘(N) Screening and patrolling technologies. 
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‘‘(O) Such other equipment for which the 
Secretary determines that national voluntary 
consensus standards would be appropriate. 
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.—The 
Secretary, in carrying out this subsection, and in co-
ordination with the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, may support the cer-
tification of equipment and the accreditation of lab-
oratories to conduct testing and evaluation. 
‘‘(4) EQUIPMENT
STANDARDS
AND
ACQUISI-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(A) DEPARTMENT
SUPPORTED
ACQUISI-
TIONS.—If an applicant for financial assistance 
provided by the Department proposes to use such 
financial assistance to upgrade or purchase new 
equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed 
any applicable national voluntary consensus 
standards, the applicant shall include in its ap-
plication for financial assistance an explanation 
of why such equipment or systems will serve the 
needs of the applicant better than equipment or 
systems that meet or exceed such standards. 
‘‘(B) DEPARTMENT
ACQUISITIONS.—When 
an operational unit of the Department proposes 
to upgrade or purchase new equipment or sys-
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tems, the head of that unit shall consult with the 
Under Secretary for Science and Technology on 
whether such equipment or systems meet or ex-
ceed any applicable national voluntary con-
sensus standards and whether there is need for 
the Department to support the development or 
updating of applicable national voluntary con-
sensus standards. 
‘‘(b) TRAINING STANDARDS.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Under Secretary for Science and Tech-
nology, and in consultation with other components of 
the Department, as appropriate, shall support the de-
velopment, promulgation, and regular updating as 
necessary of national voluntary consensus standards 
for training for Federal, State, and local government 
and nongovernment emergency response providers and 
Department personnel, including training that will 
enable them to use equipment effectively and appro-
priately in carrying out their responsibilities. Such 
standards shall give priority to providing training 
to— 
‘‘(A) enable Federal, State, and local gov-
ernment and nongovernment emergency response 
providers and Department personnel to prevent, 
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