I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2182 
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report 
to Congress on the alternatives for the final disposition of Plum Island, 
including preservation of the island for conservation, education, and 
research, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2017 
Mr. ZELDIN (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. MENG, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. KING 
of New York, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Mr. COURTNEY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Home-
land Security 
A BILL 
To require the Comptroller General of the United States 
to submit a report to Congress on the alternatives for 
the final disposition of Plum Island, including preserva-
tion of the island for conservation, education, and re-
search, 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 ‘‘Plum Island Preserva-
tion Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Federal Government has owned Plum 
Island, New York, since 1899. 
(2) Since 1954, the Plum Island Animal Dis-
ease Center has conducted unrivaled scientific re-
search on a variety of infectious animal-borne dis-
eases, including foot-and-mouth disease, resulting, 
most recently, in the development of a new cell line 
that rapidly and reliably detects this highly debili-
tating disease of livestock. 
(3) Over 62 years, the Center has had a strong, 
proven record of safety. 
(4) $23,200,000 in Federal dollars have been 
spent on upgrades to, and the maintenance of, the 
Center since January 2012. 
(5) In addition to the Center, Plum Island con-
tains cultural, historical, ecological, and natural re-
sources of regional and national significance. 
(6) Plum Island is situated where the Long Is-
land Sound and Peconic Bay meet, both of which 
are estuaries that are part of the National Estuary 
Program and are environmentally and economically 
significant to the region. 
(7) The Federal Government has invested hun-
dreds of millions of Federal dollars over the last two 
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decades to make long-term improvements with re-
spect to the conservation and management needs of 
Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay. 
(8) In a report submitted to Congress on April 
11, 2016, entitled ‘‘National Bio- and Agro-Defense 
Facility Construction Plan Update’’ the Department 
of Homeland Security noted that the new National 
Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility under construction 
on such date in Manhattan, Kansas, is, as of such 
date, fully paid for through a combination of Fed-
eral appropriations and funding from the State of 
Kansas. 
SEC. 3. REPORT REQUIRED ON FINAL DISPOSITION OF 
PLUM ISLAND. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report containing the 
following: 
(1) The alternatives for the final disposition of 
Plum Island, including the transfer of ownership to 
another Federal agency, a State or local govern-
ment, a nonprofit organization, or a combination 
thereof for the purpose of education, research, or 
conservation. 
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(2) With respect to each such alternative final 
disposition, an analysis of— 
(A) the effect such disposition would have 
on the island’s resources; 
(B) the remediation responsibilities under 
such disposition; 
(C) any future legislation necessary to im-
plement such disposition; 
(D) the possible implications and issues, if 
any, of implementing such disposition; 
(E) the costs of such disposition, including 
any potential costs related to the transition, 
hazard mitigation, and cleanup of property that 
would be incurred by a recipient of the property 
under such disposition; and 
(F) the potential revenue from such dis-
position. 
SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF ACTION. 
No action, including any pre-sale marketing activity, 
may be taken to carry out section 538 of title V of division 
D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public 
Law 112–74; 125 Stat. 976) until at least 180 days after 
the report required by section 3 has been submitted to 
Congress. 
Æ 
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