SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Federal Government, through grants 
provided by the National Institute of Allergy and In-
fectious 
Diseases, 
has 
invested 
more 
than 
$250,000,000 in the construction of regional bio-
containment laboratories (RBLs), a network of 13 
university-based Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) labora-
tories. Individual university grant recipients have 
provided additional private matching funds to con-
struct these facilities. 
(2) These laboratories were established to fulfill 
2 functions essential to the Nation’s biodefense 
strategy: 
(A) To support research for the develop-
ment of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for 
emerging infections and biological threats. 
(B) To provide surge capacity in support 
of a public emergency response to acts of bio-
terrorism and outbreaks of infectious disease. 
(3) While the Federal Government has provided 
support for the construction of these facilities, it has 
not to date provided the operational support re-
quired by these laboratories to fulfill their Federal 
surge capacity mission. 
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(4) Recent bioterrorism exercises conducted by 
the Department of Homeland Security and the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention have dem-
onstrated that the Federal Government may not 
have sufficient laboratory surge capacity to ade-
quately respond to a large scale bioterrorism event. 
(5) Once fully operational, the network of 
RBLs will be able to collectively provide more than 
52,000 square feet of laboratory space within a rel-
atively short period of a declared national bioterror 
or pandemic emergency. 
(6) In addition, the RBL network will be able 
to collectively provide the services of nearly 500 
trained personnel, of which more than 230 will have 
Department of Justice clearance. 
(7) Each of the RBLs has highly trained and 
specialized personnel capable of handling select 
agent pathogens and conducting diagnostic testing, 
in a secure BSL3 setting that can be ‘‘locked down’’ 
rapidly and discreetly during an act of bioterrorism. 
Each facility can maintain ‘‘chain of custody’’ re-
quirements for specimen processing. 
(8) All of the RBL facilities were designed with 
multiple laboratory suites, so that each can handle 
multiple airborne pathogens simultaneously without 
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the risk for cross-contamination. Additionally, the 
RBLs can support critical threat assessment re-
search through the combined strengths of some of 
the world’s leading bioterrorism research experts 
and the development of diverse animal models. 
(9) The House Homeland Security Appropria-
tions Subcommittee recognized the multi-agency po-
tential of the RBLs by including report language in 
its fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill calling on the 
Department of Homeland Security to ‘‘leverage the 
Federal investment in these facilities’’. 
(10) The Federal Government, through the De-
partment of Homeland Security, should provide 
funding for the RBL network to preserve this crit-
ical homeland security asset and ensure that the Na-
tion has the surge capacity needed to adequately re-
spond to acts of bioterrorism and pandemics. 
SEC. 3. LABORATORY SURGE CAPACITY. 
(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall award grants on a competitive basis to regional bio-
containment laboratories for maintaining surge capacity 
that can be used to respond to acts of bioterrorism or out-
breaks of infectious diseases. 
(b) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall base the amount 
of a grant under this section to a regional biocontainment 
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laboratory on the costs incurred by such laboratory that 
are associated with the provision of surge capacity. 
(c) INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary may award a grant 
to a regional biocontainment laboratory under this section 
only if the laboratory agrees to allow the Secretary and 
other relevant Federal agencies to inspect the facilities of 
the laboratory. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) The term ‘‘regional biocontainment labora-
tory’’ means any of the 13 regional biocontainment 
laboratories funded through the National Institute 
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 
(2) The term ‘‘relevant Federal agency’’ means 
any Federal agency with a role in public emergency 
response to acts of bioterrorism and outbreaks of in-
fectious diseases. 
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Homeland Security. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated— 
(1) $21,500,000 for fiscal year 2009; 
(2) $23,500,000 in fiscal year 2010; and 
(3) $26,000,000 in fiscal year 2011. 
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SEC. 4. REPORTING. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, shall report to the Congress on— 
(1) activities undertaken to integrate the net-
work of regional biocontainment laboratories (as de-
fined in section 3(d)(1)) with the Center for Disease 
Control and Prevention’s laboratory reponse net-
work; and 
(2) the extent to which additional Biosafety 
Level 3 (BSL3) laboratories are needed to fulfill the 
Nation’s laboratory surge capacity needs. 
Æ 
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