Title: Civil Defense Preparedness Act of 2018
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Civil Defense Preparedness Act of 2018
This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the use of grants under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) to assist high-risk urban areas and high-risk states, respectively, to increase preparedness against rocket-propelled or other forms of kinetically-delivered weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks.
The bill includes a rocket-propelled or other form of kinetically-delivered WMD among the types of threats to critical infrastructure sectors and to U.S. populations that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must assess.
FEMA must permit a grant recipient under the UASI and the SHSGP to use grant funds for joint projects with governmental entities for the procurement of WMD protective equipment and nuclear weapons attack building reinforcement.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5399 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5399

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to clarify that grants made 
 pursuant to the Urban Area Security Initiative and the State Homeland 
  Security Grant Program may be used to increase the preparedness of 
  high-risk State, local, territorial, and tribal governments against 
 weapons of mass destruction and biological and chemical attacks, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 2018

 Ms. Gabbard (for herself, Mr. Garrett, Ms. Bordallo, Mrs. Radewagen, 
 Ms. Hanabusa, and Mr. Young of Alaska) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to clarify that grants made 
 pursuant to the Urban Area Security Initiative and the State Homeland 
  Security Grant Program may be used to increase the preparedness of 
  high-risk State, local, territorial, and tribal governments against 
 weapons of mass destruction and biological and chemical attacks, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Civil Defense Preparedness Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. WMD GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Title XX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended--
            (1) in section 2001 (6 U.S.C. 601)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), 
                (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), and 
                (14) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), 
                (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), and (16), 
                respectively;
                    (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so 
                redesignated, the following new paragraph:
            ``(1) Adversary country.--The term `adversary country' 
        means a country referred to or described as hostile or as an 
        adversary country in the most recent National Security 
        Strategy.'';
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so 
                redesignated, the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) High-risk state.--The term `high-risk State' means--
                    ``(A) a State or territory that is geographically 
                closest to known adversary countries; and
                    ``(B) a State or territory proven or determined by 
                the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
                Defense, to be highly susceptible to a rocket-propelled 
                or other form of kinetically-delivered weapon of mass 
                destruction from an adversary country.''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(17) Weapon of mass destruction.--The term `weapon of 
        mass destruction' means--
                    ``(A) any explosive, incendiary, poison gas, or 
                missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of 
                more than one-quarter ounce; or
                    ``(B) any weapon--
                            ``(i) intended to cause widespread death or 
                        serious bodily injury through the release, 
                        dissemination, or impact of toxic chemicals or 
                        disease organisms; or
                            ``(ii) that is designed to release 
                        radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous 
                        to human life.'';
            (2) in subsection (a) of section 2003 (6 U.S.C. 604), by 
        inserting ``, including to assist high-risk urban areas to 
        increase preparedness against rocket-propelled or other forms 
        of kinetically-delivered weapons of mass destruction, including 
        nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks'' before the period 
        at the end;
            (3) in subsection (a) of section 2004 (6 U.S.C. 605), by 
        inserting ``, including to assist high-risk States to increase 
        preparedness against rocket-propelled or other forms of 
        kinetically-delivered weapons of mass destruction, including 
        nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks'' before the period 
        at the end;
            (4) in subsection (b) of section 2007 (6 U.S.C. 608)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph 
                (10); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(9) Rocket-propelled or other form of kinetically-
        delivered weapon of mass destruction.''; and
            (5) in subsection (a) of section 2008 (6 U.S.C. 609)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (14) as paragraph 
                (15); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(14) joint projects with State, local, and tribal 
        entities for the procurement of, building, and related training 
        of biological weapons attack protective equipment, chemical 
        weapons attack protective equipment, and nuclear weapons attack 
        building reinforcement;''.
    (b) Annual Reports.--Not later than December 31, 2018, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 
and make publically available on an internet website of the Department 
of Homeland Security a report on the number of grants made under 
sections 2003 and 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
604 and 605) during the immediately preceding fiscal year, with 
specific information relating to the number of such grants that 
pertained to increasing preparedness against rocket-propelled or other 
forms of kinetically-delivered weapons of mass destruction (as such 
term is defined in section 2001 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 
as amended by subsection (a)(1)), including nuclear, biological, and 
chemical attacks.
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