Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2010

Bill: 111-hr-5057
Sponsor: Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-3]
Introduced: 2010-04-15 in the House
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Agricultural practices and innovations
Alternative and renewable resources
Animal and plant health
Arms control and nonproliferation
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Congressional agencies
Congressional oversight
Criminal justice information and records
Cultural exchanges and relations
Department of Homeland Security
Disaster relief and insurance
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Emergency planning and evacuation
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Health technology, devices, supplies
Higher education
Homeland security
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Intergovernmental relations
International exchange and broadcasting
International law and treaties
International organizations and cooperation
Licensing and registrations
Medical education
Nuclear power
Nuclear weapons
Personnel records
Postal service
Public participation and lobbying
Radiation
Research administration and funding
Student aid and college costs
Technology assessment
Terrorism
Worker safety and health
World health

Summary:
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: 
Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2010 or the WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 to direct the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture respectively, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), to designate as "Tier I agents" those agents and toxins which have clear potential to be used effectively in a biological attack that causes significant casualties and for which the DHS Secretary has issued a Material Threat Determination, with exceptions. Amends the Homeland Security Act (HSA) to direct the DHS Secretary to establish enhanced biosecurity measures for persons that possess, use, or transfer Tier I agents.
 
Amends the PHSA to direct the HHS Secretary, in coordination with the DHS Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, to: (1) establish criteria defining characteristics, features, or equipment that could facilitate the misuse of a laboratory or other facility for purposes of developing a biological weapon; and (2) establish and maintain a list of biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal, or plant health but for which the potential to be used in a biological attack has not been established.
 
 Directs the HHS Secretary to: (1) maintain a national database that includes the locations of each laboratory or other facility required to be registered and related information; (2) conduct a comprehensive review of the list of biological agents and toxins under the PHSA; (3) award grants to academic and nonprofit organizations and to state, local, and tribal governments to implement security improvements at laboratories of such organizations and governments that possess, use, or transfer Tier I agents or toxins; and (4) promulgate regulations governing the distribution, synthesis, and handling of Variola virus DNA. 
 
 Amends the PHSA to direct the HHS Secretary, in coordination with the DHS Secretary and the Postmaster General, to: (1) develop, coordinate, and maintain a National Medical Countermeasure Dispensing Strategy; and (2) expand existing pilot programs to utilize the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver medical countermeasures in an emergency. 
 
Amends the HSA to: (1) direct the DHS Secretary to establish a program to distribute medkits (a cache of antibiotics and other medical countermeasure to be used during a public health emergency) to emergency responders and their immediate family members or members of a preparedness organization; (2) require the HHS Secretary to conduct a pilot program to study the feasibility of providing personal medkits to the public; (3) establish in DHS a National Bioforensics Analysis Center; (4) direct the DHS Secretary to develop, coordinate, and maintain a national bioforensics strategy; and (5) direct the DHS Secretary to incorporate into each operational plan developed under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 a communications plan for informing the public regarding preventing, preparing for, protecting against, and responding to imminent natural disasters, terrorist acts, and other man-made disasters.
 
Directs the DHS Secretary to develop and disseminate integrated plume models to enable rapid response activities. Defines "plume model" as the assessment of the location and prediction of the spread of nuclear, radioactive, or chemical fallout and biological pathogens resulting form an explosion or release of nuclear, radioactive chemical, or biological substances.
 
Requires: (1) the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to complete a global review of international biological security threats to the United States and to update the review at least biennially; and (2) the Secretary of State to provide technical and financial assistance to countries or regions identified by the mandated Threat Assessment and to produce and implement a plan for promoting international adherence to, and implementation of, international agreements regarding weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
 
 Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2010 - Authorizes providing assistance to eligible developing countries that: (1) permit personnel from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate outbreaks of infectious diseases within their borders; and (2) provide pathogen surveillance data to the appropriate U.S. agencies and to international health organizations. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to eligible developing countries to purchase and maintain public health laboratory equipment and supplies and communications equipment and information technology to collect, analyze, and transmit public health information.
 
Directs the Secretary of State to award fellowships to eligible nationals to pursue public health education or training and provide assistance for short training courses for public health personnel in laboratory techniques relating to the identification, diagnosis, and tracking of pathogens responsible for possible infectious disease outbreaks. 
 
Sets forth provisions regarding the assignment of public health personnel to U.S. missions and international organizations. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to establish new country or regional international Field Epidemiology Training Programs.
 
Directs the President's Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism to submit to specified congressional committees an unclassified report, with classified annexes as necessary, on the findings and recommendations of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, regarding: (1) U.S. nuclear nonproliferation efforts; and (2) U.S. work with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
 
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to develop strategic plans for the energy development program under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978. 
 
Requires the DNI to develop, implement, and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy for improving: (1) U.S. capabilities for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence related to WMDs; and (2) the recruiting, training, and retention of individuals with expertise in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence related to WMDs and of employees of the intelligence community who possess critical language capabilities and cultural backgrounds.
 
Requires: (1) the Director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to establish an interdisciplinary capability to advise Congress concerning technology or technological applications developed or used for countering terrorism; and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct assessments of such technology or applications or proposed to be developed or used.
 
Amends the HSA to direct the DHS Secretary: (1) in coordination with the Attorney General, to ensure that information concerning terrorist threats is available to the general public within the United States; and (2) to develop and disseminate guidelines for police, emergency medical services, emergency management, and public health personnel for responding to an explosion or release of nuclear, biological, radiological, or chemical material.
 
Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist state, local, and tribal governments in improving and promoting individual and community preparedness for disasters and terrorist acts.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-06-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
action_date: 2010-04-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology.
action_date: 2010-04-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities.
action_date: 2010-04-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Armed Services
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Intelligence (Permanent)
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Foreign Affairs
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Transportation and Infrastructure
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Agriculture
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Energy and Commerce
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, Oversight and Government Reform, Transportation and Infrastructure, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Referred to House Homeland Security
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2010-04-15
text: Introduced in House