HR-3875 : Still Just a Bill

Department of Homeland Security CBRNE Defense Act of 2015

This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office to coordinate, strengthen, and provide chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) capabilities in support of homeland security.

The Office shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary, who shall:

• develop, coordinate, and maintain for DHS overall CBRNE strategy and policy and periodic CBRNE risk assessments;
• serve as the primary DHS representative for coordinating CBRNE activities with other federal agencies;
• provide oversight for DHS's preparedness for CBRNE threats; and
• provide support for operations during CBRNE threats or incidents.

The Secretary of DHS shall transfer to the Office: (1) the Office of Health Affairs, (2) the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, (3) CBRNE threat awareness and risk assessment activities of the Science and Technology Directorate, (4) the CBRNE functions of the Office of Policy and the Office of Operations Coordination, and (5) the Office for Bombing Prevention of the National Protection and Programs Directorate.

The Assistant Secretary shall develop, coordinate, and update at least biennially: (1) terrorism risk assessments of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats; and (2) an integrated terrorism risk assessment that assesses all such threats and, as appropriate, explosives threats, and compares each against one another. The assessments shall be used to inform and guide allocation of resources for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threat activities of DHS.

The Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis of DHS shall:

• support homeland security-focused intelligence analysis of terrorist actors, their claims, and their plans to conduct attacks involving CBRNE against the United States and of global infectious diseases, public health, food, agricultural, and veterinary issues;
• leverage existing and emerging homeland security intelligence capabilities and structures to enhance prevention, protection, response, and recovery efforts with respect to a CBRNE attack;
• share appropriate information regarding such threats to appropriate state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities, as well as other national biosecurity and biodefense stakeholders; and
• coordinate with other relevant DHS components, members of the intelligence community, and other authorities to enable such entities to provide recommendations on optimal information sharing mechanisms and on how such entities can provide information to DHS.

The Assistant Secretary shall report to specified congressional committees with recommendations for adjustments in the Office's management and administration to improve operational impact and enhance efficiencies. DHS shall: (1) assess the organizational structure of the management and execution of DHS's CBRNE research and development activities; and (2) develop and submit to such committees a proposed organizational structure for the management and execution of such activities.

The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a review of and report on DHS's management and execution of such activities.