April 1, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 56 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
All in House sectionPrev23 of 72Next
CBRN INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING ACT OF 2019; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 56
(House of Representatives - April 01, 2019)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages H2931-H2933] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] CBRN INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING ACT OF 2019 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1589) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear intelligence and information sharing functions of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security and to require dissemination of information analyzed by the Department to entities with responsibilities relating to homeland security, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1589 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 ``CBRN Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2019''. [[Page H2932]] SEC. 2. CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, AND NUCLEAR INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING. (a) In General.--Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 210E the following new section: ``SEC. 210F. CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, AND NUCLEAR INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING. ``(a) In General.--The Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security shall-- ``(1) support homeland security-focused intelligence analysis of terrorist actors, their claims, and their plans to conduct attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials against the United States, including critical infrastructure; ``(2) support homeland security-focused intelligence analysis of global infectious disease, public health, food, agricultural, and veterinary issues; ``(3) support homeland security-focused risk analysis and risk assessments of the homeland security hazards described in paragraphs (1) and (2), including the transportation of chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological materials, by providing relevant quantitative and nonquantitative threat information; ``(4) leverage existing and emerging homeland security intelligence capabilities and structures to enhance early detection, prevention, protection, response, and recovery efforts with respect to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack; ``(5) share information and provide tailored analytical support on such threats to State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities, and other Federal agencies, as well as relevant national biosecurity and biodefense stakeholders, as appropriate; and ``(6) perform other responsibilities, as assigned by the Secretary. ``(b) Coordination.--Where appropriate, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis shall coordinate with other relevant Department components, including the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office and the National Biosurveillance Integration Center, agencies within the intelligence community, including the National Counter Proliferation Center, and other Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities, including officials from high-threat urban areas, State and major urban area fusion centers, and local public health departments, as appropriate, and enable such entities to provide recommendations on optimal information sharing mechanisms, including expeditious sharing of classified information, and on how such entities can provide information to the Department. ``(c) Definitions.--In this section: ``(1) Intelligence community.--The term `intelligence community' has the meaning given such term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). ``(2) National biosecurity and biodefense stakeholders.-- The term `national biosecurity and biodefense stakeholders' means officials from Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities and individuals from the private sector who are involved in efforts to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from a biological attack or other phenomena that may have serious health consequences for the United States, including infectious disease outbreaks.''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 201E the following new item: ``Sec. 210F. Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear intelligence and information sharing.''. (c) Report.-- (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for each of the following four years, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the following: (A) The intelligence and information sharing activities under section 210F of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) and of all relevant entities within the Department of Homeland Security to counter the threat from attacks using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials. (B) The Department's activities in accordance with relevant intelligence strategies. (2) Assessment of implementation.--The reports required under paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) An assessment of the progress of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security in implementing such section 210F. (B) A description of the methods established to carry out such assessment. (3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and any committee of the House of Representatives or the Senate having legislative jurisdiction under the rules of the House of Representatives or Senate, respectively, over the matter concerned. SEC. 3. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ANALYZED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, TERRITORIAL, AND PRIVATE ENTITIES WITH RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING TO HOMELAND SECURITY. Paragraph (6) of section 201(d) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121(d)) is amended by striking ``and to agencies of State'' and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting ``to State, local, tribal, territorial, and private entities with such responsibilities, and, as appropriate, to the public, in order to assist in preventing, deterring, or responding to acts of terrorism against the United States.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson). General Leave Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mississippi? There was no objection. Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1589, the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2019. In the last two Congresses, the Committee on Homeland Security has held several hearings on Federal, State, and local capabilities to prevent, identify, and respond to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack. At those hearings, State and local stakeholders, including public health professionals, emergency managers, and first responders, expressed general awareness of the evolving CBRN threat, but expressed frustration with the level of information sharing about such threats. H.R. 1589 seeks to facilitate improved CBRN information sharing by directing DHS to analyze CBRN-related terrorist threats and share relevant threat information with Federal, State, and local stakeholders. These activities could help improve situational awareness at all levels of government and help DHS grant recipients better target their limited resources. Prior versions of this measure passed the House overwhelmingly in the last two Congresses. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the measure once again, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1589. We all know that terrorist groups have long sought to develop capabilities to attack our Nation with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials. H.R. 1589 would address this threat by requiring the Office of Intelligence and Analysis within the Department of Homeland Security to conduct analysis of terrorist capabilities relating to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials, as well as threats to the homeland from global and infectious diseases. To improve coordination with local law enforcement, H.R. 1589 requires the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to share threat information not only with Federal entities, but also State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies. I commend my colleague, Mr. Walker of North Carolina, for introducing this important legislation, and I urge all Members to support it. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, effective information sharing is essential to prevent and respond to threats posed by bad actors. H.R. 1589 will facilitate information sharing in the CBRN space where new threats are constantly emerging. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1589, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1589, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. [[Page H2933]] A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
All in House sectionPrev23 of 72Next