[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3263 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3263

 To establish a Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department of Homeland 
                   Security, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2010

 Mr. Akaka (for himself and Mr. Ensign) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department of Homeland 
                   Security, 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. CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 317. CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER.

    ``(a) In General.--There is in the Department a Chief Veterinary 
Officer, who shall be appointed by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Reporting Relationship.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Chief Veterinary Officer shall 
        report directly to the Chief Medical Officer.
            ``(2) Exception.--If an individual other than the Assistant 
        Secretary for Health Affairs is serving as the Chief Medical 
        Officer, the Chief Veterinary Officer shall report directly to 
        the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs.
    ``(c) Qualifications.--The individual appointed as Chief Veterinary 
Officer shall be a veterinarian who possesses--
            ``(1) a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of veterinary 
        public health and emergency preparedness; and
            ``(2) other professional experience, as determined by the 
        Secretary, including experience in agriculture, food defense, 
        and disaster medicine.
    ``(d) Responsibilities.--The Chief Veterinary Officer shall--
            ``(1) be the head of the division of the Department with 
        primary responsibility for veterinary issues, food defense, and 
        agriculture security; and
            ``(2) have primary responsibility within the Department for 
        responsibilities relating to veterinary medicine and veterinary 
        public health, including--
                    ``(A) serving as the principal authority in the 
                Department responsible for advising the Secretary, in 
                coordination with the Assistant Secretary for Health 
                Affairs, on veterinary public health, food defense, and 
                agricultural security issues;
                    ``(B) providing guidance for the health and welfare 
                of the working animals of the Department, including 
                those used to enhance transportation, border, and 
                maritime security, and for other purposes;
                    ``(C) leading the policy initiatives of the 
                Department relating to--
                            ``(i) food, animal, and agricultural 
                        incidents, and the impact of such incidents on 
                        animal and public health; and
                            ``(ii) overall domestic preparedness for 
                        and collective response to agricultural 
                        terrorism;
                    ``(D) serving as the principal point of contact in 
                the Office of Health Affairs for--
                            ``(i) all veterinary preparedness and 
                        response research and development; and
                            ``(ii) sharing homeland security veterinary 
                        medical information with Department officials, 
                        including all components with veterinary, food, 
                        or agricultural interests;
                    ``(E) serving as the principal point of contact 
                within the Department with respect to veterinary 
                homeland security issues for--
                            ``(i) the Department of Agriculture, the 
                        Department of Defense, the Department of Health 
                        and Human Services, and other Federal 
                        departments and agencies; and
                            ``(ii) State, local, and tribal 
                        governments, the veterinary community, and 
                        other entities within and outside the 
                        Department; and
                    ``(F) performing such other duties relating to the 
                responsibilities of the Chief Veterinary Officer as the 
                Secretary may require.
    ``(e) Advance Notice of Reorganization Required.--Not later than 
180 days before carrying out any reorganization within the Department 
that would affect any responsibility of the Chief Veterinary Officer, 
the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on the proposed reorganization.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title 
III the following:

``Sec. 317. Chief Veterinary Officer.''.
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