[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 146 (Monday, September 11, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S5140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 900. Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. Portman) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2810, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. REPORT ON THE NATIONAL BIODEFENSE ANALYSIS AND
COUNTERMEASURES CENTER (NBACC) AND LIMITATION
ON USE OF FUNDS.
(a) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2017, the
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense
shall jointly submit to the appropriate Congressional
committees a report, prepared in consultation with the
officials listed in subsection (b), on the National
Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (referred to
in this section as the ``NBACC'') containing the following
information:
(1) The functions of the NBACC.
(2) The end users of the NBACC, including end users whose
assets may be managed by other agencies.
(3) The cost and mission impact for each user identified
under paragraph (2) of any potential closure of the NBACC,
including an analysis of the functions of the NBACC that
cannot be replicated by other departments and agencies of the
Federal Government.
(4) In the case of closure of the NBACC, a transition plan
for any essential functions currently performed by the NBACC
to ensure mission continuity, including the storage of
samples needed for ongoing criminal cases.
(b) Consultation.--The officials listed in this subsection
are the following:
(1) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(2) The Attorney General.
(3) The Director of National Intelligence.
(4) As determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security,
the leaders of other offices that utilize the NBACC.
(c) Form.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a
classified annex.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--For
purposes of this section, the term ``appropriate
Congressional Committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives;
(3) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(4) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(5) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(6) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives;
(7) the Committee on Judiciary of the Senate;
(8) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives;
(9) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives;
(10) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
and
(11) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives.
(e) Transition Period.--The report submitted under
subsection (a) shall include a transition adjustment period
of not less than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, or 180 days after the date on which the report required
in under this section is submitted to Congress, whichever is
later, during which none of the funds authorized to be
appropriated under this Act or any other Act may be used to
support the closure, transfer, or other diminishment of the
NBACC or its functions.
______