[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 193 (Wednesday, November 3, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7735-S7736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4234. Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Warner, Mr.
Rubio, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Menendez) submitted an amendment intended to
be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to
be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2022 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:
Strike section 1053 and insert the following:
SEC. 1053. ANOMALOUS HEALTH INCIDENTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency coordination lead.--The term ``Agency
Coordination Lead'' means a senior official designated by the
head of a relevant agency to serve as the Anomalous Health
Incident Agency Coordination Lead for such agency.
(2) Appropriate national security committees.--The term
``appropriate national security committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(G) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(H) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives;
(I) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
(J) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Interagency coordinator.--The term ``Interagency
Coordinator'' means the Anomalous Health Incidents
Interagency Coordinator designated pursuant to subsection
(b)(1).
(4) Relevant agencies.--The term ``relevant agencies''
means--
(A) the Department of Defense;
(B) the Department of State;
(C) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
(D) the Department of Justice;
(E) the Department of Homeland Security; and
(F) other agencies and bodies designated by the Interagency
Coordinator.
(b) Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator.--
(1) Designation.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall designate an
appropriate senior official as the ``Anomalous Health
Incidents Interagency Coordinator'', who shall work through
the President's designated National Security process--
[[Page S7736]]
(A) to coordinate the United States Government's response
to anomalous health incidents;
(B) to coordinate among relevant agencies to ensure
equitable and timely access to assessment and care for
affected personnel, dependents, and other appropriate
individuals;
(C) to ensure adequate training and education for United
States Government personnel; and
(D) to ensure that information regarding anomalous health
incidents is efficiently shared across relevant agencies in a
manner that provides appropriate protections for classified,
sensitive, and personal information.
(2) Designation of agency coordination leads.--
(A) In general.--The head of each relevant agency shall
designate a Senate-confirmed or other appropriate senior
official, who shall--
(i) serve as the Anomalous Health Incident Agency
Coordination Lead for the relevant agency;
(ii) report directly to the head of the relevant agency
regarding activities carried out under this section;
(iii) perform functions specific to the relevant agency,
consistent with the directives of the Interagency Coordinator
and the established interagency process;
(iv) participate in interagency briefings to Congress
regarding the United States Government response to anomalous
health incidents; and
(v) represent the relevant agency in meetings convened by
the Interagency Coordinator.
(B) Delegation prohibited.--An Agency Coordination Lead may
not delegate the responsibilities described in clauses (i)
through (v) of subparagraph (A).
(3) Secure reporting mechanisms.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency
Coordinator shall--
(A) ensure that agencies develop a process to provide a
secure mechanism for personnel, their dependents, and other
appropriate individuals to self-report any suspected exposure
that could be an anomalous health incident;
(B) ensure that agencies share all relevant data with the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence through
existing processes coordinated by the Interagency
Coordinator; and
(C) in establishing the mechanism described in subparagraph
(A), prioritize secure information collection and handling
processes to protect classified, sensitive, and personal
information.
(4) Briefings.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter for the
following 2 years, the Agency Coordination Leads shall
jointly provide a briefing to the appropriate national
security committees regarding progress made in achieving the
objectives described in paragraph (1).
(B) Elements.--The briefings required under subparagraph
(A) shall include--
(i) an update on the investigation into anomalous health
incidents impacting United States Government personnel and
their family members, including technical causation and
suspected perpetrators;
(ii) an update on new or persistent incidents;
(iii) threat prevention and mitigation efforts to include
personnel training;
(iv) changes to operating posture due to anomalous health
threats;
(v) an update on diagnosis and treatment efforts for
affected individuals, including patient numbers and wait
times to access care;
(vi) efforts to improve and encourage reporting of
incidents;
(vii) detailed roles and responsibilities of Agency
Coordination Leads;
(viii) information regarding additional authorities or
resources needed to support the interagency response; and
(ix) other matters that the Interagency Coordinator or the
Agency Coordination Leads consider appropriate.
(C) Unclassified briefing summary.--The Agency Coordination
Leads shall provide a coordinated, unclassified summary of
the briefings to Congress, which shall include as much
information as practicable without revealing classified
information or information that is likely to identify an
individual.
(5) Retention of authority.--The appointment of the
Interagency Coordinator shall not deprive any Federal agency
of any authority to independently perform its authorized
functions.
(6) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may
be construed to limit--
(A) the President's authority under article II of the
United States Constitution; or
(B) the provision of health care and benefits to afflicted
individuals, consistent with existing laws.
(c) Development and Dissemination of Workforce Guidance.--
The President shall direct relevant agencies to develop and
disseminate to their employees, not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, updated workforce
guidance that describes--
(1) the threat posed by anomalous health incidents;
(2) known defensive techniques; and
(3) processes to self-report suspected exposure that could
be an anomalous health incident.
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