[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.
                                 ______