[House Report 118-321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                          { REPORT 
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   }                                          { 118-321

======================================================================
 
                    DHS BIODETECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 December 19, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Green of Tennessee, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 6174]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 6174) to improve the biodetection functions of 
the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     3
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5

                          Purpose and Summary

    The ``DHS Biodetection Improvement Act,'' directs the 
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to 
conduct an assessment of how DHS has utilized the Department of 
Energy's national laboratories and sites to address homeland 
security needs. This legislation directs DHS to submit a 
strategy for how the Department will coordinate with the 
Department of Energy's national laboratories to address 
biodetection research and development.
    H.R. 6174 also requires the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to provide an update to the House Committee on Homeland 
Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs regarding the assessment and strategy.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In response to the 2001 anthrax attacks, DHS established 
the BioWatch Program, which is a monitoring system that 
collects and tests air samples for biological agents likely to 
be used in a bioterrorism attack. Currently operated by the 
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), the 
technology behind the BioWatch Program was originally developed 
in coordination with the Department of Energy's national 
laboratories.
    Operating in over 30 major metropolitan areas across the 
United States, the program is locally managed through a 
cooperative funding agreement with DHS. The BioWatch system has 
been routinely criticized due to the inability to inform 
officials in real-time and the common occurrence of false 
alarms stemming from its failure to always distinguish between 
harmless germs and the lethal pathogens that terrorists would 
be likely to unleash in an attack.
    In 2019, DHS began a major acquisition program, Biological 
Detection for the Twenty First Century (BD21), to move toward 
the next generation of national biodetection. The BD21 program 
is intended to address some of BioWatch's limitations, 
including shortening the detect-to-warn timeline. Additionally, 
this second iteration of biodetection capability seeks to 
produce more accurate and reliable results. However, DHS has 
faced continuous challenges in acquiring biodetection 
capabilities to replace BioWatch, as highlighted in a May 2021 
report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) (GAO-21-
292).
    While DHS has the authority to utilize the Department of 
Energy's national labs to identify and develop new technologies 
related to biodefense, to date, DHS has underutilized that 
resource. H.R. 6174 will work to address this issue of 
underutilization by requiring DHS to submit a strategy for how 
the Department will coordinate with the Department of Energy's 
national laboratories to address biodetection research and 
development. Furthermore, this bill will help DHS establish a 
blueprint for what the future of biodefense should look like.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee did not 
hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 6174 in the 118th Congress; 
however, during the 116th and the 117th Congresses, the 
following hearings informed H.R. 6174:
    On October 17, 2019, the Emergency Preparedness, Response, 
and Recovery Subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security 
held a hearing entitled, ``Defending the Homeland from 
Bioterrorism: Are We Prepared?'' and received testimony from 
Ms. Asha M. George, DrPH, Executive Director, Bipartisan 
Commission on Biodefense; Ms. Jennifer Rakeman, PhD, Assistant 
Commissioner and Director, Public Health Laboratory, Department 
of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY; and Mr. Umair A. 
Shah, MD, MPH, Executive Director, Public Health, Harris 
County, TX.
    On July 16, 2021, the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and 
Recovery Subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security 
held a hearing entitled, ``Examining the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 
Office,'' and received testimony from the Honorable Gary 
Rasicot, Acting Assistant Secretary, CWMD, DHS; and Mr. 
Christopher P. Currie, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, 
GAO.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee met on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, a quorum 
being present, to consider H.R. 6174 and ordered the measure to 
be favorably reported to the House by voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and 
amendments thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 6174.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this 
report.

Congressional Budget Office Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement 
                    Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c) of rule 
XIII and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, and with respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee adopts as its own the estimate of any new 
budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an 
increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures contained 
in the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office.




    H.R. 6174 would require the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS), within 180 days of enactment, to report to the Congress 
on its use of the Department of Energy's national laboratories 
and on a strategy to improve biodetection capabilities at DHS. 
The department's efforts to prevent the use of biological and 
chemical weapons include testing and monitoring air quality for 
potential biological threats, conducting research, and 
promoting readiness against such attacks by partnering with 
state, local, and tribal governments. H.R. 6174 also would 
require DHS to provide an update on the strategy to the 
Congress within one year of enactment.
    Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates it 
would cost DHS less than $500,000 in administrative and 
personnel costs over the 2024-2028 period to compile and 
implement the strategy. Any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995.

                      Duplicative Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 6174 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the objective of 
H.R. 6174 is to improve the Department of Homeland Security's 
utilization of the Department of Energy's national laboratories 
and sites to identify and develop new technologies related to 
biodefense.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with rule XXI, this bill, as reported, 
contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or 
limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 
9(f) of rule XXI.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Sec. 1004) were 
created by this legislation.

                Applicability to the Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that H.R. 6174 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    This section states that the Act may be cited as the ``DHS 
Biodetection Improvement Act.''

Sec. 2. DHS utilization of department of energy national laboratories 
        and sites for certain biodetection research and development 
        relating to the missions of the DHS.

    This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
conduct an assessment of how DHS has utilized the Department of 
Energy's national laboratories and sites regarding research and 
development in carrying out the missions of the Department. 
This section requires DHS to submit the assessment to the House 
Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs no later than 180 
days after the date of enactment.
    This section also directs DHS to submit a strategy for how 
the Department will coordinate with the Department of Energy's 
national laboratories to address biodetection research and 
development. The strategy must include the following:
           Identify and then develop an acquisition and 
        procurement plan to acquire the identified biodetection 
        technologies that can, either individually or together, 
        meet the Department's biodetection mission needs.
           Conduct periodic external evaluations to 
        identify gaps and potential failure points with respect 
        to such biodetection technologies and recommend 
        contingency plans for underperforming technologies.
           Develop clearly defined program and 
        technical requirements for future DHS biodetection 
        programs.
    Lastly, this section requires that no later than one year 
after the date of enactment, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
must provide an update to the House Committee on Homeland 
Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs regarding the assessment and strategy, 
including any challenges to implementing the strategy.

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