§2931 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

§2931 Office of the United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism

Title 50 › Chapter CHAPTER 43— - PREVENTING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION PROLIFERATION AND TERRORISM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR THE PREVENTION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION PROLIFERATION AND TERRORISM › § 2931

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Create an office in the White House called the Office of the United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. The office will have a Coordinator and a Deputy Coordinator. The President picks them and the Senate must approve them. They must work full time and cannot hold any other federal job. The Deputy helps the Coordinator and fills in if the Coordinator is away. Congress still has the same right to get the office’s information and talk to its staff. The Coordinator is the President’s main adviser on stopping the spread and use of WMDs. The Coordinator must write a clear, measurable U.S. strategy and pick out gaps, overlaps, and problems in current programs. Plans must cover protecting past nuclear security work in Russia and other countries, finding and fixing vulnerable sites and materials, expanding and inventing new programs, and strengthening U.S. labs and scientists. The Coordinator must work with agencies like Energy, Defense, State, and Homeland Security and with international efforts such as the Proliferation Security Initiative, the G‑8 Global Partnership, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540, and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The Coordinator will lead inter-agency work, check and evaluate progress, and build and oversee budgets for these programs. The Coordinator can hire staff, temporarily reassign federal employees with agency agreement, use other government services for pay, hire outside experts at up to the daily rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule, and use the mail. The office must consult the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism and, starting in fiscal year 2009 and every year after, send Congress a report on the strategy with any suggested law changes.

Title 50, §2931

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There is established within the Executive Office of the President an office to be known as the “Office of the United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism” (in this section referred to as the “Office”).

(b)(1)The head of the Office shall be the United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism (in this section referred to as the “Coordinator”).

(2)There shall be a Deputy United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism (in this section referred to as the “Deputy Coordinator”), who shall—

(A)assist the Coordinator in carrying out the responsibilities of the Coordinator under this subchapter; and

(B)serve as Acting Coordinator in the absence of the Coordinator and during any vacancy in the office of Coordinator.

(3)The Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall be responsible on a full-time basis for the duties and responsibilities described in this section.

(4)No person shall serve as Coordinator or Deputy Coordinator while serving in any other position in the Federal Government.

(5)The establishment of the Office of the Coordinator within the Executive Office of the President shall not be construed as affecting access by the Congress or committees of either House to—

(A)information, documents, and studies in the possession of, or conducted by or at the direction of, the Coordinator; or

(B)personnel of the Office of the Coordinator.

(c)The responsibilities of the Coordinator shall include the following:

(1)Serving as the principal advisor to the President on all matters relating to the prevention of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation and terrorism.

(2)Formulating a comprehensive and well-coordinated United States strategy and policies for preventing WMD proliferation and terrorism, including—

(A)measurable milestones and targets to which departments and agencies can be held accountable;

(B)identification of gaps, duplication, and other inefficiencies in existing activities, initiatives, and programs and the steps necessary to overcome these obstacles;

(C)plans for preserving the nuclear security investment the United States has made in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and other countries;

(D)prioritized plans to accelerate, strengthen, and expand the scope of existing initiatives and programs, which include identification of vulnerable sites and material and the corresponding actions necessary to eliminate such vulnerabilities;

(E)new and innovative initiatives and programs to address emerging challenges and strengthen United States capabilities, including programs to attract and retain top scientists and engineers and strengthen the capabilities of United States national laboratories;

(F)plans to coordinate United States activities, initiatives, and programs relating to the prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism, including those of the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security, and including the Proliferation Security Initiative, the G–8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism;

(G)plans to strengthen United States commitments to international regimes and significantly improve cooperation with other countries relating to the prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism, with particular emphasis on work with the international community to develop laws and an international legal regime with universal jurisdiction to enable any state in the world to interdict and prosecute smugglers of WMD material, as recommended by the 9/11 Commission; and

(H)identification of actions necessary to implement the recommendations of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism established under subtitle E of this title.11 See References in Text note below.

(3)Leading inter-agency coordination of United States efforts to implement the strategy and policies described in this section.

(4)Conducting oversight and evaluation of accelerated and strengthened implementation of initiatives and programs to prevent WMD proliferation and terrorism by relevant government departments and agencies.

(5)Overseeing the development of a comprehensive and coordinated budget for programs and initiatives to prevent WMD proliferation and terrorism, ensuring that such budget adequately reflects the priority of the challenges and is effectively executed, and carrying out other appropriate budgetary authorities.

(d)The Coordinator may—

(1)appoint, employ, fix compensation, and terminate such personnel as may be necessary to enable the Coordinator to perform his or her duties under this chapter;

(2)direct, with the concurrence of the Secretary of a department or head of an agency, the temporary reassignment within the Federal Government of personnel employed by such department or agency, in order to implement United States policy with regard to the prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism;

(3)use for administrative purposes, on a reimbursable basis, the available services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of Federal, State, and local agencies;

(4)procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, relating to appointments in the Federal Service, at rates of compensation for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate of pay payable for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5; and

(5)use the mails in the same manner as any other department or agency of the executive branch.

(e)The Office and the Coordinator shall regularly consult with and strive to implement the recommendations of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, established under subtitle E of this title.1

(f)For fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress, at the same time as the submission of the budget for that fiscal year under title 31, a report on the strategy and policies developed pursuant to subsection (c)(2), together with any recommendations of the Coordinator for legislative changes that the Coordinator considers appropriate with respect to such strategy and policies and their implementation or the Office of the Coordinator.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subtitle E of this title, referred to in subsecs. (c)(2)(H) and (e), is subtitle E (§§ 1851–1859) of title XVIII of Pub. L. 110–53, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 501, which is not classified to the Code. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), was in the original “this title”, meaning title XVIII of Pub. L. 110–53, which enacted this chapter, amended section 3021 of this title and section 5952 and 5963 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, and amended provisions set out as notes under section 2551 and 5952 of Title 22. For complete classification of title XVIII to the Code, see Tables. Codification Section is comprised of section 1841 of Pub. L. 110–53. Subsec. (g) of section 1841 of Pub. L. 110–53 amended section 3021 of this title.