§104 — Title 6 Domestic Security | U.S. Code

Summary

Four Cabinet secretaries — Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Agriculture — must work together to create a national biodefense strategy and a plan to carry it out. The plan must review existing plans and laws, describe biological threats (like warfare, terrorism, natural outbreaks, and accidents), explain current government programs to prevent and respond, lay out who does what and how agencies will share information, list needed whole-of-government capabilities, and give recommendations to strengthen defenses and coordination. The four secretaries must review and update the strategy every two years. They must send the strategy and plan to the right congressional committees within 275 days after December 23, 2016, in unclassified form but with a possible classified annex. They must give a joint briefing to four House committees by March 1, 2017, and each year after until March 1, 2025. Within 180 days after the plan is sent, the Comptroller General must review it for gaps and resource needs. “Appropriate congressional committees” means the defense committees; House Energy and Commerce and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; House and Senate homeland security panels; and House and Senate agriculture committees.

Title 6, §104

Domestic Security — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly develop a national biodefense strategy and associated implementation plan, which shall include a review and assessment of biodefense policies, practices, programs and initiatives. Such Secretaries shall review and, as appropriate, revise the strategy biennially.

(b)The strategy and associated implementation plan required under subsection (a) shall include each of the following:

(1)An inventory and assessment of all existing strategies, plans, policies, laws, and interagency agreements related to biodefense, including prevention, deterrence, preparedness, detection, response, attribution, recovery, and mitigation.

(2)A description of the biological threats, including biological warfare, bioterrorism, naturally occurring infectious diseases, and accidental exposures.

(3)A description of the current programs, efforts, or activities of the United States Government with respect to preventing the acquisition, proliferation, and use of a biological weapon, preventing an accidental or naturally occurring biological outbreak, and mitigating the effects of a biological epidemic.

(4)A description of the roles and responsibilities of the Executive Agencies, including internal and external coordination procedures, in identifying and sharing information related to, warning of, and protection against, acts of terrorism using biological agents and weapons and accidental or naturally occurring biological outbreaks.

(5)An articulation of related or required interagency capabilities and whole-of-Government activities required to support the national biodefense strategy.

(6)Recommendations for strengthening and improving the current biodefense capabilities, authorities, and command structures of the United States Government.

(7)Recommendations for improving and formalizing interagency coordination and support mechanisms with respect to providing a robust national biodefense.

(8)Any other matters the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Agriculture determine necessary.

(c)Not later than 275 days after December 23, 2016, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees the strategy and associated implementation plan required by subsection (a). The strategy and implementation plan shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

(d)Not later than March 1, 2017, and annually thereafter until March 1, 2025, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a joint briefing on the strategy developed under subsection (a) and the status of the implementation of such strategy.

(e)Not later than 180 days after the date of the submittal of the strategy and implementation plan under subsection (c), the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a review of the strategy and implementation plan to analyze gaps and resources mapped against the requirements of the National Biodefense Strategy and existing United States biodefense policy documents.

(f)In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means the following:

(1)The congressional defense committees.

(2)The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.

(3)The Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.

(4)The Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, and not as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted “

March 1, 2025” for “

March 1, 2019”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Enhancement of International Biodefense Capacity Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XII, § 1207, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1082, provided that: “(a) Clarification of Roles and Responsibilities.—The Secretary of Defense shall direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, in consultation with the Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, to seek to enter into memoranda of understanding with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government to clarify the roles and responsibilities of those departments and agencies for building biodefense capabilities internationally in execution of national security and other policies of the Federal Government, with the Secretary focused on working with defense counterparts in countries that are allies or partners of the United States. “(b) Elements of Memoranda of Understanding.—The memoranda of understanding entered into under subsection (a) shall address how each relevant department or agency selects partner countries and the feasibility of coordinating efforts with each such country.” “Congressional Defense Committees” Defined Congressional defense committees means the Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, see section 3 of Pub. L. 114–328, 130 Stat. 2025. See note under section 101 of Title 10, Armed Forces.

§104 National biodefense strategy