§596a — Title 6 Domestic Security | U.S. Code

Summary

Six senior officials—the Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence—must work together and make sure the global nuclear detection architecture is reviewed and carried out at least once a year. Each agency that is involved must check its role, review the parts of the system and its plans to see if they match current threat information, and, if it runs detection equipment, evaluate deployments, find any performance or technical problems, and judge whether it has the ability to do its job. The Assistant Secretary and the departments in the National Technical Forensics Center must report their nuclear forensics work and yearly results tied to the national five‑year forensic plan, attach the latest version of that plan as an appendix to the Joint Interagency Annual Review, and describe any new or changed bilateral or multilateral forensics agreements. The Secretary must also, at least once a year, review development and purchases of radiation detection technology used inside the United States. By March 31 each year these officials must send a joint report on the reviews and how the architecture is being implemented to the President; to the Senate Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, Select Committee on Intelligence, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and to the House Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Science and Technology. The report should be unclassified as much as possible but may include a classified annex. The term “global nuclear detection architecture” means the system developed under section 592.

Title 6, §596a

Domestic Security — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly ensure interagency coordination on the development and implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture by ensuring that, not less frequently than once each year—

(A)each relevant agency, office, or entity—

(i)assesses its involvement, support, and participation in the development, revision, and implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture; and

(ii)examines and evaluates components of the global nuclear detection architecture (including associated strategies and acquisition plans) relating to the operations of that agency, office, or entity, to determine whether such components incorporate and address current threat assessments, scenarios, or intelligence analyses developed by the Director of National Intelligence or other agencies regarding threats relating to nuclear or radiological weapons of mass destruction;

(B)each agency, office, or entity deploying or operating any nuclear or radiological detection technology under the global nuclear detection architecture—

(i)evaluates the deployment and operation of nuclear or radiological detection technologies under the global nuclear detection architecture by that agency, office, or entity;

(ii)identifies performance deficiencies and operational or technical deficiencies in nuclear or radiological detection technologies deployed under the global nuclear detection architecture; and

(iii)assesses the capacity of that agency, office, or entity to implement the responsibilities of that agency, office, or entity under the global nuclear detection architecture; and

(C)the Assistant Secretary and each of the relevant departments that are partners in the National Technical Forensics Center—

(i)include, as part of the assessments, evaluations, and reviews required under this paragraph, each office’s or department’s activities and investments in support of nuclear forensics and attribution activities and specific goals and objectives accomplished during the previous year pursuant to the national strategic five-year plan for improving the nuclear forensic and attribution capabilities of the United States required under section 1036 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010;

(ii)attaches, as an appendix to the Joint Interagency Annual Review, the most current version of such strategy and plan; and

(iii)includes a description of new or amended bilateral and multilateral agreements and efforts in support of nuclear forensics and attribution activities accomplished during the previous year.

(2)Not less frequently than once each year, the Secretary shall examine and evaluate the development, assessment, and acquisition of radiation detection technologies deployed or implemented in support of the domestic portion of the global nuclear detection architecture.

(b)(1)Not later than March 31 of each year, the Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall jointly submit a report regarding the implementation of this section and the results of the reviews required under subsection (a) to—

(A)the President;

(B)the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and

(C)the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives.

(2)The annual report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form to the maximum extent practicable, but may include a classified annex.

(c)In this section, the term “global nuclear detection architecture” means the global nuclear detection architecture developed under section 592 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 1036 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(C)(i), is section 1036 of Pub. L. 111–84, Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2190, which is not classified to the Code. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(9)(A), substituted “Assistant Secretary” for “Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(9)(B), made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 592 of this title. 2010—Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Pub. L. 111–140 added subpar. (C).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Science and Technology of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Jan. 5, 2011.

§596a Joint annual interagency review of global nuclear detection architecture