# 119-hr-706: DHS Biodetection Improvement Act

119-hr-706, DHS Biodetection Improvement Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Strong, Dale W. [R-AL-5] (R-AL); status passed_house (as of 2026-07-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-706
- As of: 2026-07-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-706
- Congress: 119
- Title: DHS Biodetection Improvement Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-01-23
- Sponsor: Rep. Strong, Dale W. [R-AL-5] (R-AL)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-15

## Summary

**Coordinate DHS biodetection research and development with Department of Energy national laboratories.** This bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to assess past use of DOE labs and produce a strategy for coordinating biodetection R&D, with short and medium term reporting deadlines and planning for acquisition and evaluation of detection technologies. - Federal agencies: DHS would have to deliver an assessment and a coordinated R&D strategy to congressional homeland security committees within 180 days, and provide an update within one year. The strategy must be informed by Comptroller General studies. - Local jurisdictions and BioWatch sites: The strategy must include an acquisition and procurement plan to provide identified biodetection technologies to existing BioWatch jurisdictions and recommend contingency plans if technologies fail. - Researchers and partners: The bill encourages DHS to work with DOE labs, state, local, and Tribal governments, institutions of higher education, and the private sector to set program and technical requirements and to conduct periodic external evaluations.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA), 2025-01-23T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- DHS plan to boost biodetection: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require DHS to assess how it used DOE national laboratories for biodetection R&D. Within 180 days, DHS would send Congress a strategy that lists candidate biodetection technologies and a procurement plan. The strategy would require outside evaluations and contingency plan…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-hr-1000: Cyber PIVOTT Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-706 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/706)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1181)
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [119-hr-1000: Cyber PIVOTT Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1000)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-706 (as of 2026-07-15).