§1522. Conduct of chemical and biological defense program

(a) General

The Secretary of Defense shall carry out the chemical and biological defense program of the United States in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(b) Management and oversight

In carrying out his responsibilities under this section, the Secretary of Defense shall do the following:

(1) Assign responsibility for overall coordination and integration of the chemical and biological warfare defense program and the chemical and biological medical defense program to a single office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

(2) Take those actions necessary to ensure close and continuous coordination between (A) the chemical and biological warfare defense program, and (B) the chemical and biological medical defense program.

(3) Exercise oversight over the chemical and biological defense program through the Defense Acquisition Board process.

(c) Coordination of program

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall designate the Army as executive agent for the Department of Defense to coordinate and integrate research, development, test, and evaluation, and acquisition, requirements of the military departments for chemical and biological warfare defense programs of the Department of Defense.

(2) The Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency may conduct a program of basic and applied research and advanced technology development on chemical and biological warfare defense technologies and systems. In conducting such program, the Director shall seek to avoid unnecessary duplication of the activities under the program with chemical and biological warfare defense activities of the military departments and defense agencies and shall coordinate the activities under the program with those of the military departments and defense agencies.

(d) Funding

(1) The budget for the Department of Defense for each fiscal year after fiscal year 1994 shall reflect a coordinated and integrated chemical and biological defense program for the Department of Defense.

(2) Funding requests for the program (other than for activities under the program conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under subsection (c)(2)) shall be set forth in the budget of the Department of Defense for each fiscal year as a separate account, with a single program element for each of the categories of research, development, test, and evaluation, acquisition, and military construction. Amounts for military construction projects may be set forth in the annual military construction budget. Funds for military construction for the program in the military construction budget shall be set forth separately from other funds for military construction projects. Funding requests for the program may be included in the budget accounts of the military departments.

(3) The program conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under subsection (c)(2) shall be set forth as a separate program element in the budget of that agency.

(4) All funding requirements for the chemical and biological defense program shall be reviewed by the Secretary of the Army as executive agent pursuant to subsection (c).

(e) Management review and report

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a review of the management structure of the Department of Defense chemical and biological warfare defense program, including-

(A) research, development, test, and evaluation;

(B) procurement;

(C) doctrine development;

(D) policy;

(E) training;

(F) development of requirements;

(G) readiness; and

(H) risk assessment.

(2) Not later than May 1, 1994, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes the details of measures being taken to improve joint coordination and oversight of the program and ensure a coherent and effective approach to its management.

( Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XVII, §1701, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1853 ; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title II, §228, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2460 ; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title X, §1047, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 392 .)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994, and not as part of Pub. L. 91–121, title IV, §409, Nov. 19, 1969, 83 Stat. 209 , which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2023-Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted "may be included in the budget accounts" for "may not be included in the budget accounts".

1996-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–201, §228(a), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).

Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–201, §228(b)(1), substituted "program for the Department of Defense" for "program for the military departments".

Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 104–201, §228(b)(2), in first sentence, inserted "(other than for activities under the program conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under subsection (c)(2))" after "requests for the program".

Subsec. (d)(3), (4). Pub. L. 104–201, §228(b)(3), (4), added par. (3) and redesignated former par. (3) as (4).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Implementation of GAO Recommendations on Preparedness of United States Forces To Counter North Korean Chemical and Biological Weapons

Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XII, §1259, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3958 , provided that:

"(a) Plan Required.-

"(1) In general.-The Secretary of Defense shall develop a plan to address the recommendations in the U.S. Government Accountability Office's report entitled 'Preparedness of U.S. Forces to Counter North Korean Chemical and Biological Weapons' (GAO–21–104C).

"(2) Elements.-The plan required under paragraph (1) shall, with respect to each recommendation in the report described in paragraph (1) that the Secretary of Defense has implemented or intends to implement, include-

"(A) a summary of actions that have been or will be taken to implement the recommendation; and

"(B) a schedule, with specific milestones, for completing implementation of the recommendation.

"(b) Submission to Congress.-Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 1, 2021], the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] the plan required under subsection (a).

"(c) Deadline for Implementation.-

"(1) In general.-Except as provided in paragraph (2), not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall carry out activities to implement the plan developed under subsection (a).

"(2) Exception for implementation of certain recommendations.-

"(A) Delayed implementation.-The Secretary of Defense may initiate implementation of a recommendation in the report described in subsection (a)(1) after the date specified in paragraph (1) if the Secretary provides the congressional defense committees with a specific justification for the delay in implementation of such recommendation on or before such date.

"(B) Nonimplementation.-The Secretary of Defense may decide not to implement a recommendation in the report described in subsection (a)(1) if the Secretary provides to the congressional defense committees, on or before the date specified in paragraph (1)-

"(i) a specific justification for the decision not to implement the recommendation; and

"(ii) a summary of alternative actions the Secretary plans to take to address the conditions underlying the recommendation."

National Bio-Weapons Defense Analysis Center

Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, §1708, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2318 , provided that: "There is established in the Department of Defense a National Bio-Weapons Defense Analysis Center, whose mission is to develop countermeasures to potential attacks by terrorists using weapons of mass destruction."

[For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the National Bio-Weapons Defense Analysis Center of the Department of Defense, including the functions of the Secretary of Defense related thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 183(2), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.]

Chemical Warfare Defense

Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title II, §247, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 1956 , provided that:

"(a) Review and Modification of Policies and Doctrines.-The Secretary of Defense shall review the policies and doctrines of the Department of Defense on chemical warfare defense and modify the policies and doctrine as appropriate to achieve the objectives set forth in subsection (b).

"(b) Objectives.-The objectives for the modification of policies and doctrines of the Department of Defense on chemical warfare defense are as follows:

"(1) To provide for adequate protection of personnel from any exposure to a chemical warfare agent (including chronic and low-level exposure to a chemical warfare agent) that would endanger the health of exposed personnel because of the deleterious effects of-

"(A) a single exposure to the agent;

"(B) exposure to the agent concurrently with other dangerous exposures, such as exposures to-

"(i) other potentially toxic substances in the environment, including pesticides, other insect and vermin control agents, and environmental pollutants;

"(ii) low-grade nuclear and electromagnetic radiation present in the environment;

"(iii) preventive medications (that are dangerous when taken concurrently with other dangerous exposures referred to in this paragraph);

"(iv) diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other hydrocarbon-based fuels; and

"(v) occupational hazards, including battlefield hazards; and

"(C) repeated exposures to the agent, or some combination of one or more exposures to the agent and other dangerous exposures referred to in subparagraph (B), over time.

"(2) To provide for-

"(A) the prevention of and protection against, and the detection (including confirmation) of, exposures to a chemical warfare agent (whether intentional or inadvertent) at levels that, even if not sufficient to endanger health immediately, are greater than the level that is recognized under Department of Defense policies as being the maximum safe level of exposure to that agent for the general population; and

"(B) the recording, reporting, coordinating, and retaining of information on possible exposures described in subparagraph (A), including the monitoring of the health effects of exposures on humans and animals, environmental effects, and ecological effects, and the documenting and reporting of those effects specifically by location.

"(3) To provide solutions for the concerns and mission requirements that are specifically applicable for one or more of the Armed Forces in a protracted conflict when exposures to chemical agents could be complex, dynamic, and occurring over an extended period.

"(c) Research Program.-The Secretary of Defense shall develop and carry out a plan to establish a research program for determining the effects of exposures to chemical warfare agents of the type described in subsection (b). The research shall be designed to yield results that can guide the Secretary in the evolution of policy and doctrine on exposures to chemical warfare agents and to develop new risk assessment methods and instruments with respect to such exposures. The plan shall state the objectives and scope of the program and include a 5-year funding plan.

"(d) Report.-Not later than May 1, 1999, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives [now Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives] a report on the results of the review under subsection (a) and on the research program developed under subsection (c). The report shall include the following:

"(1) Each modification of chemical warfare defense policy and doctrine resulting from the review.

"(2) Any recommended legislation regarding chemical warfare defense.

"(3) The plan for the research program."

Study of Facility for Training and Evaluation of Chemical or Biological Weapons Response Personnel

Pub. L. 104–132, title V, §521(b), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1286 , provided that:

"(1) Findings.-The Congress finds that-

"(A) the threat of the use of chemical and biological weapons by Third World countries and by terrorist organizations has increased in recent years and is now a problem of worldwide significance;

"(B) the military and law enforcement agencies in the United States that are responsible for responding to the use of such weapons require additional testing, training, and evaluation facilities to ensure that the personnel of such agencies discharge their responsibilities effectively; and

"(C) a facility that recreates urban and suburban locations would provide an especially effective environment in which to test, train, and evaluate such personnel for that purpose.

"(2) Study of facility.-

"(A) In general.-The President shall establish an interagency task force to determine the feasibility and advisability of establishing a facility that recreates both an urban environment and a suburban environment in such a way as to permit the effective testing, training, and evaluation in such environments of government personnel who are responsible for responding to the use of chemical and biological weapons in the United States.

"(B) Description of facility.-The facility considered under subparagraph (A) shall include-

"(i) facilities common to urban environments (including a multistory building and an underground rail transit system) and to suburban environments;

"(ii) the capacity to produce controllable releases of chemical and biological agents from a variety of urban and suburban structures, including laboratories, small buildings, and dwellings;

"(iii) the capacity to produce controllable releases of chemical and biological agents into sewage, water, and air management systems common to urban areas and suburban areas;

"(iv) chemical and biocontaminant facilities at the P3 and P4 levels;

"(v) the capacity to test and evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of protective clothing and facilities and survival techniques in urban areas and suburban areas; and

"(vi) the capacity to test and evaluate the effectiveness of variable sensor arrays (including video, audio, meteorological, chemical, and biosensor arrays) in urban areas and suburban areas.

"(C) Sense of congress.-It is the sense of Congress that the facility considered under subparagraph (A) shall, if established-

"(i) be under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense; and

"(ii) be located at a principal facility of the Department of Defense for the testing and evaluation of the use of chemical and biological weapons during any period of armed conflict."

Consolidation of Chemical and Biological Defense Training Activities

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XVII, §1702, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1854 , provided that: "The Secretary of Defense shall consolidate all chemical and biological warfare defense training activities of the Department of Defense at the United States Army Chemical School."

Sense of Congress Concerning Federal Emergency Planning for Response to Terrorist Threats

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XVII, §1704, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1855 , provided that: "It is the sense of Congress that the President should strengthen Federal interagency emergency planning by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies for development of a capability for early detection and warning of and response to-

"(1) potential terrorist use of chemical or biological agents or weapons; and

"(2) emergencies or natural disasters involving industrial chemicals or the widespread outbreak of disease."