1996 US Code
Title 50 - WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
CHAPTER 32 - CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM
Sec. 1522 - Conduct of chemical and biological defense program

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§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) of this section) 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 not 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) of this section 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) of this section.

(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.)

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

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) of this section)” 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).

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

Section 1702 of Pub. L. 103–160 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

Section 1704 of Pub. L. 103–160 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.”