S.Amdt. 1708

1. Adds SEC. __. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR BIOSECURITY wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. __. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR BIOSECURITY.

   Inserted: (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint, as an officer within the Executive Office of the President, a "Coordinator for Biosecurity" (referred to in this section as the "Coordinator").

   Inserted: (b) Officer.--

   Inserted: (1) Responsibility.--The Coordinator shall be responsible on a full-time basis for the responsibilities described in this section.

   Inserted: (2) Limitation.--No person shall serve as Coordinator while serving in any other position in the Federal Government.

   Inserted: (c) Duties.--The responsibilities of the Coordinator shall include each of the following:

   Inserted: (1) Serving as the principal advisor to the President on all matters relating to biosecurity, including related public health preparedness.

   Inserted: (2) Developing a comprehensive and well-coordinated, near-and long-term, United States strategy and policies for preventing, preparing for, and responding to biological threats and attacks, including related public health preparedness, which strategies and policies shall include--

   Inserted: (A) strengthening of United States intelligence collection efforts, to identify foreign or domestic plans to develop biological weapons and to interdict any effort to use biological weapons against the United States before such use can take place;

   Inserted: (B) building capacity to mitigate the consequences of biological threats and attacks, including the coordination of global biosurveillance efforts to provide early warning detection and situational awareness of deliberately caused and natural disease outbreaks and improving the capacity of public health and medical care systems;

   Inserted: (C) accelerating the development, manufacture, and procurement of medical countermeasures, including new and innovative medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics, and strengthening production capabilities;

   Inserted: (D) ensuring that domestic and international biosecurity programs are coordinated and optimized to enable robust research and development efforts while limiting the risk of diversion of pathogens for malevolent purposes;

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   Inserted: (E) identifying clear and measurable objectives, milestones, and targets to which departments and agencies can be held accountable;

   Inserted: (F) identification of gaps, duplication, and other inefficiencies in programs, initiatives, and activities and the steps necessary to overcome those obstacles;

   Inserted: (G) developing and carrying out plans to coordinate United States programs, initiatives, and other activities relating to the prevention of, preparation for, and response to, biological threats and attacks (including related public health preparedness), including activities of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, and other Federal agencies involved with biosecurity activities; and

   Inserted: (H) coordination of activities with biosecurity stakeholders.

   Inserted: (3) Leading interagency coordination of United States efforts to implement the strategy and policies described in paragraphs (2) and (6).

   Inserted: (4) Conducting oversight and evaluation of the implementation of programs, initiatives, and activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to biological threats and attacks, including related public health preparedness activities, by relevant government departments and agencies.

   Inserted: (5) Overseeing the development of a comprehensive and coordinated budget for programs, initiatives, and activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to, biological threats and attacks, including related public health preparedness, by ensuring that such budget adequately reflects the priorities of the challenges and is effectively executed, and carrying out other appropriate budgetary authorities.

   Inserted: (6) Carrying out such additional duties related to biosecurity as the President may determine to be appropriate and consistent with the duties listed in paragraph (2).

   Inserted: (d) Staff.--The Coordinator may, consistent with subsection (a)--

   Inserted: (1) appoint, employ, fix the compensation of, and terminate the employment of such personnel as may be necessary to enable the Coordinator to perform the Coordinator's duties under this section and may fix that compensation without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for a member of the personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title;

   Inserted: (2) direct, with the concurrence of the Secretary of a department or head of an agency, the temporary reassignment within the Federal Government of personnel employed by such department or agency, in order to implement United States policy with regard to biosecurity, including related public health preparedness;

   Inserted: (3) use or enter into an agreement to use, for administrative purposes, on a reimbursable basis, the available services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of Federal, State, and local agencies; and

   Inserted: (4) procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the Federal Service, at daily rates of compensation for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

   Inserted: (e) Annual Report on Strategic Plan.--For fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress, on the date that the President submits the budget of the United States Government to Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a report on the strategy and policies developed pursuant to subsection (c)(2), together with any recommendations of the Coordinator for legislative changes that the Coordinator considers appropriate with respect to such strategy and policies and their implementation.

   Inserted: (f) Participation of Coordinator for Biosecurity in the National Security Council and in the Homeland Security Council.--

   Inserted: (1) National security council.--Section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 402) is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(m) Participation of Coordinator for Biosecurity.--The United States Coordinator for Biosecurity (or, in the Coordinator's absence, the individual designated by the President to serve as the Acting Coordinator for Biosecurity) may, in the performance of the Coordinator's duty as principal advisor to the President on all matters relating to biosecurity, and, subject to the direction of the President, attend and participate in meetings of the National Security Council.".

   Inserted: (2) Homeland security council.--Section 903 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 493) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

   Inserted: "(c) Attendance of the Coordinator for Biosecurity.--The United States Coordinator for Biosecurity (or, in the Coordinator's absence, the individual designated by the President to serve as the Acting Coordinator for Biosecurity) may, in the performance of the Coordinator's duty as principal advisor to the President on all matters relating to biosecurity, and, subject to the direction of the President, attend and participate in meetings of the Council.".

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   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed