Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, headed by an Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary shall serve as the principal advisor to DHS on weapons of mass destruction matters and strategies, and on coordinating efforts to counter weapons of mass destruction.
The office shall coordinate DHS strategy and policy to plan, detect, and protect against the importation, possession, storage, transportation, development, or use of unauthorized chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials, devices, or agents.
The Assistant Secretary shall establish the Securing the Cities program to detect and prevent terrorist attacks and other high consequence events utilizing nuclear or other radiological materials that pose a high risk to homeland security in high-risk urban areas.
The bill establishes in the office a Chief Medical Officer who shall serve as the principal advisor to DHS on medical and public health issues. The DHS Under Secretary for Management shall be responsible for workforce-focused health and medical activities of DHS.
DHS shall: (1) transfer to the office all personnel, budget authority, and assets of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and the Office of Health Affairs; and (2) provide a briefing and report to Congress on DHS chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear activities.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on September 12, 2018. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 17, 2018: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Daniel Donovan (R-NY) introduced it on June 22, 2018, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 22, 2018, 3002 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2915 days ago, on September 17, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers