Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 115-387.
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.
DHS shall transfer to the office all personnel, budget authority, and assets of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and the Office of Health Affairs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on December 21, 2018. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 21, 2018: Became Public Law No: 115-387.
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 December 3, 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.
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
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law