Health Security and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 469.
Health Security and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
This bill makes changes to the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) office of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provides statutory authority for and expands DHS's Office of Health Security (OHS).
Specifically, the bill
establishes the new OHS to advise DHS on medical, public health, and workforce safety matters;
sets forth the responsibilities of the Chief Medical Officer and a Privacy Officer in OHS;
repeals the terminating date for the CWMD office and sets forth the responsibilities of that office, including efforts to counter chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, as well as other emerging terrorism threats;
requires DHS to report to Congress regarding the Securing the Cities program (which seeks to reduce the risk of a successful deployment of radiological or nuclear weapons against major metropolitan areas in the United States);
establishes a CWMD Advisory Council; and
requires a biodefense review and issuance of a DHS biodefense strategy.
The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on efforts of the CWMD office to prioritize its programs and activities to safeguard against CBRN threats and on other activities of that office.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House, Part I" stage on December 20, 2022. 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 December 20, 2022: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 469.
- 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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Val Demings (D-FL) introduced it on July 29, 2022, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 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 July 29, 2022, 1504 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1360 days ago, on December 20, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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