DHS Biodetection Improvement Act
- house
- senate
- president
Last progress March 12, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on January 23, 2025 by Dale Strong
Sponsors (2)
House Votes
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: 3/10/2025 CR H1046-1047)
Senate Votes
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Presidential Signature
AI Summary
This bill aims to make our systems better at spotting harmful biological threats. It tells the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review how it uses Department of Energy national labs for research and to send Congress a plan within 6 months. The plan must explain how DHS will work with these labs to find, test, and buy better detection tools for areas that use the BioWatch program, run outside checks to find weak spots, and have backup plans if tools don’t work as expected. DHS must also work with other governments, colleges, and the private sector to set clear needs for future environmental biodetection programs, and then give Congress an update one year after the law takes effect.
Key points
- Who is affected: DHS; Department of Energy national labs; federal, state, local, and Tribal governments; colleges; private companies; and communities using BioWatch.
- What changes: DHS must assess past lab use; create a strategy; identify needed technologies; make a buying plan; do outside evaluations; and plan for failures.
- When: Strategy due within 180 days of enactment; update due one year after enactment.