6 USC 594 - Testing authority

Collapse to view only § 594. Testing authority

§ 591g. Mission of the Office
§ 591h. Relationship to other Department components and Federal agencies
§ 592. Responsibilities
§ 592a. Technology research and development investment strategy for nuclear and radiological detection
§ 593. Hiring authority
§ 594. Testing authority
§ 595. Repealed.
§ 596. Contracting and grant making authorities
§ 596a. Joint annual interagency review of global nuclear detection architecture
§ 596b. Securing the Cities program

§ 591g. Mission of the Office

The Office shall be responsible for coordinating with other Federal efforts and developing a strategy and policy for the Department to plan for, detect, and protect against the importation, possession, storage, transportation, development, or use of unauthorized chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials, devices, or agents in the United States and to protect against an attack using such materials, devices, or agents against the people, territory, or interests of the United States.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1921, as added Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(3), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163.)

§ 591h. Relationship to other Department components and Federal agencies

(a) In general

(b) Office for Strategy, Policy, and Plans

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1922, as added Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(3), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163.)

§ 592. Responsibilities

(a) MissionThe Office shall be responsible for coordinating Federal efforts to detect and protect against the unauthorized importation, possession, storage, transportation, development, or use of a nuclear explosive device, fissile material, or radiological material in the United States, and to protect against attack using such devices or materials against the people, territory, or interests of the United States and, to this end, shall—

(1) serve as the primary entity of the United States Government to further develop, acquire, and support the deployment of an enhanced domestic system to detect and report on attempts to import, possess, store, transport, develop, or use an unauthorized nuclear explosive device, fissile material, or radiological material in the United States, and improve that system over time;

(2) enhance and coordinate the nuclear detection efforts of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector to ensure a managed, coordinated response;

(3) establish, with the approval of the Secretary and in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Energy, additional protocols and procedures for use within the United States to ensure that the detection of unauthorized nuclear explosive devices, fissile material, or radiological material is promptly reported to the Attorney General, the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and other appropriate officials or their respective designees for appropriate action by law enforcement, military, emergency response, or other authorities;

(4) develop, with the approval of the Secretary and in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Energy, an enhanced global nuclear detection architecture with implementation under which—

(A) the Office will be responsible for the implementation of the domestic portion of the global architecture;

(B) the Secretary of Defense will retain responsibility for implementation of Department of Defense requirements within and outside the United States; and

(C) the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Energy will maintain their respective responsibilities for policy guidance and implementation of the portion of the global architecture outside the United States, which will be implemented consistent with applicable law and relevant international arrangements;

(5) ensure that the expertise necessary to accurately interpret detection data is made available in a timely manner for all technology deployed by the Office to implement the global nuclear detection architecture;

(6) conduct, support, coordinate, and encourage an aggressive, expedited, evolutionary, and transformational program of research and development to generate and improve technologies to detect and prevent the illicit entry, transport, assembly, or potential use within the United States of a nuclear explosive device or fissile or radiological material, and coordinate with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology on basic and advanced or transformational research and development efforts relevant to the mission of both organizations;

(7) carry out a program to test and evaluate technology for detecting a nuclear explosive device and fissile or radiological material, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, as appropriate, and establish performance metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of individual detectors and detection systems in detecting such devices or material—

(A) under realistic operational and environmental conditions; and

(B) against realistic adversary tactics and countermeasures;

(8) support and enhance the effective sharing and use of appropriate information generated by the intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, counterterrorism community, other government agencies, and foreign governments, as well as provide appropriate information to such entities;

(9) further enhance and maintain continuous awareness by analyzing information from all Office mission-related detection systems;

(10) lead the development and implementation of the national strategic five-year plan for improving the nuclear forensic and attribution capabilities of the United States required under section 1036 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010;

(11) establish, within the Office, the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center to provide centralized stewardship, planning, assessment, gap analysis, exercises, improvement, and integration for all Federal nuclear forensics and attribution activities—

(A) to ensure an enduring national technical nuclear forensics capability to strengthen the collective response of the United States to nuclear terrorism or other nuclear attacks; and

(B) to coordinate and implement the national strategic five-year plan referred to in paragraph (10);

(12) establish a National Nuclear Forensics Expertise Development Program, which—

(A) is devoted to developing and maintaining a vibrant and enduring academic pathway from undergraduate to post-doctorate study in nuclear and geochemical science specialties directly relevant to technical nuclear forensics, including radiochemistry, geochemistry, nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, materials science, and analytical chemistry;

(B) shall—

(i) make available for undergraduate study student scholarships, with a duration of up to 4 years per student, which shall include, if possible, at least 1 summer internship at a national laboratory or appropriate Federal agency in the field of technical nuclear forensics during the course of the student’s undergraduate career;

(ii) make available for doctoral study student fellowships, with a duration of up to 5 years per student, which shall—(I) include, if possible, at least 2 summer internships at a national laboratory or appropriate Federal agency in the field of technical nuclear forensics during the course of the student’s graduate career; and(II) require each recipient to commit to serve for 2 years in a post-doctoral position in a technical nuclear forensics-related specialty at a national laboratory or appropriate Federal agency after graduation;

(iii) make available to faculty awards, with a duration of 3 to 5 years each, to ensure faculty and their graduate students have a sustained funding stream; and

(iv) place a particular emphasis on reinvigorating technical nuclear forensics programs while encouraging the participation of undergraduate students, graduate students, and university faculty from historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and Hawaiian Native-serving institutions; and

(i) provide for the selection of individuals to receive scholarships or fellowships under this section through a competitive process primarily on the basis of academic merit and the nuclear forensics and attribution needs of the United States Government;

(ii) provide for the setting aside of up to 10 percent of the scholarships or fellowships awarded under this section for individuals who are Federal employees to enhance the education of such employees in areas of critical nuclear forensics and attribution needs of the United States Government, for doctoral education under the scholarship on a full-time or part-time basis;

(iii) provide that the Secretary may enter into a contractual agreement with an institution of higher education under which the amounts provided for a scholarship under this section for tuition, fees, and other authorized expenses are paid directly to the institution with respect to which such scholarship is awarded;

(iv) require scholarship recipients to maintain satisfactory academic progress; and

(v) require that—(I) a scholarship recipient who fails to maintain a high level of academic standing, as defined by the Secretary, who is dismissed for disciplinary reasons from the educational institution such recipient is attending, or who voluntarily terminates academic training before graduation from the educational program for which the scholarship was awarded shall be liable to the United States for repayment within 1 year after the date of such default of all scholarship funds paid to such recipient and to the institution of higher education on the behalf of such recipient, provided that the repayment period may be extended by the Secretary if the Secretary determines it necessary, as established by regulation; and(II) a scholarship recipient who, for any reason except death or disability, fails to begin or complete the post-doctoral service requirements in a technical nuclear forensics-related specialty at a national laboratory or appropriate Federal agency after completion of academic training shall be liable to the United States for an amount equal to—(aa) the total amount of the scholarship received by such recipient under this section; and(bb) the interest on such amounts which would be payable if at the time the scholarship was received such scholarship was a loan bearing interest at the maximum legally prevailing rate;

(13) provide an annual report to Congress on the activities carried out under paragraphs (10), (11), and (12); and

(14) perform other duties as assigned by the Secretary.

(b) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Alaska Native-serving institution

(2) Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution

(3) Hawaiian native-serving institution

(4) Hispanic-serving institution

(5) Historically Black college or university

(6) Tribal College or University

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1923, formerly title XVIII, § 1802, as added Pub. L. 109–347, title V, § 501(a), Oct. 13, 2006, 120 Stat. 1932; renumbered title XIX, § 1902, Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 104(a)(1), (2), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 294; amended Pub. L. 111–140, § 4(a), Feb. 16, 2010, 124 Stat. 32; renumbered § 1923 and amended Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(5), (6), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163, 5164.)

§ 592a. Technology research and development investment strategy for nuclear and radiological detection

(a) In general

(b) Contents

The strategy under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) a long term technology roadmap for nuclear and radiological detection applicable to the mission needs of the Department, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;

(2) budget requirements necessary to meet the roadmap; and

(3) documentation of how the Department, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will execute this strategy.

Not later than 1 year after October 13, 2006, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on—

(1) the impact of this title,1

1 See References in Text note below.

and the amendments made by this title, on the responsibilities under section 182 of this title; and

(2) the efforts of the Department to coordinate, integrate, and establish priorities for conducting all basic and applied research, development, testing, and evaluation of technology and systems to detect, prevent, protect, and respond to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorist attacks.

(d) Annual report

(Pub. L. 109–347, title V, § 502, Oct. 13, 2006, 120 Stat. 1935.)

§ 593. Hiring authority

In hiring personnel for the Office, the Secretary shall have the hiring and management authorities provided in section 1101 1

1 See References in Text note below.

of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (5 U.S.C. 3104 note). The term of appointments for employees under subsection (c)(1) of such section may not exceed 5 years before granting any extension under subsection (c)(2) of such section.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1924, formerly title XVIII, § 1803, as added Pub. L. 109–347, title V, § 501(a), Oct. 13, 2006, 120 Stat. 1934; renumbered title XIX, § 1903, Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 104(a)(1), (2), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 294; renumbered § 1924, Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(5), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163.)

§ 594. Testing authority

(a) In general

(b) Confidentiality of test results

(d) Use of fees

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1925, formerly title XVIII, § 1804, as added Pub. L. 109–347, title V, § 501(a), Oct. 13, 2006, 120 Stat. 1934; renumbered title XIX, § 1904, and amended Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 104(a)(1)–(3), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 294; renumbered § 1925 and amended Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(5), (7), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163, 5164.)

§ 595. Repealed. Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(4), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163

§ 596. Contracting and grant making authorities

The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, in carrying out the responsibilities under section 592 of this title, shall—

(1) operate extramural and intramural programs and distribute funds through grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions and contracts;

(2) ensure that activities under section 592 of this title include investigations of radiation detection equipment in configurations suitable for deployment at seaports, which may include underwater or water surface detection equipment and detection equipment that can be mounted on cranes and straddle cars used to move shipping containers; and

(3) have the authority to establish or contract with 1 or more federally funded research and development centers to provide independent analysis of homeland security issues and carry out other responsibilities under this subchapter.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1926, formerly title XVIII, § 1806, as added Pub. L. 109–347, title V, § 501(a), Oct. 13, 2006, 120 Stat. 1935; renumbered title XIX, § 1906, and amended Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 104(a)(1), (2), (4), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 294; renumbered § 1926 and amended Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(5), (8), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163, 5164.)

§ 596a. Joint annual interagency review of global nuclear detection architecture

(a) Annual review

(1) In generalThe Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly ensure interagency coordination on the development and implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture by ensuring that, not less frequently than once each year—

(A) each relevant agency, office, or entity—

(i) assesses its involvement, support, and participation in the development, revision, and implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture; and

(ii) examines and evaluates components of the global nuclear detection architecture (including associated strategies and acquisition plans) relating to the operations of that agency, office, or entity, to determine whether such components incorporate and address current threat assessments, scenarios, or intelligence analyses developed by the Director of National Intelligence or other agencies regarding threats relating to nuclear or radiological weapons of mass destruction;

(B) each agency, office, or entity deploying or operating any nuclear or radiological detection technology under the global nuclear detection architecture—

(i) evaluates the deployment and operation of nuclear or radiological detection technologies under the global nuclear detection architecture by that agency, office, or entity;

(ii) identifies performance deficiencies and operational or technical deficiencies in nuclear or radiological detection technologies deployed under the global nuclear detection architecture; and

(iii) assesses the capacity of that agency, office, or entity to implement the responsibilities of that agency, office, or entity under the global nuclear detection architecture; and

(C) the Assistant Secretary and each of the relevant departments that are partners in the National Technical Forensics Center—

(i) include, as part of the assessments, evaluations, and reviews required under this paragraph, each office’s or department’s activities and investments in support of nuclear forensics and attribution activities and specific goals and objectives accomplished during the previous year pursuant to the national strategic five-year plan for improving the nuclear forensic and attribution capabilities of the United States required under section 1036 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010;

(ii) attaches, as an appendix to the Joint Interagency Annual Review, the most current version of such strategy and plan; and

(iii) includes a description of new or amended bilateral and multilateral agreements and efforts in support of nuclear forensics and attribution activities accomplished during the previous year.

(2) Technology

(b) Annual report on joint interagency review

(1) In generalNot later than March 31 of each year, the Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall jointly submit a report regarding the implementation of this section and the results of the reviews required under subsection (a) to—

(A) the President;

(B) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and

(C) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives.

(2) Form

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1927, formerly § 1907, as added Pub. L. 110–53, title XI, § 1103(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 379; amended Pub. L. 111–140, § 4(b), Feb. 16, 2010, 124 Stat. 35; renumbered § 1927 and amended Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(5), (9), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5163, 5164.)

§ 596b. Securing the Cities program

(a) Establishment

(b) ElementsThrough the STC program the Secretary shall—

(1) assist State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments in designing and implementing, or enhancing existing, architectures for coordinated and integrated detection and interdiction of nuclear or other radiological materials that are out of regulatory control;

(2) support the development of an operating capability to detect and report on nuclear and other radiological materials out of regulatory control;

(3) provide resources to enhance detection, analysis, communication, and coordination to better integrate State, local, Tribal, and territorial assets into Federal operations;

(4) facilitate alarm adjudication and provide subject matter expertise and technical assistance on concepts of operations, training, exercises, and alarm response protocols;

(5) communicate with, and promote sharing of information about the presence or detection of nuclear or other radiological materials among appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial government agencies, in a manner that ensures transparency with the jurisdictions designated under subsection (c);

(6) provide augmenting resources, as appropriate, to enable State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to sustain and refresh their capabilities developed under the STC program;

(7) monitor expenditures under the STC program and track performance in meeting the goals of the STC program; and

(8) provide any other assistance the Secretary determines appropriate.

(1) In general

(2) Congressional notification

(d) Accountability

(1) Implementation plan

(A) In generalThe Secretary shall develop, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, an implementation plan for carrying out the STC program that includes—

(i) a discussion of the goals of the STC program and a strategy to achieve those goals;

(ii) performance metrics and milestones for the STC program;

(iii) measures for achieving and sustaining capabilities under the STC program; and

(iv) costs associated with achieving the goals of the STC program.

(B) Submission to Congress

(2) Report requiredNot later than one year after the submission of the implementation plan under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the Comptroller General a report that includes—

(A) an assessment of the effectiveness of the STC program, based on the performance metrics and milestones required by paragraph (1)(A)(ii); and

(B) proposals for any changes to the STC program, including an explanation of how those changes align with the strategy and goals of the STC program and, as appropriate, address any challenges faced by the STC program.

(3) Comptroller general review

(4) Briefing and submission requirementsBefore making any changes to the structure or requirements of the STC program, the Assistant Secretary shall—

(A) consult with the appropriate congressional committees; and

(B) provide to those committees—

(i) a briefing on the proposed changes, including a justification for the changes;

(ii) documentation relating to the changes, including plans, strategies, and resources to implement the changes; and

(iii) an assessment of the effect of the changes on the capabilities of the STC program, taking into consideration previous resource allocations and stakeholder input.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title XIX, § 1928, as added Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(a)(10), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5164.)