Directed Energy Threat Emergency Response Act
This bill requires actions to address anomalous health incidents.
The President must designate an appropriate senior official as the Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator. The interagency coordinator must (1) coordinate the U.S. government's response to anomalous health incidents, (2) ensure that affected personnel and dependents get access to care, and (3) ensure adequate training and education for relevant U.S. government personnel.
The President must also appoint an appropriate senior official as the Deputy Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator.
The bill also requires certain agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to designate an appropriate senior official to serve as the Anomalous Health Incident Agency Coordination Lead. These officials must work with the interagency coordinator to (1) achieve objectives related to anomalous health incidents, and (2) jointly provide quarterly briefings to Congress on its activities.
Such agencies must also develop updated workplace guidance to address anomalous health incidents.
The bill authorizes the Department of State to take certain actions, such as increasing staffing for the Health Incident Response Task Force and collecting data related to anomalous health incidents.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5263 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5263
To designate an Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator to
coordinate the interagency investigation of, and response to, suspected
attacks presenting as anomalous health incidents, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 14, 2021
Ms. Spanberger (for herself, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Waltz, Mr.
Katko, Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Ms. Slotkin, and Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs,
Oversight and Reform, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate an Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator to
coordinate the interagency investigation of, and response to, suspected
attacks presenting as anomalous health incidents, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Directed Energy Threat Emergency
Response Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Since at least 2016, United States Government personnel
and their family members have reported anomalous health
incidents at diplomatic missions across the world and in the
United States, which are sometimes referred to as ``Havana
Syndrome''.
(2) Some of the anomalous health incidents have resulted in
unexplained brain injuries, which have had permanent, life-
altering effects that have disrupted lives and ended careers.
(3) A panel of experts convened by the Bureau of Medical
Services of the Department of State in July 2017 to review
triage assessments of medically evaluated personnel from the
United States Embassy in Havana came to a consensus that the
findings were most likely related to neurotrauma from a
nonnatural source.
(4) A 2020 report by the National Academy of Sciences found
that ``many of the distinctive and acute signs, symptoms, and
observations reported by [affected] employees are consistent
with the effects of directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF)
energy'' and that ``directed pulsed RF energy [...] appears to
be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases''.
(5) According to the National Academy of Sciences report,
``such a scenario raises grave concerns about a world with
disinhibited malevolent actors and new tools for causing harm
to others''.
(6) The number and locations of these suspected attacks
have expanded and, according to press reporting, there have
been more than 130 possible cases that have been reported by
United States personnel in Asia, in Europe, and in the Western
Hemisphere, including within the United States.
(7) The continuing and expanding scope of these suspected
attacks is impacting the security and morale of United States
personnel, especially those posted overseas.
(8) The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons (including
diplomatic agents) to which 180 countries are a party, protects
diplomatic personnel from attacks on their persons,
accommodations, or means of transport, and requires all state
parties to punish and take measures to prevent such grave
crimes.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the threat to United States Government personnel from
suspected attacks presenting as anomalous health incidents is a
matter of urgent concern and deserving of the full attention of
government;
(2) personnel, dependents, and other appropriate
individuals suffering anomalous health incidents from these
suspected attacks deserve equitable, accessible, and high-
quality medical assessment and care, regardless of their
employing Government agency;
(3) diagnoses and determinations to treat personnel,
dependents, and other appropriate individuals experiencing
symptoms consistent with such injuries should be made by
experienced medical professionals and made available by the
Federal Government;
(4) any recriminations, retaliation, or punishment
associated with personnel self-reporting symptoms is
unacceptable and should be investigated by internal agency
oversight mechanisms;
(5) information sharing and interagency coordination is
essential for the comprehensive investigation, attribution, and
mitigation of these injuries;
(6) the Administration should provide Congress and the
public with timely and regular unclassified updates on the
threat posed to United States Government personnel by the
suspected causes of these injuries;
(7) recent efforts by the Administration and among relevant
agencies represent positive steps toward responding to the
threat of anomalous health incidents, but more comprehensive
measures must be taken to further assist victims, investigate
and determine the cause of the injuries of such victims, and
prevent future incidents;
(8) establishing the source and cause of these anomalous
health incidents must be a top priority for the United States
Government and requires the full coordination of relevant
agencies;
(9) if investigations determine that the anomalous health
incidents are the result of deliberate acts by individuals,
entities, or foreign countries, the United States Government
should recognize and respond to these incidents as hostile
attacks; and
(10) any actors found to have been targeting United States
Government personnel should be publicly identified, as
appropriate, and held accountable.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to detect, deter, and punish any clandestine attacks
that cause persistent injuries to United States personnel;
(2) to provide appropriate assistance to United States
personnel harmed by such attacks;
(3) to hold responsible any persons, entities, or
governments involved in ordering or carrying out such attacks,
including through appropriate sanctions, criminal prosecutions,
or other tools;
(4) to prioritize research into effective countermeasures
to help protect United States personnel from such attacks; and
(5) to convey to foreign governments through official
contact at the highest levels the gravity of United States
concern about such suspected attacks and the seriousness of
consequences that may follow for any actors found to be
involved.
SEC. 4. ANOMALOUS HEALTH INCIDENTS INTERAGENCY COORDINATOR.
(a) Designation.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall designate--
(1) an appropriate senior official to be known as the
Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator; and
(2) an appropriate senior official in the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy to be known as the
Deputy Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator.
(b) Duties.--The Interagency Coordinator shall work through the
President's designated National Security process--
(1) to coordinate the response of the United States
Government to anomalous health incidents;
(2) to coordinate among relevant agencies to ensure
equitable and timely access to assessment and care for affected
personnel, dependents, and other appropriate individuals;
(3) to ensure adequate training and education for United
States Government personnel;
(4) to ensure that information regarding anomalous health
incidents is efficiently shared across relevant agencies in a
manner that provides appropriate protections for classified,
sensitive, and personal information;
(5) to coordinate through the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy, and across the science and technology
enterprise of the Government, the technological and research
efforts of the Government to address suspected attacks
presenting as anomalous health incidents; and
(6) to develop policy options to prevent, mitigate, and
deter suspected attacks presenting as anomalous health
incidents.
(c) Designation of Agency Coordination Leads.--
(1) In general.--The head of each relevant agency shall
designate a Senate-confirmed or other appropriate senior
official, who shall--
(A) serve as the Anomalous Health Incident Agency
Coordination Lead for the relevant agency;
(B) report directly to the head of the relevant
agency regarding activities carried out under this Act;
(C) perform functions specific to the relevant
agency, consistent with the directives of the
Interagency Coordinator and the established interagency
process;
(D) participate in interagency briefings to
Congress regarding the response of the United States
Government to anomalous health incidents; and
(E) represent the relevant agency in meetings
convened by the Interagency Coordinator.
(2) Delegation prohibited.--An Agency Coordination Lead may
not delegate the responsibilities described in subparagraphs
(A) through (C) of paragraph (1).
(d) Secure Reporting Mechanisms.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Coordinator shall--
(1) ensure that each relevant agency develops a process to
provide a secure mechanism for personnel, their dependents, and
other appropriate individuals to self-report any suspected
exposure that could be an anomalous health incident;
(2) ensure that each relevant agency shares all relevant
data in a timely manner with the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence, and other relevant agencies, through
existing processes coordinated by the Interagency Coordinator;
and
(3) in establishing the mechanism described in paragraph
(1), prioritize secure information collection and handling
processes to protect classified, sensitive, and personal
information.
(e) Briefings.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter for the
following 2 years, the Interagency Coordinator, the Deputy
Coordinator, and the Agency Coordination Leads shall jointly
provide a briefing to the appropriate national security
committees regarding progress in carrying out the duties under
subsection (b), including the requirements under paragraph (2).
(2) Elements.--The briefings required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) an update on the investigation into anomalous
health incidents impacting United States Government
personnel and their family members, including technical
causation and suspected perpetrators;
(B) an update on new or persistent incidents;
(C) threat prevention and mitigation efforts to
include personnel training;
(D) changes to operating posture due to anomalous
health threats;
(E) an update on diagnosis and treatment efforts
for affected individuals, including patient numbers and
wait times to access care;
(F) efforts to improve and encourage reporting of
incidents;
(G) detailed roles and responsibilities of Agency
Coordination Leads;
(H) information regarding additional authorities or
resources needed to support the interagency response;
and
(I) other matters that the Interagency Coordinator
or the Agency Coordination Leads consider appropriate.
(3) Unclassified briefing summary.--The Agency Coordination
Leads shall provide a coordinated, unclassified summary of the
briefings to Congress, which shall include as much information
as practicable without revealing classified information or
information that is likely to identify an individual.
(f) Retention of Authority.--The appointment of the Interagency
Coordinator shall not deprive any Federal agency of any authority to
independently perform its authorized functions.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to limit--
(1) the President's authority under article II of the
United States Constitution; or
(2) the provision of health care and benefits to afflicted
individuals, consistent with existing laws.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated--
(1) to the Secretary of Defense $45,000,000 for fiscal year
2022, of which--
(A) $30,000,000 shall be used--
(i) to develop the necessary medical
capacity to provide health assessments and
appropriate care to United States Government
personnel, dependents, and other appropriate
individuals who have symptoms associated with
anomalous health incidents;
(ii) to develop additional capability and
capacity in the military healthcare system to
provide assessment and timely care to affected
United States Government personnel, dependents,
and other appropriate individuals; and
(iii) to fund the assessment and care of
civilian employees of the Department of Defense
and other Department of Defense-affiliated non-
beneficiaries, if such funding is not otherwise
available; and
(B) the remaining $15,000,000 shall be used to
support--
(i) the efforts of the Department of
Defense to investigate and characterize the
cause of anomalous health incidents, including
investigations of technical causation, medical
research, and other activities in support of
attribution;
(ii) intelligence and data analysis by the
Department of Defense of information related to
anomalous health incidents; and
(iii) development and implementation by the
Department of Defense of force protection and
mitigation efforts; and
(2) to the Secretary of State $5,000,000 for fiscal year
2022 to be used--
(A) to increase capacity and staffing for the
Health Incident Response Task Force of the Department
of State;
(B) to support the development and implementation
of efforts by the Department of State to prevent and
mitigate anomalous health incidents affecting its
workforce;
(C) to investigate and characterize the cause of
anomalous health incidents, including investigations of
causation and attribution;
(D) to collect and analyze data related to
anomalous health incidents;
(E) to coordinate with other relevant agencies and
the National Security Council regarding anomalous
health incidents; and
(F) to support other activities to understand,
prevent, deter, and respond to suspected attacks
presenting as anomalous health incidents, at the
discretion of the Secretary of State.
SEC. 6. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF WORKFORCE GUIDANCE.
The President shall direct relevant agencies to develop and
disseminate to employees who are at risk of exposure to anomalous
health incidents, not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, updated workforce guidance to report, mitigate,
and address suspected attacks presenting as anomalous health incidents.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency coordination lead.--The term ``Agency
Coordination Lead'' means a senior official designated by the
head of a relevant agency to serve as the Anomalous Health
Incident Agency Coordination Lead for such agency.
(2) Appropriate national security committees.--The term
``appropriate national security committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate;
(D) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(G) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives;
(H) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
of the House of Representatives;
(I) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives; and
(J) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Deputy coordinator.--The term ``Deputy Coordinator''
means the Deputy Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency
Coordinator in the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy designated pursuant to section 4(a).
(4) Interagency coordinator.--The term ``Interagency
Coordinator'' means the Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency
Coordinator designated pursuant to section 4(a).
(5) Relevant agencies.--The term ``relevant agencies''
means--
(A) the Department of Defense;
(B) the Department of State;
(C) the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence;
(D) the Central Intelligence Agency;
(E) the Department of Justice;
(F) the Department of Homeland Security; and
(G) other agencies and bodies designated by the
Interagency Coordinator.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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