6 U.S.C. § 195b — National Biosurveillance Integration Cen-

Page 82 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 195a nications capabilities and achieve interoper- able emergency communications capabilities; and (10) conduct pilot projects, in coordination with the Director for Emergency Communica- tions,1 to test and demonstrate technologies, including data and video, that enhance— (A) the ability of emergency response pro- viders and relevant government officials to continue to communicate in the event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters; and (B) interoperable emergency communica- tions capabilities. (b) Coordination The Director of the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility shall coordinate with the Di- rector for Emergency Communications 1 with re- spect to the SAFECOM program. (c) Sufficiency of resources The Secretary shall provide the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility the re- sources and staff necessary to carry out the re- sponsibilities under this section. (Pub. L. 107–296, title III, § 314, as added Pub. L. 109–295, title VI, § 672(a), Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1441.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Reference to Director for Emergency Communica- tions deemed to be a reference to Assistant Director for Emergency Communications, see section 2(c)(2) of Pub. L. 115–278, set out as a note under section 571 of this title. § 195a. Emergency communications interoper- ability research and development (a) In general The Under Secretary for Science and Tech- nology, acting through the Director of the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility, shall es- tablish a comprehensive research and develop- ment program to support and promote— (1) the ability of emergency response pro- viders and relevant government officials to continue to communicate in the event of nat- ural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters; and (2) interoperable emergency communica- tions capabilities among emergency response providers and relevant government officials, including by— (A) supporting research on a competitive basis, including through the Directorate of Science and Technology and Homeland Secu- rity Advanced Research Projects Agency; and (B) considering the establishment of a Cen- ter of Excellence under the Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence Program focused on improving emergency response providers’ communication capabili- ties. (b) Purposes The purposes of the program established under subsection (a) include— (1) supporting research, development, test- ing, and evaluation on emergency communica- tion capabilities; (2) understanding the strengths and weak- nesses of the public safety communications systems in use; (3) examining how current and emerging technology can make emergency response pro- viders more effective, and how Federal, State, local, and tribal government agencies can use this technology in a coherent and cost-effec- tive manner; (4) investigating technologies that could lead to long-term advancements in emergency communications capabilities and supporting research on advanced technologies and poten- tial systemic changes to dramatically improve emergency communications; and (5) evaluating and validating advanced tech- nology concepts, and facilitating the develop- ment and deployment of interoperable emer- gency communication capabilities. (c) Definitions For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘inter- operable’’, with respect to emergency commu- nications, has the meaning given the term in section 578 of this title. (Pub. L. 107–296, title III, § 315, as added Pub. L. 109–295, title VI, § 673(a), Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1443.) § 195b. National Biosurveillance Integration Cen- ter (a) Establishment The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, shall establish, operate, and maintain a National Biosurveillance Integration Center (referred to in this section as the ‘‘NBIC’’), which shall be headed by a Directing Officer, under an office or directorate of the De- partment that is in existence as of August 3, 2007. (b) Primary mission The primary mission of the NBIC is to— (1) enhance the capability of the Federal Government to— (A) rapidly identify, characterize, localize, and track a biological event of national con- cern by integrating and analyzing data re- lating to human health, animal, plant, food, and environmental monitoring systems (both national and international); and (B) disseminate alerts and other informa- tion to Member Agencies and, in coordina- tion with (and where possible through) Mem- ber Agencies, to agencies of State, local, and tribal governments, as appropriate, to en- hance the ability of such agencies to respond to a biological event of national concern; and (2) oversee development and operation of the National Biosurveillance Integration System. (c) Requirements The NBIC shall detect, as early as possible, a biological event of national concern that pre- sents a risk to the United States or the infra- Page 83 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 195b 1 So in original. No par. (2) has been enacted. structure or key assets of the United States, in- cluding by— (1) consolidating data from all relevant sur- veillance systems maintained by Member Agencies to detect biological events of na- tional concern across human, animal, and plant species; (2) seeking private sources of surveillance, both foreign and domestic, when such sources would enhance coverage of critical surveil- lance gaps; (3) using an information technology system that uses the best available statistical and other analytical tools to identify and charac- terize biological events of national concern in as close to real-time as is practicable; (4) providing the infrastructure for such in- tegration, including information technology systems and space, and support for personnel from Member Agencies with sufficient exper- tise to enable analysis and interpretation of data; (5) working with Member Agencies to create information technology systems that use the minimum amount of patient data necessary and consider patient confidentiality and pri- vacy issues at all stages of development and apprise the Privacy Officer of such efforts; and (6) alerting Member Agencies and, in coordi- nation with (and where possible through) Member Agencies, public health agencies of State, local, and tribal governments regarding any incident that could develop into a biologi- cal event of national concern. (d) Responsibilities of the Directing Officer of the NBIC (1) In general The Directing Officer of the NBIC shall— (A) on an ongoing basis, monitor the avail- ability and appropriateness of surveillance systems used by the NBIC and those systems that could enhance biological situational awareness or the overall performance of the NBIC; (B) on an ongoing basis, review and seek to improve the statistical and other analytical methods used by the NBIC; (C) receive and consider other relevant homeland security information, as appro- priate; and (D) provide technical assistance, as appro- priate, to all Federal, regional, State, local, and tribal government entities and private sector entities that contribute data relevant to the operation of the NBIC. (2) Assessments The Directing Officer of the NBIC shall— (A) on an ongoing basis, evaluate available data for evidence of a biological event of na- tional concern; and (B) integrate homeland security informa- tion with NBIC data to provide overall situa- tional awareness and determine whether a biological event of national concern has oc- curred. (3) Information sharing (A) In general The Directing Officer of the NBIC shall— (i) establish a method of real-time com- munication with the National Operations Center; (ii) in the event that a biological event of national concern is detected, notify the Secretary and disseminate results of NBIC assessments relating to that biological event of national concern to appropriate Federal response entities and, in coordina- tion with relevant Member Agencies, re- gional, State, local, and tribal govern- mental response entities in a timely man- ner; (iii) provide any report on NBIC assess- ments to Member Agencies and, in coordi- nation with relevant Member Agencies, any affected regional, State, local, or trib- al government, and any private sector en- tity considered appropriate that may en- hance the mission of such Member Agen- cies, governments, or entities or the abil- ity of the Nation to respond to biological events of national concern; and (iv) share NBIC incident or situational awareness reports, and other relevant in- formation, consistent with the informa- tion sharing environment established under section 485 of this title and any poli- cies, guidelines, procedures, instructions, or standards established under that sec- tion. (B) Consultation The Directing Officer of the NBIC shall im- plement the activities described in subpara- graph (A) consistent with the policies, guide- lines, procedures, instructions, or standards established under section 485 of this title and in consultation with the Director of Na- tional Intelligence, the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, and other offices or agencies of the Federal Government, as appropriate. (e) Responsibilities of the NBIC member agen- cies (1) 1 In general Each Member Agency shall— (A) use its best efforts to integrate bio- surveillance information into the NBIC, with the goal of promoting information sharing between Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to detect biological events of national concern; (B) provide timely information to assist the NBIC in maintaining biological situa- tional awareness for accurate detection and response purposes; (C) enable the NBIC to receive and use bio- surveillance information from member agen- cies to carry out its requirements under sub- section (c); (D) connect the biosurveillance data sys- tems of that Member Agency to the NBIC data system under mutually agreed proto- cols that are consistent with subsection (c)(5); (E) participate in the formation of strat- egy and policy for the operation of the NBIC and its information sharing; Page 84 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 195c (F) provide personnel to the NBIC under an interagency personnel agreement and con- sider the qualifications of such personnel necessary to provide human, animal, and en- vironmental data analysis and interpreta- tion support to the NBIC; and (G) retain responsibility for the surveil- lance and intelligence systems of that de- partment or agency, if applicable. (f) Administrative authorities (1) Hiring of experts The Directing Officer of the NBIC shall hire individuals with the necessary expertise to de- velop and operate the NBIC. (2) Detail of personnel Upon the request of the Directing Officer of the NBIC, the head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Department to assist the NBIC in carrying out this section. (g) NBIC interagency working group The Directing Officer of the NBIC shall— (1) establish an interagency working group to facilitate interagency cooperation and to advise the Directing Officer of the NBIC re- garding recommendations to enhance the bio- surveillance capabilities of the Department; and (2) invite Member Agencies to serve on that working group. (h) Relationship to other departments and agen- cies The authority of the Directing Officer of the NBIC under this section shall not affect any au- thority or responsibility of any other depart- ment or agency of the Federal Government with respect to biosurveillance activities under any program administered by that department or agency. (i) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section. (j) Definitions In this section: (1) The terms ‘‘biological agent’’ and ‘‘toxin’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 178 of title 18. (2) The term ‘‘biological event of national concern’’ means— (A) an act of terrorism involving a biologi- cal agent or toxin; or (B) a naturally occurring outbreak of an infectious disease that may result in a na- tional epidemic. (3) The term ‘‘homeland security informa- tion’’ has the meaning given that term in sec- tion 482 of this title. (4) The term ‘‘Member Agency’’ means any Federal department or agency that, at the dis- cretion of the head of that department or agency, has entered a memorandum of under- standing regarding participation in the NBIC. (5) The term ‘‘Privacy Officer’’ means the Privacy Officer appointed under section 142 of this title. (Pub. L. 107–296, title III, § 316, as added Pub. L. 110–53, title XI, § 1101(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 375; amended Pub. L. 115–387, § 2(f)(2), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5168.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–387 substituted ‘‘Sec- retary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, shall’’ for ‘‘Secretary shall’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION Pub. L. 110–53, title XI, § 1101(c), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 378, provided that: ‘‘The National Biosurveillance Inte- gration Center under section 316 of the Homeland Secu- rity Act [of 2002, 6 U.S.C. 195b], as added by subsection (a), shall be fully operational by not later than Sep- tember 30, 2008.’’ § 195c. Promoting antiterrorism through inter- national cooperation program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Director The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director se- lected under subsection (b)(2). (2) International cooperative activity The term ‘‘international cooperative activ- ity’’ includes— (A) coordinated research projects, joint re- search projects, or joint ventures; (B) joint studies or technical demonstra- tions; (C) coordinated field exercises, scientific seminars, conferences, symposia, and work- shops; (D) training of scientists and engineers; (E) visits and exchanges of scientists, engi- neers, or other appropriate personnel; (F) exchanges or sharing of scientific and technological information; and (G) joint use of laboratory facilities and equipment. (b) Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office (1) Establishment The Under Secretary shall establish the Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office. (2) Director The Office shall be headed by a Director, who— (A) shall be selected, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for International Af- fairs, by and shall report to the Under Sec- retary; and (B) may be an officer of the Department serving in another position. (3) Responsibilities (A) Development of mechanisms The Director shall be responsible for devel- oping, in coordination with the Department of State and, as appropriate, the Department