Sec. 201. Office of Health Security
1,720 words·~8 min read·
/bill/118/s/1798/is/section-201A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq. ) is amended— in section 103 ( 6 U.S.C. 113 )— in subsection (a)(2)— by striking the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, ; and by striking Affairs, or and inserting Affairs or ; and in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following: A Chief Medical Officer. ; by adding at the end the following: ; by redesignating section 1931 ( 6 U.S.C. 597 ) as section 2301 and transferring such section to appear after the heading for title XXIII, as added by paragraph (2); in section 2301, as so redesignated— in the section heading, by striking and inserting Chief Medical Officer ; Office of Health Security by striking subsections
(a)and
(b)and inserting the following: There is established in the Department an Office of Health Security. The Office of Health Security shall be headed by a chief medical officer, who shall— be the Assistant Secretary for Health Security and the Chief Medical Officer of the Department; be a licensed physician possessing a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of medicine and public health; be appointed by the President; and report directly to the Secretary. ; in subsection (c)— in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking medical issues related to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters and inserting medical activities of the Department and all workforce-focused health and safety activities of the Department ; in paragraph (1), by striking , the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Assistant Secretary, and other Department officials and inserting and all other Department officials ; in paragraph (4), by striking and at the end; by redesignating paragraph
(5)as paragraph (13); and by inserting after paragraph
(4)the following: overseeing all medical activities of the Department, including the delivery, advisement, and support of direct patient care and the organization, management, and staffing of component operations that deliver direct patient care; advising the head of each component of the Department that delivers direct patient care regarding the recruitment and appointment of a component chief medical officer and deputy chief medical officer or the employee who functions in the capacity of chief medical officer and deputy chief medical officer; advising the Secretary and the head of each component of the Department that delivers direct patient care regarding knowledge and skill standards for medical personnel and the assessment of that knowledge and skill; in coordination with the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department and the Chief Information Officer of the Department, advising the Secretary and the head of each component of the Department that delivers patient care regarding the collection, storage, and oversight of medical records; with respect to any psychological health counseling or assistance program of the Department, including such a program of a law enforcement, operational, or support component of the Department, advising the head of each such component with such a program regarding— ensuring such program includes safeguards against adverse action, including automatic referrals for a fitness for duty examination, by such component with respect to any employee solely because such employee self-identifies a need for psychological health counseling or assistance or receives such counseling or assistance; increasing the availability and number of local psychological health professionals with experience providing psychological support services to personnel; establishing a behavioral health curriculum for employees at the beginning of their careers to provide resources early regarding the importance of psychological health; establishing periodic management training on crisis intervention and such component’s psychological health counseling or assistance program; improving any associated existing employee peer support programs, including by making additional training and resources available for peer support personnel in the workplace across such component; developing and implementing a voluntary alcohol treatment program that includes a safe harbor for employees who seek treatment; prioritizing, as appropriate, expertise in the provision of psychological health counseling and assistance for certain populations of the workforce, such as employees serving in positions within law enforcement, to help improve outcomes for those employees receiving that counseling or assistance; and including, when appropriate, collaborating and partnering with key employee stakeholders and, for those components with employees with an exclusive representative, the exclusive representative with respect to such a program; in consultation with the Chief Information Officer of the Department— identifying methods and technologies for managing, updating, and overseeing patient records; and setting standards for technology used by the components of the Department regarding the collection, storage, and oversight of medical records; advising the Secretary and the head of each component of the Department that delivers direct patient care regarding contracts for the delivery of direct patient care, other medical services, and medical supplies; coordinating with the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office and other components of the Department as directed by the Secretary, Federal agencies including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of State, and the Department of Transportation, State, local, and Tribal governments, and the medical community; and ; and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary, acting through the Chief Medical Officer, in support of the medical activities of the Department, may— provide technical assistance, training, and information to State, local, and Tribal governments and nongovernmental organizations; enter into agreements with other Federal agencies; and accept services from personnel of components of the Department and other Federal agencies on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis. There shall be a Privacy Officer in the Office of Health Security with primary responsibility for privacy policy and compliance within the Office, who shall— report directly to the Chief Medical Officer; and ensure privacy protections are integrated into all Office of Health Security activities, subject to the review and approval of the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department to the extent consistent with the authority of the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department under section 222. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary shall create a Departmentwide strategy and implementation plan to address medical activities of, and the workforce health and safety matters under the purview of, the Department. Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the organizational transformations of the Office of Health Security, including how best practices were used in the creation of the Office of Health Security. ; by redesignating section 710 ( 6 U.S.C. 350 ) as section 2302 and transferring such section to appear after section 2301, as so redesignated; in section 2302, as so redesignated— in the section heading, by striking and inserting medical support ; safety in subsection (a), by striking Under Secretary for Management each place that term appears and inserting Chief Medical Officer ; and in subsection (b)— in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Under Secretary for Management, in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer, and inserting Chief Medical Officer ; and in paragraph (3), by striking as deemed appropriate by the Under Secretary, ; by redesignating section 528 ( 6 U.S.C. 321q ) as section 2303 and transferring such section to appear after section 2302, as so redesignated; in section 2303, as so redesignated— in subsection (a), by striking Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office and inserting Chief Medical Officer ; and in subsection (b)— in paragraph (1), by striking Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9-Defense of the United States Agriculture and Food and inserting National Security Memorandum 16—Strengthening the Security and Resilience of the United States Food and Agriculture ; and in paragraph (6), by inserting the Department of Agriculture and other before appropriate ; by redesignating section 1932 ( 6 U.S.C. 597a ) as section 2304 and transferring such section to appear after section 2303, as so redesignated; in section 2304(f)(2)(B), as so redesignated, by striking Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and inserting Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response ; and by inserting after section 2304, as so redesignated, the following: Nothing in this title shall be construed to— override or otherwise affect the requirements described in section 888; require the advice of the Chief Medical Officer on the appointment of Coast Guard officers or the officer from the Public Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services assigned to the Coast Guard; provide the Chief Medical Officer with authority to take any action that would diminish the interoperability of the Coast Guard medical system with the medical systems of the other branches of the Armed Forces of the United States; or affect or diminish the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services or to grant to the Chief Medical Officer any authority that is vested in, or delegated to, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. . The individual appointed pursuant to section 1931 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 597 ) of the Department of Homeland Security, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, and serving as the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, shall continue to serve as the Chief Medical Officer of the Department on and after the date of enactment of this Act without the need for reappointment. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall transfer to the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security— all functions, personnel, budget authority, and assets of the Under Secretary for Management relating to workforce health and safety, as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; all functions, personnel, budget authority, and assets of the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office relating to the Chief Medical Officer, including the Medical Operations Directorate of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; and all functions, personnel, budget authority, and assets of the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office associated with the efforts pertaining to the program coordination activities relating to defending the food, agriculture, and veterinary defenses of the Office, as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
Connectionstraces to 6
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 201
Office of Health Security
Cites 6Cited by 0 across 0 sources