By: Anthony Kimery, Editor-in-Chief
12/01/2014 ( 8:19pm)
The House Monday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would strengthen the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, secure critical infrastructure against the threat of electromagnetic pulses and authorize the use of DHS grants to collaborate with national laboratories.
The Strengthening Domestic Nuclear Security Act (HR 5629), by a vote of 374-11, would specifically fortify the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO).
"With the rise of terrorist threats across the globe and their increasing sophistication, the mission of DNDO is vital in protecting the United States from a radiological or nuclear attack,” said Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies who introduced the bill. “This legislation strengthens the relationship with federal, state and local entities who are on the front lines of defense, providing them with the detection technology and resources needed."
“DNDO carries out a vital mission in the protection of the United States from nuclear and radiological threats,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “This legislation will increase the office’s ability to work with federal, state and local entities to provide nuclear and radiological detection resources.”
The House also passed the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (HR. 3410), introduced by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), which would better secure critical infrastructure against electromagnetic pulses, or EMP.
A ranking Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, Franks said in a statement that, "The Department of Homeland Security has the specific responsibility to secure the key resources and critical infrastructure in the United States, to include power production, generation and distribution systems. The US electric grid is fundamental to our continued way of life and practical steps must be taken to protect those critical elements that serve the United States from all threats. The negative impacts on US financial, agricultural, medical and other critical societal infrastructure are potentially catastrophic in a severe electromagnetic pulse or severe space weather event.”
"Today, with the passage of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, we are one step closer to protecting America from one of the potentially more serious short term national security threats we face,” Franks said, emphasizing that, "Anyone who has tried to feed their family or keep their children warm after the power has gone out will understand why this act is so crucially important.”
"Passage of this legislation will help the United States prevent and prepare for such an event by including large-scale blackouts into existing national planning scenarios, including educational awareness for first responders to protect critical infrastructure,” Franks said. “Most importantly, it requires specific plans for protecting and recovering the electric grid and other critical infrastructure from a dangerous EMP event.”
Continuing, Franks said, "There is a moment in the life of nearly every problem when it is big enough to be seen by reasonable people and still small enough to be successfully addressed. Those of us across America live in a time when there still may be opportunity for the free world to address and mitigate the vulnerability that naturally occurring or weaponized EMP represents to the mechanisms of our civilization. This is our moment.”
The House also passed the National Laboratories Mean National Security Act (HR 3438), introduced by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), to authorize use of grants under the Urban Area Security Initiative and the State Homeland Security Grant Program to work in conjunction with a Department of Energy national laboratory.
The bipartisan bill passed the House by a vote of 386-0.
http://www.hstoday.us/
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