HR 6873 Passed in House – Bombing Prevention

On Monday the House took up HR 6873, the Bombing Prevention Act of 2022. The bill was considered under the suspension of the rules process. After limited debate and no adverse comments on the bill from the floor, a recorded vote was demanded. That vote took place yesterday and the bill passed with a strong, bipartisan vote of 388 to 26.

The bill would authorize the current Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) and outlines the technical assistance services DHS would provide to counter terrorist explosive threats and attacks.

Multiple attempts have been made over the years to authorize the OBP. Generally, those bills have passed in the House, but were not taken up in the Senate. As with many bills, this bill is not of high enough priority to take up the legislative time necessary for consideration under regular order in the Senate. Since the program is already in existence and regularly funded in DHS spending bills, there is little incentive to consider the bill under the unanimous consent process. This version of the bill is likely to face the same fate.