Review – HR 3224 Introduced – WMD Office Extension

Last month, Rep D’Esposito (R,NY) introduced HR 3224, the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Extension Act of 2023. The bill would extend the current authorization of the DHS CWMD Office for seven years. There is no new funding authorized in this legislation.

Moving Forward

On May 17^th, the House Homeland Security Committee considered HR 3224 during a business meeting. The bill was adopted by a voice vote without amendment. The bill will likely be considered by the full House, perhaps before the summer recess, under the suspension of the rules process. This will mean limited debate and no floor amendments. It will almost certainly pass with strong bipartisan support.

Commentary

It has always seemed odd to be that the CWMD Office has no linkage to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. True, chemical weapons are only a small part of the CWMD’s purview, but they are a part. The CFATS program is in CISA and it is a regulatory program, so it definitely does not fit directly into the CWMD Office profile, but there ought to be some formal coordination linkage between the two programs.

 

For more details about the provision of this bill, including an expanded discussion about coordination efforts, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-3224-introduced - subscription required.