Pub. L. 112-74, div. D, tit. V, sec. 550 (as amended)

SEC. 550. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act may be obligated for construction of the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility until the Department of Homeland Security— (1) completes 50 percent of design planning for the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility; (2) submits to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a revised site-specific biosafety and biosecurity mitigation risk assessment that describes how to significantly reduce risks of conducting essential research and diagnostic testing at the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility and addresses shortcomings identified in the National Academy of Sciences’ evaluation of the initial site-specific biosafety and biosecurity mitigation risk assessment; and (3) submits to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives the results of the National Academy of Sciences’ review of the risk assessment as described in subsection (c). (b) The revised site-specific biosafety and biosecurity mitigation risk assessment required by subsection (a) shall— (1) include a quantitative risk assessment for foot-and-mouth disease virus, in particular epidemiological and economic impact modeling to determine the overall risk of operating the facility for its expected 50-year life span, taking into account strategies to mitigate risk of foot-and-mouth disease virus release from the laboratory and ensure safe operations at the approved National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility site; (2) address the impact of surveillance, response, and mitigation plans (developed in consultation with local, State, and Federal authorities and appropriate stakeholders) if a release occurs, to detect and control the spread of disease; and (3) include overall risks of the most dangerous pathogens the Department of Homeland Security expects to hold in the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility’s biosafety level 4 facility, and effectiveness of mitigation strategies to reduce those risks. (c) The Department of Homeland Security shall enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the adequacy and validity of the risk assessment required by subsection (a). The National Academy of Sciences shall submit a report on such evaluation within four months after the date the Department of Homeland Security concludes its risk assessment.