Bill Introduced to Establish Office of Bombing Prevention

Washington, D.C. Congressmen Peter T. King (New York) and Bennie Thompson (Mississippi) introduced the National Bombing Prevention Act of 2009 (HR 549) in Congress. The Bill amends the Homeland Security Action of 2006 to establish an Office of Bombing Prevention. The "Office" will be responsible for coordinating national and intergovernmental bombing prevention activities; conducting a capabilities analysis of First Responders including State and Local Bomb Squads; assisting State, Local and Tribal Governments with developing IED security plans; and establishing a public awareness campaign on how to respond to a terrorist attack.

The Bill allocates $10M in funding for FY2010 and $25M for FY 2011 through 2013 for the Office. The Bill puts an emphasis and increased funding for canine resources and other capabilities related to explosive detection. It also focuses on increasing Technology Transfer initiatives so more State and Local First Responders can take advantage of high-tech DoD funded research efforts and technologies. Technology Transfer has been an area that Government backed research programs and organizations for UXO have been struggling over for over a decade with minimal success.

To view HR 549 use the download link below.