WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2012

IN GENERAL.—The President shall assign a member of the National Security Council to serve as Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense, who shall— (1) serve as the principal advisor to the President regarding coordination of Federal biodefense policy including prevention, protection, response, and recovery from biological attacks or other phenomena that may have serious health consequences for the United States, including wide-scale fatalities or infectious disease outbreaks; (2) identify gaps, duplication, and other inefficiencies in existing biodefense activities and the actions necessary to overcome these obstacles; (3) lead the development of a coordinated National Biodefense Plan, in accordance with section 102; (4) lead the development of a coordinated National Biosurveillance Strategy, in accordance with section 103; (5) lead the development of a coordinated national research and development strategy and implementation plan for microbial forensics, the latter to be up- dated not less than once every 4 years; (6) oversee, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the development of a comprehensive cross-cutting biodefense budget analysis to inform prioritization of resources and ensure that biodefense chal- lenges are adequately addressed, in accordance with section 104; and (7) conduct ongoing oversight and evaluation of implementation of Federal biodefense activities by relevant Government departments and agencies. (b) ACCESS BY CONGRESS.—The appointment of the Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense shall not be construed as affecting access by Congress or com- mittees of either House of Congress to information, documents, and studies in the possession of, or conducted by or at the direction of, the Special Assistant.