House Homeland Security panel moves quickly on WMD preparedness bill

A key House panel will move quickly on legislation to implement recommendations to better prepare and respond to a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) attack.

The House Homeland Security Committee will begin a full committee markup on the WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act on Wednesday, a bipartisan piece of legislation to put into law the recommendations of a presidential commission on how to best “prevent, deter, prepare for, detect, attribute, respond to, and recover from” a WMD attack.

The markup comes just two weeks after the legislation’s cosponsors, Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.), introduced their legislation. The bill also has the backing of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the committee who’s said he hopes to move quickly in the WMD Act.

The bill would enshrine recommendations that were made almost two whole years ago, after the WMD Commission, which was first established by President George W. Bush, recommended serious changes in the U.S. posture toward WMDs.

That commission was chaired by former Sens. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and Bob Graham (D-Fla.). Graham is also a co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.