The Federal Advisory Committee meeting of the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (TRAC) will meet Monday, August 26 at the Pentagon to conduct SECRET and higher-level discussions and deliberations on the “continued viability of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention, in as far as current international agreements on chemical and biological weapons and the implementation and enforcement of those treaties.”
TRAC will also consider the analytic and data-driven frameworks for the evaluation of the current strategic nuclear environment and the assessment of emergent challenges to the U.S. ability to deter threats from peer and near-peer competitors; and for providing independent, executive-level advice and recommendations in support of Special Operations Command (SOCOM) efforts as the DoD coordinating authority for countering weapons of mass destruction.
TRAC meetings must be announced to the public 15 days in advance and allow for public input under provisions of the Sunshine Act and various federal transparency statutes.
The meeting announcement in the 20 Aug. edition of the Federal Register noted that “Due to circumstances beyond the control of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Designated Federal Officer, the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee was unable to provide public notification required by 41 CFR 102-3.150(a) concerning the August 26, 2019 meeting of the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee. Accordingly, the Advisory Committee Management Officer for the Department of Defense, pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.150(b), waives the 15-calendar day notification requirement. This meeting is being held under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C., App.), the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), and 41 CFR 102-3.140 and 102-3.150.”
Agenda
Designated Federal Officer Remarks from Mr. Polchek followed by opening remarks from the Chair, Ambassador Lehman on how he expects the deliberations and recommendation process to occur.
The TRAC will then hold classified discussions and final deliberations on all Subcommittee work. After a short lunch break, the TRAC will resume discussion and final deliberations on all Subcommittee recommendations. The TRAC chair and subcommittee leads will then brief their classified recommendations to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD (A&S)) Ms. Ellen M. Lord. After providing their recommendations, Ms. Lord will provide instructions for future studies. After USD Lord departs, the TRAC will begin classified discussion of Ms. Lord’s instructions and comments. Following the discussions, AMB Lehman will provide a summary of the day, and adjourn the meeting.
Meeting Accessibility
Per the Federal Register meeting announcement, the DoD has determined that the meeting shall be closed to the public. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the DoD FACA Attorney, has determined in writing that all sessions of this meeting are required to be closed to the public because the discussions will contain classified information and matters covered by 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1). Such classified matters are inextricably intertwined with the unclassified material and cannot reasonably be segregated into separate discussions without disclosing secret-level or higher material.
Written Statements: Pursuant to section 10(a)(3) of FACA and 41 CFR 102-3.105(j) and 102-3.140, the public or interested organizations may submit written statements to the membership of the TRAC at any time or in response to the stated agenda of a planned meeting. Written statements should be submitted to the TRAC’s Designated Federal Officer. Written statements that do not pertain to a scheduled meeting of the TRAC may be submitted at any time. However, if individual comments pertain to a specific topic being discussed at a planned meeting, then these statements must be submitted no later than five business days prior to the meeting in question. The Designated Federal Officer will review all submitted written statements and provide copies to all TRAC members.
DTRA Contact
Stephen Polchek, (571) 616-6520 (Voice), 703-767-4206 (Facsimile), stephen.j.polchek.civ@mail.mil (Email). Mailing address is Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) VDir-PP-STO, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, MS 6201, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201. Website: http://www.dtra.mil/Home/TRAC.aspx.