Part A - National Preparedness System

6 USC 741 - Definitions

In this part:

(1) Capability
The term capability means the ability to provide the means to accomplish one or more tasks under specific conditions and to specific performance standards. A capability may be achieved with any combination of properly planned, organized, equipped, trained, and exercised personnel that achieves the intended outcome.

(2) Credentialed; credentialing
The terms credentialed and credentialing have the meanings given those terms in section 311 of this title.

(3) Hazard
The term hazard has the meaning given that term under section 5195a (a)(1) of title 42.

(4) Mission assignment
The term mission assignment means a work order issued to a Federal agency by the Agency, directing completion by that agency of a specified task and setting forth funding, other managerial controls, and guidance.

(5) National preparedness goal
The term national preparedness goal means the national preparedness goal established under section 743 of this title.

(6) National preparedness system
The term national preparedness system means the national preparedness system established under section 744 of this title.

(7) National training program
The term national training program means the national training program established under section 748 (a) of this title.

(8) Operational readiness
The term operational readiness means the capability of an organization, an asset, a system, or equipment to perform the missions or functions for which it is organized or designed.

(9) Performance measure
The term performance measure means a quantitative or qualitative characteristic used to gauge the results of an outcome compared to its intended purpose.

(10) Performance metric
The term performance metric means a particular value or characteristic used to measure the outcome that is generally expressed in terms of a baseline and a target.

(11) Prevention
The term prevention means any activity undertaken to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism.

(12) Resources
The term resources has the meaning given that term in section 311 of this title.

(13) Type
The term type means a classification of resources that refers to the capability of a resource.

(14) Typed; typing
The terms typed and typing have the meanings given those terms in section 311 of this title.

6 USC 742 - National preparedness

In order to prepare the Nation for all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, the President, consistent with the declaration of policy under section 5195 of title 42 and title V of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.), as amended by this Act, shall develop a national preparedness goal and a national preparedness system.

6 USC 743 - National preparedness goal

(a) Establishment
The President, acting through the Administrator, shall complete, revise, and update, as necessary, a national preparedness goal that defines the target level of preparedness to ensure the Nations ability to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

(b) National Incident Management System and National Response Plan
The national preparedness goal, to the greatest extent practicable, shall be consistent with the National Incident Management System and the National Response Plan.

6 USC 744 - Establishment of national preparedness system

(a) Establishment
The President, acting through the Administrator, shall develop a national preparedness system to enable the Nation to meet the national preparedness goal.

(b) Components
The national preparedness system shall include the following components:

(1) Target capabilities and preparedness priorities.

(2) Equipment and training standards.

(3) Training and exercises.

(4) Comprehensive assessment system.

(5) Remedial action management program.

(6) Federal response capability inventory.

(7) Reporting requirements.

(8) Federal preparedness.

6 USC 745 - National planning scenarios

(a) In general
The Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies and the National Advisory Council, may develop planning scenarios to reflect the relative risk requirements presented by all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, in order to provide the foundation for the flexible and adaptive development of target capabilities and the identification of target capability levels to meet the national preparedness goal.

(b) Development
In developing, revising, and replacing national planning scenarios, the Administrator shall ensure that the scenarios

(1) reflect the relative risk of all hazards and illustrate the potential scope, magnitude, and complexity of a broad range of representative hazards; and

(2) provide the minimum number of representative scenarios necessary to identify and define the tasks and target capabilities required to respond to all hazards.

6 USC 746 - Target capabilities and preparedness priorities

(a) Establishment of guidelines on target capabilities
Not later than 180 days after October 4, 2006, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, the National Council on Disability, and the National Advisory Council, shall complete, revise, and update, as necessary, guidelines to define risk-based target capabilities for Federal, State, local, and tribal government preparedness that will enable the Nation to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

(b) Distribution of guidelines
The Administrator shall ensure that the guidelines are provided promptly to the appropriate committees of Congress and the States.

(d) Terrorism risk assessment
With respect to analyzing and assessing the risk of acts of terrorism, the Administrator shall consider

(1) the variables of threat, vulnerability, and consequences related to population (including transient commuting and tourist populations), areas of high population density, critical infrastructure, coastline, and international borders; and

(2) the most current risk assessment available from the Chief Intelligence Officer of the Department of the threats of terrorism against the United States.

(e) Preparedness priorities
In establishing the guidelines under subsection (a), the Administrator shall establish preparedness priorities that appropriately balance the risk of all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, with the resources required to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the hazards.

(f) Mutual aid agreements
The Administrator may provide support for the development of mutual aid agreements within States.

6 USC 747 - Equipment and training standards

(a) Equipment standards

(1) In general
The Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies and the National Advisory Council, shall support the development, promulgation, and updating, as necessary, of national voluntary consensus standards for the performance, use, and validation of equipment used by Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and nongovernmental emergency response providers.

(2) Requirements
The national voluntary consensus standards shall

(A) be designed to achieve equipment and other capabilities consistent with the national preparedness goal, including the safety and health of emergency response providers;

(B) to the maximum extent practicable, be consistent with existing national voluntary consensus standards;

(C) take into account, as appropriate, threats that may not have been contemplated when the existing standards were developed; and

(D) focus on maximizing operability, interoperability, interchangeability, durability, flexibility, efficiency, efficacy, portability, sustainability, and safety.

(b) Training standards
The Administrator shall

(1) support the development, promulgation, and regular updating, as necessary, of national voluntary consensus standards for training; and

(2) ensure that the training provided under the national training program is consistent with the standards.

(c) Consultation with standards organizations
In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall consult with representatives of relevant public and private sector national voluntary consensus standards development organizations.

6 USC 748 - Training and exercises

(a) National training program

(1) In general
Beginning not later than 180 days after October 4, 2006, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, the National Council on Disability, and the National Advisory Council, shall carry out a national training program to implement the national preparedness goal, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies.

(2) Training partners
In developing and implementing the national training program, the Administrator shall

(A) work with government training facilities, academic institutions, private organizations, and other entities that provide specialized, state-of-the-art training for emergency managers or emergency response providers; and

(B) utilize, as appropriate, training courses provided by community colleges, State and local public safety academies, State and private universities, and other facilities.

(b) National exercise program

(1) In general
Beginning not later than 180 days after October 4, 2006, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, the National Council on Disability, and the National Advisory Council, shall carry out a national exercise program to test and evaluate the national preparedness goal, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies.

(2) Requirements
The national exercise program

(A) shall be

(i) as realistic as practicable, based on current risk assessments, including credible threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences, and designed to stress the national preparedness system;

(ii) designed, as practicable, to simulate the partial or complete incapacitation of a State, local, or tribal government;

(iii) carried out, as appropriate, with a minimum degree of notice to involved parties regarding the timing and details of such exercises, consistent with safety considerations;

(iv) designed to provide for the systematic evaluation of readiness and enhance operational understanding of the incident command system and relevant mutual aid agreements;

(v) designed to address the unique requirements of populations with special needs, including the elderly; and

(vi) designed to promptly develop after-action reports and plans for quickly incorporating lessons learned into future operations; and

(B) shall include a selection of model exercises that State, local, and tribal governments can readily adapt for use and provide assistance to State, local, and tribal governments with the design, implementation, and evaluation of exercises (whether a model exercise program or an exercise designed locally) that

(i) conform to the requirements under subparagraph (A);

(ii) are consistent with any applicable State, local, or tribal strategy or plan; and

(iii) provide for systematic evaluation of readiness.

(3) National level exercises
The Administrator shall periodically, but not less than biennially, perform national exercises for the following purposes:

(A) To test and evaluate the capability of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to detect, disrupt, and prevent threatened or actual catastrophic acts of terrorism, especially those involving weapons of mass destruction.

(B) To test and evaluate the readiness of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to respond and recover in a coordinated and unified manner to catastrophic incidents.

6 USC 749 - Comprehensive assessment system

(a) Establishment
The Administrator, in coordination with the National Council on Disability and the National Advisory Council, shall establish a comprehensive system to assess, on an ongoing basis, the Nations prevention capabilities and overall preparedness, including operational readiness.

(b) Performance metrics and measures
The Administrator shall ensure that each component of the national preparedness system, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies, and the reports required under section 752 of this title is developed, revised, and updated with clear and quantifiable performance metrics, measures, and outcomes.

(1) compliance with the national preparedness system, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies;

(2) capability levels at the time of assessment against target capability levels defined pursuant to the guidelines established under section 746 (a) of this title;

(3) resource needs to meet the desired target capability levels defined pursuant to the guidelines established under section 746 (a) of this title; and

(4) performance of training, exercises, and operations.

6 USC 750 - Remedial action management program

The Administrator, in coordination with the National Council on Disability and the National Advisory Council, shall establish a remedial action management program to

(1) analyze training, exercises, and real-world events to identify and disseminate lessons learned and best practices;

(2) generate and disseminate, as appropriate, after action reports to participants in exercises and real-world events; and

(3) conduct remedial action tracking and long-term trend analysis.

6 USC 751 - Federal response capability inventory

(a) In general
In accordance with section 5196 (h)(1)(C) of title 42, the Administrator shall accelerate the completion of the inventory of Federal response capabilities.

(b) Contents
For each Federal agency with responsibilities under the National Response Plan, the inventory shall include

(1) for each capability

(A) the performance parameters of the capability;

(B) the timeframe within which the capability can be brought to bear on an incident; and

(C) the readiness of the capability to respond to all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters;

(2) a list of personnel credentialed in accordance with section 320 of this title;

(3) a list of resources typed in accordance with section 320 of this title; and

(4) emergency communications assets maintained by the Federal Government and, if appropriate, State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector.

(c) Department of Defense
The Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall develop a list of organizations and functions within the Department of Defense that may be used, pursuant to the authority provided under the National Response Plan and sections 5170a, 5170b, and 5192 of title 42, to provide support to civil authorities during natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

(d) Database
The Administrator shall establish an inventory database to allow

(1) real-time exchange of information regarding

(A) capabilities;

(B) readiness;

(D) credentialed personnel; and

(E) typed resources;

(2) easy identification and rapid deployment of capabilities, credentialed personnel, and typed resources during an incident; and

(3) the sharing of the inventory described in subsection (a) with other Federal agencies, as appropriate.

6 USC 752 - Reporting requirements

(a) Federal preparedness report

(1) In general
Not later than 12 months after October 4, 2006, and annually thereafter, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the Nations level of preparedness for all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

(2) Contents
Each report shall include

(A) an assessment of how Federal assistance supports the national preparedness system;

(B) the results of the comprehensive assessment carried out under section 749 of this title;

(C) a review of the inventory described in section 751 of this title, including the number and type of credentialed personnel in each category of personnel trained and ready to respond to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster;

(D) an assessment of resource needs to meet preparedness priorities established under section 746 (e) of this title, including

(i) an estimate of the amount of Federal, State, local, and tribal expenditures required to attain the preparedness priorities; and

(ii) the extent to which the use of Federal assistance during the preceding fiscal year achieved the preparedness priorities;

(E) an evaluation of the extent to which grants administered by the Department, including grants under title XX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.]

(i) have contributed to the progress of State, local, and tribal governments in achieving target capabilities; and

(ii) have led to the reduction of risk from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters nationally and in State, local, and tribal jurisdictions; and

(F) a discussion of whether the list of credentialed personnel of the Agency described in section 751 (b)(2) of this title

(i) complies with the strategic human capital plan developed under section 10102 of title 5; and

(ii) is sufficient to respond to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster, including a catastrophic incident.

(b) Catastrophic resource report

(1) In general
The Administrator shall develop and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress annually an estimate of the resources of the Agency and other Federal agencies needed for and devoted specifically to developing the capabilities of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments necessary to respond to a catastrophic incident.

(2) Contents
Each estimate under paragraph (1) shall include the resources both necessary for and devoted to

(A) planning;

(B) training and exercises;

(D) staffing, including for surge capacity during a catastrophic incident;

(E) additional logistics capabilities;

(F) other responsibilities under the catastrophic incident annex and the catastrophic incident supplement of the National Response Plan;

(G) State, local, and tribal government catastrophic incident preparedness; and

(H) covering increases in the fixed costs or expenses of the Agency, including rent or property acquisition costs or expenses, taxes, contributions to the working capital fund of the Department, and security costs for the year after the year in which such estimate is submitted.

(1) In general
Not later than 15 months after October 4, 2006, and annually thereafter, a State receiving Federal preparedness assistance administered by the Department shall submit a report to the Administrator on the States level of preparedness.

(2) Contents
Each report shall include

(A) an assessment of State compliance with the national preparedness system, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies;

(B) an assessment of current capability levels and a description of target capability levels; and

(C) a discussion of the extent to which target capabilities identified in the applicable State homeland security plan and other applicable plans remain unmet and an assessment of resources needed to meet the preparedness priorities established under section 746 (e) of this title, including

(i) an estimate of the amount of expenditures required to attain the preparedness priorities; and

(ii) the extent to which the use of Federal assistance during the preceding fiscal year achieved the preparedness priorities.

6 USC 753 - Federal preparedness

(a) Agency responsibility
In support of the national preparedness system, the President shall ensure that each Federal agency with responsibilities under the National Response Plan

(1) has the operational capability to meet the national preparedness goal, including

(A) the personnel to make and communicate decisions;

(B) organizational structures that are assigned, trained, and exercised for the missions of the agency;

(D) the command, control, and communication channels to make, monitor, and communicate decisions;

(2) complies with the National Incident Management System, including credentialing of personnel and typing of resources likely needed to respond to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster in accordance with section 320 of this title;

(3) develops, trains, and exercises rosters of response personnel to be deployed when the agency is called upon to support a Federal response;

(4) develops deliberate operational plans and the corresponding capabilities, including crisis planning, to respond effectively to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters in support of the National Response Plan to ensure a coordinated Federal response; and

(5) regularly updates, verifies the accuracy of, and provides to the Administrator the information in the inventory required under section 751 of this title.

(b) Operational plans
An operations plan developed under subsection (a)(4) shall meet the following requirements:

(1) The operations plan shall be coordinated under a unified system with a common terminology, approach, and framework.

(2) The operations plan shall be developed, in coordination with State, local, and tribal government officials, to address both regional and national risks.

(3) The operations plan shall contain, as appropriate, the following elements:

(A) Concepts of operations.

(B) Critical tasks and responsibilities.

(D) Specific provisions for the rapid integration of the resources and personnel of the agency into the overall response.

(4) The operations plan shall address, as appropriate, the following matters:

(A) Support of State, local, and tribal governments in conducting mass evacuations, including

(i) transportation and relocation;

(ii) short- and long-term sheltering and accommodation;

(iii) provisions for populations with special needs, keeping families together, and expeditious location of missing children; and

(iv) policies and provisions for pets.

(B) The preparedness and deployment of public health and medical resources, including resources to address the needs of evacuees and populations with special needs.

(C) The coordination of interagency search and rescue operations, including land, water, and airborne search and rescue operations.

(D) The roles and responsibilities of the Senior Federal Law Enforcement Official with respect to other law enforcement entities.

(E) The protection of critical infrastructure.

(F) The coordination of maritime salvage efforts among relevant agencies.

(G) The coordination of Department of Defense and National Guard support of civilian authorities.

(H) To the extent practicable, the utilization of Department of Defense, National Air and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and commercial aircraft and satellite remotely sensed imagery.

(I) The coordination and integration of support from the private sector and nongovernmental organizations.

(J) The safe disposal of debris, including hazardous materials, and, when practicable, the recycling of debris.

(K) The identification of the required surge capacity.

(L) Specific provisions for the recovery of affected geographic areas.

(c) Mission assignments
To expedite the provision of assistance under the National Response Plan, the President shall ensure that the Administrator, in coordination with Federal agencies with responsibilities under the National Response Plan, develops prescripted mission assignments, including logistics, communications, mass care, health services, and public safety.

(d) Certification
The President shall certify to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on an annual basis that each Federal agency with responsibilities under the National Response Plan complies with subsections (a) and (b).

(e) Construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of Defense with regard to

(1) the command, control, training, planning, equipment, exercises, or employment of Department of Defense forces; or

(2) the allocation of Department of Defense resources.

6 USC 754 - Use of existing resources

In establishing the national preparedness goal and national preparedness system, the Administrator shall use existing preparedness documents, planning tools, and guidelines to the extent practicable and consistent with this Act.