Part B - General Provisions

42 USC 5197 - Administrative authority

(a) In general
For the purpose of carrying out the powers and duties assigned to the Director under this subchapter, the Director may exercise the administrative authorities provided under this section.

(b) Advisory personnel

(1) The Director may employ not more than 100 part-time or temporary advisory personnel (including not to exceed 25 subjects of the United Kingdom or citizens of Canada) as the Director considers to be necessary in carrying out the provisions of this subchapter.

(2) Persons holding other offices or positions under the United States for which they receive compensation, while serving as advisory personnel, shall receive no additional compensation for such service. Other part-time or temporary advisory personnel so employed may serve without compensation or may receive compensation at a rate not to exceed $180 for each day of service, plus authorized subsistence and travel, as determined by the Director.

(1) use the services of Federal agencies and, with the consent of any State or local government, accept and use the services of State and local agencies;

(2) establish and use such regional and other offices as may be necessary; and

(3) use such voluntary and uncompensated services by individuals or organizations as may from time to time be needed.

(d) Gifts
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director may accept gifts of supplies, equipment, and facilities and may use or distribute such gifts for emergency preparedness purposes in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter.

(e) Reimbursement
The Director may reimburse any Federal agency for any of its expenditures or for compensation of its personnel and use or consumption of its materials and facilities under this subchapter to the extent funds are available.

(f) Printing
The Director may purchase such printing, binding, and blank-book work from public, commercial, or private printing establishments or binderies as the Director considers necessary upon orders placed by the Public Printer or upon waivers issued in accordance with section 504 of title 44.

(g) Rules and regulations
The Director may prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper to carry out any of the provisions of this subchapter and perform any of the powers and duties provided by this subchapter. The Director may perform any of the powers and duties provided by this subchapter through or with the aid of such officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the Director may designate.

(h) Failure to expend contributions correctly

(1) When, after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State or other person involved, the Director finds that there is a failure to expend funds in accordance with the regulations, terms, and conditions established under this subchapter for approved emergency preparedness plans, programs, or projects, the Director may notify such State or person that further payments will not be made to the State or person from appropriations under this subchapter (or from funds otherwise available for the purposes of this subchapter for any approved plan, program, or project with respect to which there is such failure to comply) until the Director is satisfied that there will no longer be any such failure.

(2) Until so satisfied, the Director shall either withhold the payment of any financial contribution to such State or person or limit payments to those programs or projects with respect to which there is substantial compliance with the regulations, terms, and conditions governing plans, programs, or projects hereunder.

(3) As used in this subsection, the term person means the political subdivision of any State or combination or group thereof or any person, corporation, association, or other entity of any nature whatsoever, including instrumentalities of States and political subdivisions.

42 USC 5197a - Security regulations

(a) Establishment
The Director shall establish such security requirements and safeguards, including restrictions with respect to access to information and property as the Director considers necessary.

(b) Limitations on employee access to information
No employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall be permitted to have access to information or property with respect to which access restrictions have been established under this section, until it shall have been determined that no information is contained in the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other investigative agency of the Government indicating that such employee is of questionable loyalty or reliability for security purposes, or if any such information is so disclosed, until the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall have conducted a full field investigation concerning such person and a report thereon shall have been evaluated in writing by the Director.

(c) National security positions
No employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall occupy any position determined by the Director to be of critical importance from the standpoint of national security until a full field investigation concerning such employee shall have been conducted by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and a report thereon shall have been evaluated in writing by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In the event such full field investigation by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management develops any data reflecting that such applicant for a position of critical importance is of questionable loyalty or reliability for security purposes, or if the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for any other reason considers it to be advisable, such investigation shall be discontinued and a report thereon shall be referred to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for evaluation in writing. Thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may refer the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the conduct of a full field investigation by such Bureau. The result of such latter investigation by such Bureau shall be furnished to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for action.

(d) Employee oaths
Each Federal employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency acting under the authority of this subchapter, except the subjects of the United Kingdom and citizens of Canada specified in section 5197 (b) of this title, shall execute the loyalty oath or appointment affidavits prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Each person other than a Federal employee who is appointed to serve in a State or local organization for emergency preparedness shall before entering upon duties, take an oath in writing before a person authorized to administer oaths, which oath shall be substantially as follows: I, XXXXXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter. And I do further swear (or affirm) that I do not advocate, nor am I a member or an affiliate of any organization, group, or combination of persons that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence; and that during such time as I am a member of XXXXXX (name of emergency preparedness organization), I will not advocate nor become a member or an affiliate of any organization, group, or combination of persons that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence.

After appointment and qualification for office, the director of emergency preparedness of any State, and any subordinate emergency preparedness officer within such State designated by the director in writing, shall be qualified to administer any such oath within such State under such regulations as the director shall prescribe. Any person who shall be found guilty of having falsely taken such oath shall be punished as provided in section 1621 of title 18.

42 USC 5197b - Use of existing facilities

In performing duties under this subchapter, the Director

(1) shall cooperate with the various departments and agencies of the Federal Government;

(2) shall use, to the maximum extent, the existing facilities and resources of the Federal Government and, with their consent, the facilities and resources of the States and political subdivisions thereof, and of other organizations and agencies; and

(3) shall refrain from engaging in any form of activity which would duplicate or parallel activity of any other Federal department or agency unless the Director, with the written approval of the President, shall determine that such duplication is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this subchapter.

42 USC 5197c - Annual report to Congress

The Director shall annually submit a written report to the President and Congress covering expenditures, contributions, work, and accomplishments of the Federal Emergency Management Agency pursuant to this subchapter, accompanied by such recommendations as the Director considers appropriate.

42 USC 5197d - Applicability of subchapter

The provisions of this subchapter shall be applicable to the United States, its States, Territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia, and their political subdivisions.

42 USC 5197e - Authorization of appropriations and transfers of funds

(a) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.

(b) Transfer authority
Funds made available for the purposes of this subchapter may be allocated or transferred for any of the purposes of this subchapter, with the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to any agency or government corporation designated to assist in carrying out this subchapter. Each such allocation or transfer shall be reported in full detail to the Congress within 30 days after such allocation or transfer.

42 USC 5197f - Relation to Atomic Energy Act of 1954

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to alter or modify the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).

42 USC 5197g - Federal Bureau of Investigation

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to authorize investigations of espionage, sabotage, or subversive acts by any persons other than personnel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

42 USC 5197h - Minority emergency preparedness demonstration program

(a) In general
The Director shall establish a minority emergency preparedness demonstration program to research and promote the capacity of minority communities to provide data, information, and awareness education by providing grants to or executing contracts or cooperative agreements with eligible nonprofit">nonprofit organizations to establish and conduct such programs.

(b) Activities supported
An eligible nonprofit">nonprofit organization may use a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under this section

(1) to conduct research into the status of emergency preparedness and disaster response awareness in African American and Hispanic households located in urban, suburban, and rural communities, particularly in those States and regions most impacted by natural and manmade disasters and emergencies; and

(2) to develop and promote awareness of emergency preparedness education programs within minority communities, including development and preparation of culturally competent educational and awareness materials that can be used to disseminate information to minority organizations and institutions.

(c) Eligible organizations
A nonprofit">nonprofit organization is eligible to be awarded a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this section with respect to a program if the organization is a nonprofit">nonprofit organization that is described in section 501 (c)(3) of title 26 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such title, whose primary mission is to provide services to communities predominately populated by minority citizens, and that can demonstrate a partnership with a minority-owned business enterprise or minority business located in a HUBZone (as defined in section 632 (p) of title 15) with respect to the program.

(d) Use of funds
A recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under this section may only use the proceeds of the grant, contract, or agreement to

(1) acquire expert professional services necessary to conduct research in communities predominately populated by minority citizens, with a primary emphasis on African American and Hispanic communities;

(2) develop and prepare informational materials to promote awareness among minority communities about emergency preparedness and how to protect their households and communities in advance of disasters;

(3) establish consortia with minority national organizations, minority institutions of higher education, and faith-based institutions to disseminate information about emergency preparedness to minority communities; and

(4) implement a joint project with a minority serving institution, including a part B institution (as defined in section 1061 (2) of title 20), an institution described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 1063b (e)(1)1 of title 20, and a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in section 1101a (a)(5) of title 20).

(e) Application and review procedure
To be eligible to receive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this section, an organization must submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Director may reasonably require. The Director shall establish a procedure by which to accept such applications.

(f) Authorization of appropriation
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such funds as may be necessary for fiscal years 2003 through 2007. Such sums shall remain available until expended.

[1] See References in Text note below.