I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9729 

To require the Department of State to improve its emergency response system 

and planning. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 

Mr. CROW (for himself and Mr. MEEKS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Department of State to improve its emergency 

response system and planning. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Overseas Crisis Re5 sponse Implementation System and Immediate Strategy 

6 Act’’ or ‘‘Overseas CRISIS Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY UNIT. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 Department of State a Crisis Management and Strategy 

10 Unit, within the Operations Center of the Executive SecreVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Oct 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9729.IH H9729

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1 tariat of the Secretary of State. The Crisis Management 

2 and Strategy Unit shall be led by a senior official with 

3 significant experience in crisis management and response, 

4 who shall be so designated by the Secretary. 

5 (b) DUTIES.—The Crisis Management and Strategy 

6 Unit shall carry out activities such as the following: 

7 (1) Coordinate the Department’s overall re8 sponse to and management of international crises. 

9 (2) Serve as the focal point for the Secretary’s 

10 coordination with other United States Government 

11 agencies on matters concerning the response to and 

12 management of international crises, including non13 combatant evacuation operations. 

14 (3) Coordinate with regional and other relevant 

15 bureaus within the Department on such crises and 

16 other matters relevant to crisis management and re17 sponse. 

18 (4) Undertake other duties, as determined by 

19 the Secretary, relevant to crisis management and re20 sponse. 

21 (c) FOREIGN AFFAIRS MANUAL.—Within 180 days 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Department shall publish 

23 information regarding the structure and duties of the Cri24 sis Management and Strategy Unit in the Foreign Affairs 

25 Manual and shall update this information as necessary. 


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1 SEC. 3. TABLETOP EXERCISES AND SIMULATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 

4 than annually thereafter, the Secretary shall direct the rel5 evant offices of the Department to ensure a tabletop exer6 cise or simulation on international crises is conducted by 

7 the Department. The tabletop exercise or simulation 

8 should be conducted in the Washington, DC, metropolitan 

9 area. 

10 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The Secretary 

11 shall ensure that such exercises or simulations address the 

12 Department’s crisis response and evacuation require13 ments, and should include— 

14 (1) the necessary and appropriate information 

15 to outline the crisis management roles and respon16 sibilities of the Department’s senior leadership; 

17 (2) established Department crisis management 

18 structures for international crises; 

19 (3) required processes, personnel, and resources 

20 to conduct Noncombatant Evacuation Operations 

21 and civilian-led evacuations; and 

22 (4) all procedures relevant to the identification 

23 of, coordination with, and the provision of assistance 

24 to— 

25 (A) private United States citizens; 


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1 (B) United States Government employees 

2 and their dependents; 

3 (C) United States allies and partners; 

4 (D) local nationals who have assisted 

5 United States Government efforts; and 

6 (E) third-country nationals. 

7 (c) LEADERSHIP; PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

8 shall ensure that— 

9 (1) the Department’s Crisis Management and 

10 Strategy Unit established by section 2(a), the For11 eign Service Institute’s Leadership and Management 

12 School’s Crisis Management Training division, or 

13 other Department operating units, as determined to 

14 be appropriate by the Secretary, lead such exercises 

15 or simulations; and 

16 (2) such exercises or simulations include the 

17 participation of the Department’s relevant senior 

18 leadership and staff, including leadership and staff 

19 from regional and relevant functional bureaus. 

20 (d) CONSULTATION.—Such exercises or simulations 

21 may be conducted in consultation with— 

22 (1) the Department of Defense; 

23 (2) the Department of Homeland Security; 

24 (3) the United States Agency for International 

25 Development; and 


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1 (4) Other Federal agencies and State and local 

2 government entities. 

3 (e) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary may, as con4 sistent with the national security interests of the United 

5 States, invite to participate in such exercises or simula6 tions— 

7 (1) foreign allies and partners; and 

8 (2) civil society and nongovernmental organiza9 tions, including those that have directly engaged in 

10 crisis response efforts in the past. 

11 (f) BRIEFING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (3), not later than 90 days after the comple14 tion of any tabletop exercise or simulation required 

15 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall brief the 

16 appropriate congressional committees on the organi17 zation of the tabletop exercise or simulation. The 

18 briefing, or particular elements therein, may be pro19 vided in a classified format. 

20 (2) ELEMENTS.—The briefing required under 

21 paragraph (1) should— 

22 (A) provide a description of the tabletop 

23 exercise or simulation; 

24 (B) identify, as appropriate, key partici25 pants in the tabletop exercise or simulation; 


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1 (C) include any deficiencies identified in 

2 prior tabletop exercise and plans to mitigate 

3 such deficiencies; 

4 (D) a summary of the supporting capabili5 ties, including infrastructure, prepositioned 

6 equipment and supplies, personnel and other 

7 supporting logistics capabilities, required to re8 spond to the simulated international crisis; and 

9 (E) such other information as determined 

10 necessary or appropriate by the Secretary. 

11 (3) NOTIFICATION IN LIEU OF BRIEFING.—Be12 ginning on the date that is 5 years after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, not 

14 later than 90 days after the completion of any table15 top exercise or simulation required under subsection 

16 (a), submit to the appropriate congressional commit17 tees a notice of such exercise or simulation which 

18 shall be in lieu of a briefing reviewing the tabletop 

19 exercise or simulation required under paragraph (1). 

20 SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF STATE RESERVE CORPS. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that— 

23 (1) the nature of threats to national security 

24 and global stability has evolved in recent decades, 

25 and in the 21st century, the complexity of these 


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1 threats requires a diplomatic response that is quick, 

2 agile, and sustainable; 

3 (2) decades of United States engagement and 

4 leadership on the world stage built a workforce of 

5 expert national security and foreign policy profes6 sionals; and 

7 (3) to ensure the United States has the capac8 ity to quickly, agilely, and sustainably respond to fu9 ture emergency situations, it is important to lever10 age existing workforce expertise and establish a 

11 corps of experts who can deploy on short notice to 

12 posts experiencing crisis, including during times of 

13 conflict. 

14 (b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall establish re15 serve corps, to be known as ‘‘Department of State Reserve 

16 Corps’’, to assist the Secretary, the Department, and the 

17 Foreign Service in the discharge of their responsibilities 

18 and functions as authorized by law through the mainte19 nance of a reserve of trained personnel available for active 

20 service when the Secretary, the Department, or the Serv21 ice so require. 

22 (c) EMPLOYEES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Department 

24 of State Reserve Corps may appoint in the civil serv25 ice, for a period up to 2 years, persons to positions 


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1 of employment with the Reserve Corps in such num2 bers and with such skills as may from time to time 

3 be required, without regard to the provisions of 

4 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code (other than 

5 sections 3303 and 3328), governing appointments in 

6 the competitive service, and may fix the basic com7 pensation of such employees without regard to chap8 ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

9 title. 

10 (2) COMPENSATION AND REAPPOINTMENT.— 

11 Notwithstanding section 5373 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, the Secretary may fix the basic com13 pensation of employees of the Department of State 

14 Reserve Corps with experience equivalent to Senior 

15 Executive Service, Senior Foreign Service, senior16 level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) posi17 tions at a rate not to exceed level II of the Executive 

18 Schedule. The head of the Reserve Corps may re19 appoint such employees, for additional periods of up 

20 to 2 years, with no limit on the number of re21 appointments. 

22 (3) TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES.—When called 

23 to active service in the Department of State Reserve 

24 Corps, a member of the Reserve Corps shall be enti25 tled to the payment of transportation expenses and 


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1 per diem in accordance with the Federal Travel Reg2 ulation and subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, for— 

4 (A) travel performed from the residence of 

5 the member at the time of activation to the 

6 place of duty; and 

7 (B) travel performed to the residence of 

8 the member upon return to an inactive status. 

9 (4) APPLICATION OF OTHER AUTHORITY.—All 

10 selections for positions of the Department of State 

11 Reserve Corps as described in this subsection shall 

12 be made subject to the provisions of chapter 23 of 

13 title 5, United States Code. 

14 (d) RETURN RIGHTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person whose absence 

16 from a position of employment is necessitated by 

17 reason of service as an activated member of the De18 partment of State Reserve Corps shall be entitled to 

19 the reemployment rights and benefits and other em20 ployment benefits if— 

21 (A) the person (or an appropriate officer of 

22 the Reserve Corps in which such service is per23 formed) has given advance written or verbal no24 tice of such service to such person’s employer; 


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1 (B) the cumulative length of the absence 

2 and of all previous absences from a position of 

3 employment with that employer by reason of 

4 service in the Reserve Corps does not exceed 

5 five years; and 

6 (C) the person reports to, or submits an 

7 application for reemployment to, such employer. 

8 (2) REEMPLOYMENT.—A person who is entitled 

9 to re-employment rights shall receive the same re10 employment protections as a military member re11 ceives under sections 4321 to 4327 of title 38, 

12 United States Code. The provisions of paragraph (1) 

13 shall be interpreted consistent with the provisions in 

14 sections 4311 to 4319 of title 38, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (3) RIGHT OF RETURN.—An employee serving 

17 under a career or career conditional appointment or 

18 the equivalent in an agency who transfers to or con19 verts to an appointment in the Department of State 

20 Reserve Corps with the consent of the head of that 

21 agency is entitled to be returned to the employee’s 

22 former position or a position of like seniority, status, 

23 and pay without grade or pay retention in the agen24 cy if the employee— 


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1 (A) is being separated from the Reserve 

2 Corps for reasons other than misconduct, ne3 glect of duty, or malfeasance; and 

4 (B) applies for return not later than 30 

5 days before the date of the termination of the 

6 employment in the Reserve Corps. 

7 SEC. 5. COORDINATOR FOR CRISIS COMMUNICATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall des10 ignate and maintain a senior official of the Department 

11 to serve as the Department’s Coordinator for Crisis Com12 munication (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Coordi13 nator’’) who— 

14 (1) shall be located in the Department’s Crisis 

15 Management and Strategy Unit established by sec16 tion 2(a); and 

17 (2) shall report to the Department’s senior offi18 cial leading crisis response efforts pursuant to sec19 tion 6404(a)(2) of the National Defense Authoriza20 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31; 

21 137 stat. 997; 22 U.S.C. 4865 note). 

22 (b) DUTIES.—The Coordinator, in cooperation with 

23 the relevant bureau office or operating unit, shall oversee 

24 the efforts of the Department relating to the following: 


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1 (1) Coordinating with the Bureau of Consular 

2 Affairs on messaging to United States citizens 

3 abroad regarding safety. 

4 (2) Communicating to civilians in impacted 

5 areas during contingencies. 

6 (3) Communicating to nongovernmental organi7 zations in impacted crisis zones on United States 

8 crisis response and emergency planning, to include 

9 Noncombatant Evacuation Operations. 

10 (4) Holding regular background briefings for 

11 Congress and other relevant audiences. 

12 (5) Coordinating efforts with the Department 

13 spokesperson. 

14 SEC. 6. FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE TRAINING. 

15 The Secretary shall direct the Foreign Service Insti16 tute (FSI) to review existing curriculum and courses to 

17 determine if other crisis management courses are required, 

18 such as a crisis management course for information tech19 nology professionals. In addition, the FSI should ensure 

20 that the ambassadorial seminar and Deputy Chief of Mis21 sion course include curriculum on crisis management, in22 cluding one or more of the following: 

23 (1) The use of regular internal town halls and 

24 targeted messages from the Ambassador or Deputy 


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1 Chief of Mission to support mission objectives dur2 ing crisis periods. 

3 (2) Established best practices for internal com4 munications specific to high threat posts. 

5 (3) Noncombatant Evacuation Operations and 

6 civilian-led evacuations. 

7 (4) Best practices for leading post efforts to 

8 communicate with and assist United States citizens. 

9 (5) How to conduct or participate in tabletop 

10 exercises and simulations, including those authorized 

11 in section 3. 

12 (6) Communicating with and assessing the 

13 needs of locally employed staff during emergencies. 

14 SEC. 7. ENHANCED AUTHORITIES TO PROTECT LOCALLY 

15 EMPLOYED STAFF DURING EMERGENCIES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In emergency situations, in addi17 tion to other authorities that may be available in emer18 gencies or other exigent circumstances, the Secretary is 

19 authorized to use funds made available to the Department 

20 to support locally employed staff and their immediate fam21 ily members, if appropriate, for— 

22 (1) providing transport or relocating locally em23 ployed staff and their immediate family members to 

24 a safe and secure environment; 


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1 (2) providing short-term housing or lodging for 

2 up to 6 months for locally employed staff and their 

3 immediate family members; and 

4 (3) procuring or providing other essential items 

5 and services to support the safety and security of lo6 cally employed staff and their immediate family 

7 members. 

8 (b) REPORT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an11 nually thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary shall 

12 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

13 a report describing actions the Department has 

14 taken with regard to locally employed staff and their 

15 immediate family members following suspensions or 

16 closures of United States diplomatic posts in the 

17 previous year. 

18 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

19 paragraph (1) shall— 

20 (A) summarize Department efforts to relo21 cate, temporarily house, or otherwise provide 

22 support authorized in this section to locally em23 ployed staff and their immediate family mem24 bers; 


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1 (B) identify any obstacles to providing sup2 port or assistance to locally employed staff and 

3 their immediate family members; 

4 (C) examine lessons learned and propose 

5 recommendations to better protect the safety 

6 and security of locally employed staff and their 

7 family members, including any additional au8 thorities that may be required; and 

9 (D) provide an analysis of and offer rec10 ommendations on any other steps that could 

11 improve efforts to protect the safety and secu12 rity of locally employed staff and their imme13 diate family members. 

14 SEC. 8. RED TEAM CAPABILITY. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

16 Red Team capability to inform the Department’s crisis re17 sponse and contingency planning. 

18 (b) MEETINGS.—The individuals involved in the Red 

19 Team capability required by subsection (a) should be con20 vened at the direction of— 

21 (1) for general meetings, the Department’s Pol22 icy Planning Staff and the Department’s Crisis 

23 Management and Strategy Unit; and 

24 (2) for specific reviews as needed, the Secretary 

25 or other Department principals. 


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1 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 21 days after the 

2 individuals involved in the Red Team capability are con3 vened in accordance with subsection (b), such individuals 

4 shall submit to the Department’s Policy Planning Staff 

5 a report that contains the findings relating to the exercise 

6 of such Red Team capability. 

7 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF STATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

8 LESSONS LEARNED CLEARINGHOUSE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es11 tablish and maintain a clearinghouse of lessons learned 

12 and after-action reports relating to evacuation of United 

13 States Government employees and their eligible family 

14 members or evacuation of private United States citizens 

15 or third-country nationals, to be known as the ‘‘Depart16 ment of State Emergency Response Lessons Learned 

17 Clearinghouse’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Clear18 inghouse’’). 

19 (b) REPOSITORY.—The Clearinghouse should be de20 signed to provide— 

21 (1) a central electronic repository of lessons 

22 learned and after-action reports to be made acces23 sible to Department personnel to be used to improve 

24 crisis response and contingency planning; 


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1 (2) a collection of resources for Foreign Service 

2 Institute officials to inform and develop new cur3 riculum to be responsive to developments in United 

4 States crisis response and contingency planning, in5 cluding for the ambassadorial seminar and Deputy 

6 Chief of Mission course as provided in section 5; and 

7 (3) publicly available documents and informa8 tion, as appropriate, for civil society, nongovern9 mental organizations, academic institutions, and 

10 other stakeholders to assist with the Department’s 

11 development of best practices. 

12 SEC. 10. HIGH-THREAT POSTS. 

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that— 

15 (1) the global diplomatic presence of the United 

16 States includes several hundred diplomatic and con17 sular posts, including embassies, consulates, and 

18 missions; 

19 (2) the United States maintains diplomatic and 

20 consular posts in potentially volatile areas, including 

21 those designated ‘‘high risk, high threat’’ due to se22 curity concerns; 

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1 ment’s efforts to prevent and address crises abroad 

2 and to ensure United States national security; 

3 (4) the Department should make every effort to 

4 safely maintain a physical presence in high-risk 

5 areas; and 

6 (5) drawdowns of personnel at United States 

7 diplomatic missions in posts experiencing conflict or 

8 emergency conditions should be done in a manner 

9 that maintains the Department’s commitment to na10 tional security and foreign policy and supports De11 partment personnel. 

12 (b) PLAN TO ASSESS DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS EXPE13 RIENCING OR VULNERABLE TO CONFLICT OR EMERGENCY

14 CONDITIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary should de16 velop as necessary a Department-wide plan for as17 sessing staffing resources needed at diplomatic mis18 sions in posts experiencing conflict or emergency 

19 conditions. 

20 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The plan re21 quired by this subsection should include the fol22 lowing: 

23 (A) An assessment of functions, if any, 

24 that can be offshored, as consistent with the 

25 subsection (a). 


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1 (B) Options to extend 1-year tours with 

2 virtual assignments. 

3 (C) An assessment of the benefits and 

4 risks of potential offshoring, including when it 

5 affects— 

6 (i) diplomatic engagement and the ad7 vancement of United States national secu8 rity and foreign policy interests; 

9 (ii) productivity from regular turnover 

10 at posts; and 

11 (iii) longer-term planning. 

12 (c) STAFFING REVIEW.—The Secretary should— 

13 (1) require each Chief of Mission serving in 

14 high-threat posts to review, not less than once annu15 ally, every staff element under Chief of Mission au16 thority, including staff from other departments or 

17 agencies of the United States, and recommend ap18 proval or disapproval of each staff element in ac19 cordance with section 409(a) of the Department of 

20 State and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2005 

21 (22 U.S.C. 3927a(a)); and 

22 (2) implement a process that includes an eval23 uation and assessment of which functions could be 

24 offshored, consistent with subsection (a), and sets 

25 appropriate staffing levels in accordance with section 


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1 103(c)(2) of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and 

2 Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4802(c)(2)). 

3 SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

6 to the appropriate congressional committees a report out7 lining and describing the Department of State’s inter8 national crisis response efforts, such as the following: 

9 (1) Efforts to ensure adherence to the delinea10 tion of responsibilities belonging to the Secretary, 

11 Chiefs of Missions, and Principal Officers. 

12 (2) Process and procedures for quickly appoint13 ing a principal-level crisis leader to oversee policy 

14 and operations efforts. 

15 (3) Process and procedures for standing up cri16 sis management and response task forces, and the 

17 specific bureaus and offices to be included in the re18 sponse. 

19 (4) Identification of clear mission objectives and 

20 guidance for crisis management and response. 

21 (5) Process and procedures for assigning or del22 egating responsibilities to task force and crisis re23 sponders. 

24 (6) Coordination with relevant partners at the 

25 Department of Defense to identify dedicated points 


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1 of contact at the Department of State related to the 

2 carrying out of such responsibilities. 

3 (7) Coordination with civil society and non4 governmental organizations, including those that 

5 have directly engaged in crisis response efforts in 

6 the past. 

7 (8) Identification of the technology, equipment, 

8 surge capacity, and space necessary to effectively im9 plement crisis management and response task forces. 

10 (9) Efforts to ensure sufficient staff resources 

11 are available to support crisis management task 

12 forces for the duration of an international crisis and 

13 the Department’s response, to include matters such 

14 as the following: 

15 (A) Barriers to building and maintaining 

16 the capability to identify those with requisite 

17 training and skills to serve on task forces and 

18 potential solutions to address those barriers. 

19 (B) Incentives available to encourage exist20 ing Department bureaus to second relevant 

21 staff needed to support crisis management task 

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1 viduals to a task force for extended periods of 

2 time. 

3 (C) Barriers to establishing a Temporary 

4 Duty crisis coordination capability to support 

5 personnel during a crisis response, including— 

6 (i) bureaucratic hurdles; 

7 (ii) inconsistent policy and resource 

8 application; 

9 (iii) lack of funding; or 

10 (iv) access to necessary technology or 

11 information technology equipment. 

12 (b) PLAN FOR CRISIS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE.— 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary should develop an acquisition 

15 plan for enterprise crisis management software by the De16 partment, to include an outline of the expected applica17 tions of such software for ongoing crisis management ac18 tivities and developed or existing courses at FSI. 

19 (c) RESPONSIVENESS TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES.—Not 

20 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, the Secretary shall brief the appropriate congres22 sional committees on opportunities to improve responsive23 ness to public inquiries in crisis environments, on matters 

24 such as the following: 


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1 (1) The establishment of a virtual contact cen2 ter or soft phone solution. 

3 (2) Contract opportunities to assist with initial 

4 data entry and response on cases of United States 

5 citizens. 

6 (3) Contract opportunities to respond to public 

7 inquiries unrelated to specific cases of United States 

8 citizens or individual case management. 

9 (4) Department support for mobile-friendly 

10 communication platforms, including non-enterprise 

11 applications such as WhatsApp and Signal. 

12 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com16 mittees’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

18 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

19 of Representatives; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

21 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

24 means the Department of State. 


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1 (3) EMERGENCY SITUATION.—The term ‘‘emer2 gency situation’’ means a situation in which the lives 

3 of United States Government employees, private 

4 United States citizens, or third country nationals are 

5 endangered by armed conflict, civil unrest, or nat6 ural disaster, particularly when and if a United 

7 States diplomatic or consular post must suspend op8 erations. 

9 (4) NONCOMBATANT EVACUATION OPER10 ATIONS.—The term ‘‘Noncombatant Evacuation Op11 erations’’ means the evacuation of civilian non12 combatants and nonessential military personnel from 

13 danger in an overseas country to a designated safe 

14 haven. 

15 (5) RED TEAM CAPABILITY.—The term ‘‘Red 

16 Team capability’’ means a group of individuals au17 thorized and organized to roleplay a fictional crisis 

18 scenario to identify and exploit weaknesses in the 

19 Department’s contingency planning or crisis re20 sponse. 

21 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of State. 

Æ 


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