Secretary Chertoff, left, with President 

and Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum

National Guard photo
203

Department of 

Homeland Security: 

Roles and Responsibilities

General Authorities and Responsibilities

Both in design and in fact, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the central 

federal entity for preparedness and response to disasters, including catastrophic 

events like Hurricane Katrina. Th e Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the 

Department and provides that one of DHS’s missions is “acting as a focal point regarding 

natural and manmade crises and emergency planning.”1

 DHS was created to bring together multiple, disparate agencies to create synergy and ensure a coordinated approach to 

preventing, preparing for, and responding to catastrophes, whether caused by terrorism or 

nature.2

Since DHS’s creation, several executive actions have further articulated its role. Homeland 

Security Presidential Directive 5, issued by President Bush on February 28, 2003, formally 

designated the Secretary of Homeland Security as the “principal federal offi cial for domestic incident management.”3

 It also made the Secretary responsible for developing and 

administering the National Response Plan (NRP) and the National Incident Management 

System (NIMS), a system for enabling responders from diff erent jurisdictions to work 

together.4

 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD-8), issued on December 17, 

2003, further designated the Secretary as “the principal Federal offi cial for coordinating the 

implementation of all-hazards preparedness in the United States,” and gave the Secretary, in 

cooperation with other Federal departments and agencies, responsibility for “coordinat[ing] 

the preparedness of federal response assets, and the support for, and assessment of, the 

preparedness of state and local fi rst responders.”5

In addition, DHS has assumed responsibilities under the Robert T. Staff ord Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act (Staff ord Act).6

 Among other things, the Staff ord Act authorizes 

and provides the administrative mechanisms for the federal government to assist state and 

local governments in disasters.7

 Th e President, or the Secretary of Homeland Security as 

his delegate, has the authority to provide “assistance essential to meeting immediate threats 

to life and property resulting from a major disaster.”8

 Th is authority specifi cally allows the 

Secretary to do any work essential to saving lives or preserving public health and safety, 

including search and rescue, emergency medical care, emergency mass care, emergency 

shelter, and provision of food, water, medicine, and other essential needs, including movement of supplies or persons.9

 In addition, the Homeland Security Act gives the Secretary, 

through the Under Secretary for Emergency Management and Response, the responsibility 

for “providing the federal government’s response to terrorist attacks and major disasters,”10

and charges FEMA with conducting emergency operations to save lives and property 

“through positioning emergency equipment and supplies, through evacuating potential victims, through providing food, water, shelter, and medical care to those in need, and through 

restoring critical public services.”11

On February 28, 2003, the day before the new Department began operating and FEMA 

became part of DHS, President Bush modifi ed Executive Order 12148, delegating most 

Presidential responsibilities under the Staff ord Act to the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

rather than to the Director of FEMA, as had previously been the case.12

Chapter 13
Chapter 13

204

Th e NRP further confi rms DHS’s central role in disaster preparedness and response. Th e 

Plan, reviewed by the White House’s Homeland Security Council and signed by the heads 

of 30 federal agencies, states that: 

During actual or potential Incidents of National Signifi cance, the overall coordination of federal incident management activities is executed through the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Other federal departments and agencies carry out their incident management and emergency 

response authorities and responsibilities within this overarching coordinating framework.13

Practically, these authorities invested DHS with at least four categories of responsibility:

1. Leadership. Th e Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has clear 

duties to lead and manage the federal response to disasters such as Katrina. 

He carries ultimate responsibility for managing FEMA and other DHS components and is charged with coordinating overall federal operations.14 Among 

his many responsibilities, the Secretary must marshal federal resources, decide 

whether to appoint a Principal Federal Offi cial to lead the federal response 

on the ground,15 and decide whether to implement the Catastrophic Incident 

Annex, which provides for an accelerated, proactive national response to a 

catastrophic incident.16

New Orleans family 

Photo © 2005 The Times-Picayune 

Publishing Co., all rights reserved. Used 

with permission of the Times-Picayune
Department of Homeland Security: Roles and Responsibilities

205

2. Coordination and Support. DHS can use various structures and resources to 

coordinate and support the overall response eff ort. Among these, the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) is supposed to act as a hub for situational awareness and incident management in a disaster. Some 45 agencies 

staff the HSOC to facilitate information fl ow among agencies;17 during Katrina, 

the HSOC distributed situation reports twice a day that were widely disseminated throughout the government. Th e Interagency Incident Management 

Group (IIMG) is also housed at DHS. Comprising senior-level representatives 

of a variety of agencies, the IIMG is supposed to coordinate federal resource 

and operational requirements and make strategic recommendations to the Secretary, who has the power to activate the IIMG based on the nature, severity, 

magnitude, and complexity of a threat or incident.18

3. Operational Responsibilities. DHS has signifi cant, ground-level operational 

responsibilities in responding to disasters. DHS and its component agencies 

are primary or coordinating agencies for nine of the 15 Emergency Support 

Functions (ESFs) in the NRP – categories of federal capabilities that can be 

brought to bear to provide support in domestic incidents – including public 

safety and security, communications support, and emergency management.19

DHS components such as the Coast Guard also have signifi cant missions and 

statutory responsibilities independent of the NRP.20 FEMA also controls the 

activation and movement of search and rescue and directs the National Disaster Medical Support System.

4. Preparedness. Besides its response roles, DHS has primary responsibility for 

strengthening national preparedness – including the planning, training, and 

equipment necessary to prevent, respond to, and recover from major domestic 

incidents – under HSPD-8 and the Homeland Security Act.21 Section 502 of the 

Homeland Security Act gives the Secretary, acting through the FEMA Director, 

responsibility for “helping to ensure the eff ectiveness of emergency response 

providers to terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.”22 Th e 

Department has authority over primary grants and training programs for state 

and local fi rst responders and emergency managers.23 Pursuant to HSPD8, DHS has developed a National Preparedness Goal, establishing national 

emergency-management and preparedness priorities.24 DHS ties its preparedness requirements to grant funding, requiring that all states submit emergency 

plans in order to get funding and that the money be used to meet the capabilities and priorities set forth by the National Preparedness Goal.25

Title VI of the Staff ord Act also places signifi cant responsibilities for national emergency 

preparedness on the FEMA Director and, through the Homeland Security Act, on DHS,26

providing, among other things, that the federal government is to provide the necessary 

direction, guidance, and assistance “so that a comprehensive preparedness system exists for 

all hazards.”27

The Role of the Federal Government

Our nation has a system of dual sovereignty. Th e federal government has limited, enumerated powers, and state governments retain primary responsibility to protect the public’s 

health and safety, so-called “police powers.”28 Th is is commonly known as “federalism.” 

Traditionally, state and local offi cials have managed the response to an incident in the fi rst 

instance, and the federal government for the most part provides assistance only as request-
Chapter 13

206

ed. Th is approach makes sense: during an emergency, states typically have authority to exercise extraordinary powers to commandeer resources, control property, order evacuations, 

suspend laws, and take other extreme measures.29 In addition, state and local authorities 

have large numbers of public-safety employees that are fi rst responders to every emergency. 

Th e individuals closest to an emergency incident generally know the locality best, and are 

wholly accountable to the local electorate for their actions.

Congress established the Staff ord Act to provide assistance “by the federal government to 

state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to alleviate the suff ering 

and damage which result from . . . disasters.”30 Th e Staff ord Act respects the state’s role in 

determining when it is overwhelmed and the assistance that it wants from the federal government. Th e Staff ord Act requires that the governor of a state request the President declare 

a major disaster for a portion or all of a state. Such requests include a description of how the 

state’s resources are overwhelmed.31 Th e President then can decide to declare a major disaster and determine the federal assistance that will be provided “in support of state and local 

assistance eff orts.”32 Th us, the Staff ord Act provides for consultation with state offi cials prior 

to the provision of federal assistance in the fi rst instance. Th e subsequent federal government response is cognizant of underlying concerns for the state’s continued authority over 

the direction of the response eff orts and respects state autonomy under our federal system 

of government. Traditionally, FEMA has required that states make requests not only for the 

initial declaration of a disaster or emergency but also for specifi c types of assistance such as 

the provision of commodities or assistance with search and rescue eff orts.

In a catastrophic situation, however, the traditional mode of operation under the Staff ord 

Act may not serve the Act’s purposes because state and local governments may become so 

overwhelmed that they can’t eff ectively make specifi c requests for assistance. In such circumstances, the federal government may have to act without a request from a state. 

Th e NRP explicitly provides for a proactive federal response in the Catastrophic Incident 

Annex (NRP-CIA).33 Th e NRP defi nes a catastrophic event as “any natural or manmade 

incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely aff ecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, 

national morale, and/or government functions.”34 According to the NRP, only the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary’s designee may initiate implementation of the 

NRP-CIA.35

Th e NRP-CIA recognizes that, in a catastrophe, “federal and/or national resources are 

required to augment overwhelmed state, local, and tribal response eff orts” and therefore 

provides for the identifi cation and rapid deployment of essential resources expected to be 

urgently needed to save lives and contain incidents.36 Th e NRP-CIA provides that standard 

procedures regarding requests for assistance “may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances, temporarily suspended” in the aft ermath of a catastrophe.37

At the same time, the NRP-CIA is sensitive to concerns for state autonomy. Th us, notifi cation and coordination with states are still to occur, though “the coordination process should 

not delay or impede the rapid mobilization and deployment of critical federal resources.”38

And federal resources are generally deployed to mobilization centers close to the incident 

scene “until requested by state/local incident command authorities,”39 though in certain 

circumstances, they may be deployed directly to the incident scene to assist in responding to 

the incident.
Department of Homeland Security: Roles and Responsibilities

207

1 “Th e Homeland Security Act of 2002.” (P.L. 107-296), 6 U.S.C. § 111(b).

2 U.S. House, Homeland Security Act of 2002, S. Rept. 107-609, July 24, 2002, p. 63. Among the 22 pre-existing entities 

that were brought together as part of DHS were FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, the National Communications System (which coordinates emergency communications), and law enforcement 

entities such as the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Protective Service. Prior to becoming part of the Department of 

Homeland Security, FEMA was a stand-alone agency. Most of the other entities that were incorporated into DHS were 

transferred from other cabinet departments: for example, the Coast Guard had previously been part of the Department 

of Transportation and the Secret Service had been part of the Treasury Department.

3 Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5: Management of Domestic Incidents, Feb. 28, 2003, 

Section 4. 

4 Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5: Management of Domestic Incidents, Feb. 28, 2003, 

Sections 15-16.

5 Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8: Domestic Preparedness, Dec. 17, 2003, Section 4. 

All-hazards preparedness is defi ned in the Directive as “preparedness for domestic terrorist attacks, major disasters, and 

other emergencies.” Source: Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8: Domestic Preparedness, Dec. 

17, 2003, Section 2(a). Preparedness is defi ned as “the existence of plans, procedures, policies, training, and equipment 

necessary at the Federal, State, and local level to maximize the ability prevent, respond to, and recover from major events.” 

Source: Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8: Domestic Preparedness, Dec. 17, 2003, Section 2(h).

6 “Robert T. Staff ord Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.” (P.L. 93-288), 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206. FEMA’s 

responsibilities were delegated to the Department of Homeland Security by Executive Order 13286, Feb. 28, 2003, 68 

Fed. Reg. 10619 (Mar. 3, 2003).

7 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5170a.

8 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5170b. 

9 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5170b; 42 U.S.C. § 5170b(a)(3). Th is is the authority pursuant to a major disaster declaration. Under an emergency declaration, the authority is similar but phrased more generally, providing that “Whenever 

the federal assistance provided under subsection (a) of this section with respect to an emergency is inadequate, the 

President may also provide assistance with respect to eff orts to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, 

and lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.” “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5192(b).

10 “Homeland Security Act,” 6 U.S.C. § 312(3).

11 “Homeland Security Act,” 6 U.S.C. § 317(a)(2)(c).

12 Executive Order 13286, 68 Fed. Reg. 10619 (Mar. 5, 2003), Section 52. Executive Order 12148, July 20, 1979, (Federal 

Emergency Management), as amended, is further amended by: (a) striking “the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency” whenever it appears and inserting “the Department of Homeland Security” in lieu thereof; and (b) striking “the 

Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency” wherever it appears and inserting “the Secretary of Homeland Security” in lieu thereof. See also: Executive Order 12673, 54 Fed. Reg. 12573 (Mar. 28, 1989), Section 1 (amending 

Executive Order 12148).

13 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, National Response Plan. Washington: Government Printing Offi ce, Dec. 

2004, p. 15 [hereinaft er NRP].

14 NRP, p. 9 (“Pursuant to HSPD-5, the Secretary of Homeland Security is responsible for coordinating Federal operations within the United States to prepare for, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other 

emergencies.”).

15 NRP, p. 33.

16 NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–1.

17 NRP, p. 24.

18 NRP, p. 22.

19 NRP, ESF Annex, p. ESF–v.

20 As discussed in greater detail in subsequent sections, DHS itself shares the lead responsibility for supporting public 

safety and security (ESF-13) with the Department of Justice, and its component, the National Communications System 

(NCS), is supposed to take the lead in providing communications support (ESF-2) during a disaster. FEMA has the lead 

responsibility for emergency management under ESF-5, which includes central responsibilities for domestic incident 

management as well as management and administrative support for the National Response Coordination Center 

(NRCC), Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC), and Joint Field Offi ce (JFO), according the NRP. Also under 

the NRP, FEMA serves as the primary and/or coordinating agency for Public Works and Engineering (ESF-3); Mass 

Care, Housing and Human Services (ESF-6); Urban Search and Rescue (ESF-9); Long-Term Community Recovery 

and Mitigation (ESF-14); and, in conjunction with DHS, External Aff airs (ESF-15). Th e Coast Guard, in addition to its 

responsibilities under the NRP for oil and hazardous material response (ESF-10), has the statutory authority to save lives 

and property imperiled by fl ood by performing any and all acts necessary to rescue and aid persons and protect and save 

property...at any time and any place at which the Coast Guard facilities and personnel are available and can be eff ectively 

utilized. 14 U.S.C. § 88(a)(1) and (b).
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208

21 “Homeland Security Act,” 6 U.S.C. 312(1); Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8: Domestic 

Preparedness, Dec. 17, 2003. 

22 “Homeland Security Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 502(1); 6 U.S.C. § 312(1).

23 See e.g.: “Homeland Security Act,” 6 U.S.C. § 238; Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8: 

Domestic Preparedness, Dec. 17, 2003; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Interim National Preparedness Goal, 

Mar. 31, 2005.

24 Th e White House, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8: Domestic Preparedness, Dec. 17, 2003, Section 5. 

25 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Preparedness Directorate, Offi ce of Grants and Training, Financial Management Guide, Jan. 2006, p. 11.

26 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. §§ 5195-5197(g); “Homeland Security Act,” 6 U.S.C. § 112(a)(3) (vesting all functions of 

all offi cers, employees, and organizational units of the Department of Homeland Security in the Secretary of Homeland Security). In fulfi lling these responsibilities, the Director of FEMA may conduct or arrange training programs for 

emergency-preparedness offi cials, and may provide fi nancial contributions to the states for emergency preparedness. 

“Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5131.Moreover, under Section 201 of the Staff ord Act, the President is authorized to establish 

a program of disaster preparedness that includes: (1) preparation of disaster preparedness plans for mitigation, warning, 

emergency operations, rehabilitation, and recovery; (2) training and exercises; and (3) coordination of federal, state, and 

local preparedness programs. “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5131(a).

27 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5195. Under the Act, the term “emergency preparedness” is defi ned to mean all those 

activities designed to minimize the eff ects of a hazard upon a civilian population. “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5195. Th ese 

activities include “the establishment of appropriate organizations, operational plans, and supporting agreements, the 

recruitment and training of personnel, the conduct of research, the procurement and stockpiling of necessary materials, 

and supplies, the provision of suitable warning systems, the construction or preparation of shelters, shelter areas, and 

control centers, and, when appropriate, the non-military evacuation of the civilian population.” “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. 

§ 5195(a)(3)(A).

28 See e.g.: Gregory v. Ashcroft , 501 U.S. 452, 457-60 (1991).

29 See e.g.: La R.S. 29:721 et seq. (Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act).

30 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5121(b).

31 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5770.

32 “Staff ord Act,” 42 U.S.C. § 5170(a)(1).

33 NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–1. 

34 NRP, p. 43; Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–1.

35 NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–1.

36 NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–1. See also: NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT-3 (“Th e response 

capabilities and resources of the local jurisdiction ... may be insuffi cient and quickly overwhelmed. Local emergency 

personnel who normally respond to incidents may be among those aff ected and unable to perform their duties.”).

37 NRP, p. 44; Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–4.

38 NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–4.

39 NRP, Catastrophic Incident Annex, p. CAT–2.
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