Presidential Documents

737 

Federal Register 

Vol. 75, No. 3 

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 

Title 3— 

The President 

Executive Order 13527 of December 30, 2009 

Establishing Federal Capability for the Timely Provision of 

Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to plan and prepare 

for the timely provision of medical countermeasures to the American people 

in the event of a biological attack in the United States through a rapid 

Federal response in coordination with State, local, territorial, and tribal 

governments. 

This policy would seek to: (1) mitigate illness and prevent death; (2) sustain 

critical infrastructure; and (3) complement and supplement State, local, territorial, and tribal government medical countermeasure distribution capacity. 

Sec. 2. United States Postal Service Delivery of Medical Countermeasures. 

(a) The U.S. Postal Service has the capacity for rapid residential delivery 

of medical countermeasures for self administration across all communities 

in the United States. The Federal Government shall pursue a national U.S. 

Postal Service medical countermeasures dispensing model to respond to 

a large-scale biological attack. 

(b) The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, 

in coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, within 180 days of the date 

of this order, shall establish a national U.S. Postal Service medical countermeasures dispensing model for U.S. cities to respond to a large-scale biological attack, with anthrax as the primary threat consideration. 

(c) In support of the national U.S. Postal Service model, the Secretaries 

of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Defense, and the 

Attorney General, in coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, and in consultation with State and local public health, emergency management, and 

law enforcement officials, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall 

develop an accompanying plan for supplementing local law enforcement 

personnel, as necessary and appropriate, with local Federal law enforcement, 

as well as other appropriate personnel, to escort U.S. Postal workers delivering medical countermeasures. 

Sec. 3. Federal Rapid Response. (a) The Federal Government must develop 

the capacity to anticipate and immediately supplement the capabilities of 

affected jurisdictions to rapidly distribute medical countermeasures following 

a biological attack. Implementation of a Federal strategy to rapidly dispense 

medical countermeasures requires establishment of a Federal rapid response 

capability. 

(b) The Secretaries of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, 

in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, within 90 days of the date 

of this order, shall develop a concept of operations and establish requirements 

for a Federal rapid response to dispense medical countermeasures to an 

affected population following a large-scale biological attack. 

Sec. 4. Continuity of Operations. (a) The Federal Government must establish 

mechanisms for the provision of medical countermeasures to personnel performing mission-essential functions to ensure that mission-essential functions 

of Federal agencies continue to be performed following a biological attack. 


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738 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 6, 2010 / Presidential Documents 

(b) The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, 

within 180 days of the date of this order, shall develop a plan for the 

provision of medical countermeasures to ensure that mission-essential functions of executive branch departments and agencies continue to be performed 

following a large-scale biological attack. 

Sec. 5. General Provisions. 

(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head 

thereof; or 

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and 

subject to the availability of appropriations. 

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party 

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, 

employees, or agents, or any other person. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

December 30, 2009. 

[FR Doc. 2010–38 

Filed 1–5–10; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3195–W0–P 


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