I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1174 

To establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a cabinet-level 

independent agency in the executive branch, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2009 

Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself, Mr. MICA, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. MARIO DIAZBALART of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to 

the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

as a cabinet-level independent agency in the executive 

branch, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘FEMA Independence Act of 2009’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

1. Short title; table of contents. 

2. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL EMERGENCY 

MANAGEMENT AGENCY 

101. Establishment of independent agency. 

102. Administrator; Deputy Administrator; and other officials of the Agency. 

103. Authority and responsibilities. 

104. Office of the Inspector General. 

105. Transfer of functions. 

106. Personnel and other transfers. 

107. Savings provisions. 

108. Conforming and technical amendments. 

109. Amendments to Homeland Security Act of 2002. 

110. Recommended legislation. 

TITLE II—RELATED MATTERS 

201. National Advisory Council. 

202. National Integration Center. 

203. Credentialing and typing. 

204. Disability coordinator. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency appointed under 

6 section 102. 

7 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

8 Federal Emergency Management Agency established 

9 under section 101. 

10 (3) EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘emergency’’ has 

11 the meaning given that term in section 102 of the 

12 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

13 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

14 (4) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.—The term 

15 ‘‘emergency management’’ means preparedness for, 

16 response to, recovery from, and mitigating hazards. 


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1 (5) HAZARD.—The term ‘‘hazard’’ has the 

2 meaning given that term in section 602(b) of the 

3 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

4 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196(b)) and includes 

5 any major disaster or emergency. 

6 (6) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘‘major dis7 aster’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

8 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

9 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

10 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF 

11 FEDERAL EMERGENCY MAN12 AGEMENT AGENCY 

13 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT AGENCY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Emergency Manage15 ment Agency is established as a cabinet-level independent 

16 establishment in the executive branch. 

17 (b) MISSION.—The primary mission of the Agency 

18 shall be to reduce the loss of life and property and protect 

19 the Nation from hazards by leading and supporting the 

20 Nation in a comprehensive emergency management system 

21 of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. 

22 SEC. 102. ADMINISTRATOR; DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR; AND 

23 OTHER OFFICIALS OF THE AGENCY. 

24 (a) ADMINISTRATOR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall be headed 

2 by an Administrator, who shall be appointed by the 

3 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

4 Senate, and who shall report directly to the Presi5 dent. 

6 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

7 be appointed from among individuals who have ex8 tensive experience in emergency preparedness, re9 sponse, recovery, and mitigation from hazards. 

10 (3) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Title 5, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) in section 5312 by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘Administrator of the Federal Emergency Manage15 ment Agency.’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) in section 5313 by striking the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘Administrator of the Federal Emergency Manage20 ment Agency.’’. 

21 (b) DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall have one 

23 Deputy Administrator, who shall be appointed by 

24 the President, by and with the advice and consent 

25 of the Senate. The Deputy Administrator shall carry 


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1 out duties and powers prescribed by the Adminis2 trator and act for the Administrator when the Ad3 ministrator is absent or unable to serve or when the 

4 position of the Administrator is vacant. 

5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Deputy Adminis6 trator shall be appointed from among individuals 

7 who have extensive experience in emergency pre8 paredness, response, recovery, and mitigation from 

9 hazards. 

10 (3) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of 

11 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) by striking the following: 

13 ‘‘Deputy Administrators, the Federal Emergency 

14 Management Agency.’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘Deputy Administrator, the Federal Emergency 

18 Management Agency.’’. 

19 (c) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATORS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall have one 

21 or more Assistant Administrators, who shall be ap22 pointed by the Administrator and whose duties shall 

23 be determined by the Administrator. 

24 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each Assistant Admin25 istrator shall be appointed from among individuals 


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1 who have a demonstrated ability in and knowledge 

2 of emergency management or other field relevant to 

3 their position. 

4 (d) REGIONAL OFFICES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Agency 

6 10 Regional Offices, as identified by the Adminis7 trator. 

8 (2) REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Regional Office 

10 shall be headed by a Regional Administrator 

11 who shall be appointed by the Administrator. 

12 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each Regional Ad14 ministrator shall be appointed from among 

15 individuals who have a demonstrated abil16 ity in and knowledge of emergency man17 agement. 

18 (ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting 

19 an individual to serve as a Regional Ad20 ministrator for a Regional Office, the Ad21 ministrator shall consider the familiarity of 

22 the individual with the geographical area 

23 and demographic characteristics of the 

24 population served by the Regional Office. 

25 (3) REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCILS.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each Regional Ad2 ministrator shall establish a Regional Advisory 

3 Council. 

4 (B) NOMINATIONS.—A State, local, or 

5 tribal government located within the geographic 

6 area served by the Regional Office may nomi7 nate officials, including Adjutants General and 

8 emergency managers, to serve as members of 

9 the Regional Advisory Council for that region. 

10 (C) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Regional 

11 Advisory Council shall— 

12 (i) advise the Regional Administrator 

13 on emergency management issues specific 

14 to that region; 

15 (ii) identify any geographic, demo16 graphic, or other characteristics peculiar to 

17 any State, local, or tribal government with18 in the region that might make prepared19 ness, response, recovery, or mitigation 

20 more complicated or difficult; and 

21 (iii) advise the Regional Administrator 

22 of any weaknesses or deficiencies in pre23 paredness, response, recovery, and mitiga24 tion for any State, local, and tribal governVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:45 Feb 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1174.IH H1174

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1 ment within the region of which the Re2 gional Advisory Council is aware. 

3 (e) AREA OFFICES.—There shall be an Area Office 

4 for the Pacific, an Area Office for the Caribbean, and an 

5 Area Office in Alaska, as components in the appropriate 

6 Regional Offices. 

7 SEC. 103. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall provide 

9 the Federal leadership necessary to prepare for, respond 

10 to, recover from, and mitigate hazards. 

11 (b) STAFFORD ACT.—The Administrator shall assist 

12 the President in carrying out the functions under the Rob13 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and carrying out all func15 tions and authorities given to the Administrator under 

16 that Act. 

17 (c) MISSION.—The responsibilities of Administrator 

18 shall include carrying out the mission of the Agency by 

19 leading and supporting the Nation in a comprehensive 

20 emergency management system of— 

21 (1) mitigation, by taking sustained actions to 

22 reduce or eliminate long-term risks to people and 

23 property from hazards and their effects; 

24 (2) preparedness, by planning, training, and 

25 building the emergency management profession to 


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1 prepare effectively for mitigating, responding to, and 

2 recovering from any hazard; 

3 (3) response, by conducting emergency oper4 ations to save lives and property through positioning 

5 emergency equipment, personnel, and supplies, 

6 through evacuating potential victims, through pro7 viding food, water, shelter, and medical care to those 

8 in need, and through restoring critical public serv9 ices; and 

10 (4) recovery, by rebuilding communities so indi11 viduals, businesses, and governments can function 

12 on their own, return to normal life, and protect 

13 against future hazards. 

14 (d) RESPONSE DUTIES.—In carrying out subsection 

15 (c)(3), the Administrator shall, at a minimum— 

16 (1) help to ensure the effectiveness of emer17 gency response providers in responding to a hazard; 

18 (2) coordinate and provide the Federal Govern19 ment’s response to hazards; 

20 (3) build a comprehensive national incident 

21 management system with Federal, State, and local 

22 government personnel, agencies, and authorities to 

23 respond to hazards; 


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1 (4) consolidate existing Federal Government 

2 emergency response plans into a single, coordinated 

3 plan to be known as the National Response Plan; 

4 (5) administer and ensure the implementation 

5 of the National Response Plan, including coordi6 nating and ensuring the readiness of each emergency 

7 support function under the National Response Plan; 

8 and 

9 (6) help ensure the acquisition of operable and 

10 interoperable communications capabilities by Fed11 eral, State, local, and tribal governments and emer12 gency response providers. 

13 (e) CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT.—The Adminis14 trator shall prepare and implement the plans and pro15 grams of the Federal Government for— 

16 (1) continuity of operations; 

17 (2) continuity of Government; and 

18 (3) continuity of plans. 

19 (f) OTHER DUTIES.—The Administrator shall— 

20 (1) coordinate the National Advisory Council 

21 authorized by this Act; 

22 (2) maintain and operate within the Agency the 

23 National Response Coordination Center (or its suc24 cessor); 


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1 (3) develop and maintain a national emergency 

2 management system that is capable of preparing for, 

3 protecting against, responding to, recovering from, 

4 and mitigating hazards of all magnitudes, including 

5 catastrophic disasters; and 

6 (4) supervise grant programs administered by 

7 the Agency. 

8 (g) ALL-HAZARDS APPROACH.—In carrying out the 

9 responsibilities under this section, the Administrator shall 

10 coordinate the implementation of an all-hazards strategy 

11 that builds those common capabilities necessary to prepare 

12 for, respond to, recover from, or mitigate hazards. 

13 SEC. 104. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

14 The Agency shall have an office of the Inspector Gen15 eral, headed by an Inspector General, in accordance with 

16 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–452; 

17 5 U.S.C. App.). 

18 SEC. 105. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by subsection 

20 (c), there shall be transferred to the Administrator the fol21 lowing: 

22 (1) All functions of the Federal Emergency 

23 Management Agency, as constituted on January 1, 

24 2009, including continuity of operations and con25 tinuity of Government plans and programs. 


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1 (2) The functions relating to the Agency under 

2 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer3 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and 

4 other laws, including— 

5 (A) the National Flood Insurance Act of 

6 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.); 

7 (B) the Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

8 Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.); 

9 (C) the National Dam Safety Program Act 

10 (33 U.S.C. 467 et seq.); 

11 (D) the Federal Fire Prevention and Con12 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.); 

13 (E) Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 (5 

14 U.S.C. App.); 

15 (F) section 612 of the Security and Ac16 countability For Every Port Act of 2006 (6 

17 U.S.C. 314a); and 

18 (G) title III of the McKinney-Vento Home19 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11331 et seq.). 

20 (3) Any function to be transferred to the Agen21 cy under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 

22 Reform Act of 2006 (103 Stat. 1394), including the 

23 amendments made by that Act, even if the transfer 

24 has not taken place as of January 1, 2009. 


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1 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—There shall be trans2 ferred to the Inspector General of the Federal Emergency 

3 Management Agency all of the functions relating to the 

4 Inspector General that were transferred from the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency to the Department of 

6 Homeland Security on or after January 1, 2003. 

7 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—The following programs shall not 

8 be affected by this Act and remain within the Department 

9 of Homeland Security: 

10 (1) The grant programs authorized by sections 

11 1406, 1513, and 1532 of the Implementing Rec12 ommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act (6 

13 U.S.C. 1135, 1163, and 1182). 

14 (2) The grant program authorized by section 

15 70107 of title 46, United States Code. 

16 (3) The programs authorized by sections 2003 

17 and 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

18 U.S.C. 604 and 605). 

19 (4) The trucking security grant program (Pub20 lic Law 110–329; 122 Stat. 3671). 

21 (5) The buffer zone protection program (Public 

22 Law 110–329; 122 Stat. 3672). 

23 (6) The commercial equipment direct assistance 

24 program (Public Law 110–329; 122 Stat. 3672). 


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1 (d) UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATOR; FED2 ERAL INSURANCE ADMINISTRATOR.—Nothing in this Act 

3 shall be construed to affect the appointment of the United 

4 States Fire Administrator under section 5(b) of the Fire 

5 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2204(b)) 

6 or the Federal Insurance Administrator under section 

7 1105(a) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 

8 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4129). 

9 (e) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The transfers under this 

10 section shall be carried out not later than 120 days fol11 lowing the date of enactment of this Act. During the tran12 sition period, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

13 provide to the Administrator such assistance, including 

14 the use of personnel and assets, as the Administrator may 

15 request in preparing for the transfer. 

16 (f) TRANSITION.—The Administrator may use— 

17 (1) the services of such officers, employees, and 

18 other personnel of the Department of Homeland Se19 curity with respect to functions transferred by this 

20 section; and 

21 (2) funds appropriated to such functions for 

22 such period of time as may reasonably be needed to 

23 facilitate the orderly implementation of this section. 

24 (g) LIAISON OFFICE TO ENSURE COORDINATION

25 WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 


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1 The Administrator shall establish a liaison office within 

2 the Agency to ensure adequate coordination with the De3 partment of Homeland Security. 

4 SEC. 106. PERSONNEL AND OTHER TRANSFERS. 

5 (a) PERSONNEL PROVISIONS.— 

6 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The Administrator may 

7 appoint and fix the compensation of such officers 

8 and employees, including investigators, attorneys, 

9 and administrative law judges, as may be necessary 

10 to carry out the respective functions transferred 

11 under section 105. Except as otherwise provided by 

12 law, such officers and employees shall be appointed 

13 in accordance with the civil service laws and their 

14 compensation fixed in accordance with title 5, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Admin17 istrator may obtain the services of experts and con18 sultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, and compensate such experts 

20 and consultants for each day (including traveltime) 

21 during which they are engaged in the actual per22 formance of such services at rates not in excess of 

23 the rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Sched24 ule under section 5315 of such title. The Adminis25 trator may pay experts and consultants who are 


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1 serving away from their homes or regular place of 

2 business, travel expenses and per diem in lieu of 

3 subsistence at rates authorized by sections 5702 and 

4 5703 of such title for persons in Government service 

5 employed intermittently. 

6 (b) DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT.—Except where 

7 otherwise expressly prohibited by law or otherwise pro8 vided by this title, the Administrator may delegate any 

9 of the functions transferred to the Administrator by sec10 tion 105 and any function transferred or granted to the 

11 Administrator after the date of the transfers by section 

12 105 to such officers and employees of the Agency as the 

13 Administrator may designate and may authorize succes14 sive redelegations of such functions as may be necessary 

15 or appropriate. No delegation of functions by the Adminis16 trator under this subsection or under any other provision 

17 of this title shall relieve the Administrator of responsibility 

18 for the administration of such functions. 

19 (c) REORGANIZATION.—The Administrator may allo20 cate or reallocate any function transferred under section 

21 105 among the officers of the Agency, and may establish, 

22 consolidate, alter, or discontinue such organizational enti23 ties in the Agency as may be necessary or appropriate if 

24 the Administrator, on or before the 30th day preceding 


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1 the date of the allocation or reallocation, provides to Con2 gress written notice of the allocation or reallocation. 

3 (d) RULES.—The Administrator may prescribe, in ac4 cordance with the provisions of chapters 5 and 6 of title 

5 5, United States Code, such rules and regulations as the 

6 Administrator determines necessary or appropriate to ad7 minister and manage the functions of the Agency. 

8 (e) TRANSFER AND ALLOCATIONS OF APPROPRIA9 TIONS AND PERSONNEL.—Except as otherwise provided 

10 in this title, the personnel employed in connection with, 

11 and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and 

12 unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, al13 locations, and other funds employed, used, held, arising 

14 from, available to, or to be made available in connection 

15 with the functions transferred by section 105, subject to 

16 section 1531 of title 31, United States Code, shall be 

17 transferred to the Agency. Unexpended funds transferred 

18 pursuant to this subsection shall be used only for the pur19 poses for which the funds were originally authorized and 

20 appropriated. 

21 (f) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.—The Director of the 

22 Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with 

23 the Administrator, may make such determinations as may 

24 be necessary with regard to the functions transferred by 

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1 positions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, 

2 property, records, and unexpended balances of appropria3 tions, authorizations, allocations, and other funds held, 

4 used, arising from, available to, or to be made available 

5 in connection with such functions, as may be necessary 

6 to carry out the provisions of this title. The Director of 

7 the Office of Management and Budget shall provide for 

8 the termination of the affairs of all entities terminated by 

9 this title and for such further measures and dispositions 

10 as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this 

11 title. 

12 (g) EFFECT ON PERSONNEL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro14 vided by this title, the transfer pursuant to this title 

15 of full-time personnel (except special Government 

16 employees) and part-time personnel holding perma17 nent positions shall not cause any such employee to 

18 be separated or reduced in grade or compensation 

19 for one year after the date of transfer of such em20 ployee under this title. 

21 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITIONS.—Except 

22 as otherwise provided in this title, any person who, 

23 on the day preceding the date of the transfers of 

24 functions under section 105, held a position com25 pensated in accordance with the Executive Schedule 


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1 prescribed in chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

2 Code, and who, without a break in service, is ap3 pointed in the Agency to a position having duties 

4 comparable to the duties performed immediately pre5 ceding such appointment shall continue to be com6 pensated in such new position at not less than the 

7 rate provided for such previous position, for the du8 ration of the service of such person in such new po9 sition. 

10 SEC. 107. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

11 (a) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

12 (1) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCU13 MENTS.—All orders, determinations, rules, regula14 tions, permits, agreements, grants, contracts, certifi15 cates, licenses, registrations, privileges, and other 

16 administrative actions— 

17 (A) which have been issued, made, grant18 ed, or allowed to become effective by the Presi19 dent, any Federal agency or official thereof, or 

20 by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the per21 formance of functions that are transferred 

22 under section 105; and 

23 (B) which are in effect on the date of the 

24 transfers of functions under section 105, or 

25 were final before such date and are to become 


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1 effective on or after such date, shall continue in 

2 effect according to their terms until modified, 

3 terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in 

4 accordance with law by the President, the Ad5 ministrator, or other authorized official, a court 

6 of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of 

7 law. 

8 (2) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provi9 sions of this title shall not affect any proceedings, 

10 including notices of proposed rulemaking, or any ap11 plication for any license, permit, certificate, or finan12 cial assistance pending before the Agency on the 

13 date of the transfers of functions under section 105, 

14 with respect to functions transferred by section 105 

15 but such proceedings and applications shall continue. 

16 Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals 

17 shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be 

18 made pursuant to such orders, as if this title had 

19 not been enacted, and orders issued in any such pro20 ceedings shall continue in effect until modified, ter21 minated, superseded, or revoked by a duly author22 ized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or 

23 by operation of law. Nothing in this paragraph shall 

24 be deemed to prohibit the discontinuance or modi25 fication of any such proceeding under the same 


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1 terms and conditions and to the same extent that 

2 such proceeding could have been discontinued or 

3 modified if this title had not been enacted. 

4 (3) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of 

5 this title shall not affect suits commenced before the 

6 date of the transfers of functions under section 105, 

7 and in all such suits, proceedings shall be had, ap8 peals taken, and judgments rendered in the same 

9 manner and with the same effect as if this title had 

10 not been enacted. 

11 (4) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, ac12 tion, or other proceeding commenced by or against 

13 the Agency, or by or against any individual in the 

14 official capacity of such individual as an officer of 

15 the Agency, shall abate by reason of the enactment 

16 of this title. 

17 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO

18 PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administra19 tive action relating to the preparation or promulga20 tion of a regulation by the Agency relating to a 

21 function transferred under section 105 may be con22 tinued by the Agency with the same effect as if this 

23 title had not been enacted. 

24 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any other Fed25 eral law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation 


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1 of authority, or any document of or pertaining to a depart2 ment, agency, or office from which a function is trans3 ferred by section 105— 

4 (1) to the head of such department, agency, or 

5 office is deemed to refer to the head of the depart6 ment, agency, or office to which such function is 

7 transferred; or 

8 (2) to such department, agency, or office is 

9 deemed to refer to the department, agency, or office 

10 to which such function is transferred. 

11 SEC. 108. CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

12 (a) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—Section 901(b)(2) 

13 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(H) The Federal Emergency Management 

16 Agency.’’. 

17 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.—Section 

18 12(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

19 App.) is amended by striking ‘‘Director of the Federal 

20 Emergency Management Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Admin21 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’’. 

22 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO REFERENCES.— 

23 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

24 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 602(a) by striking paragraph (7) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis4 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency.’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place it appears 

7 and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’, except— 

8 (A) the second and fourth places it appears 

9 in section 622(c); and 

10 (B) in section 626(b). 

11 SEC. 109. AMENDMENTS TO HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 

12 2002. 

13 (a) EVACUATION PLANS AND EXERCISES.—Section 

14 512(c) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 321a(c)) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it appears and insert16 ing ‘‘Secretary’’. 

17 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CYBERSECURITY

18 AND COMMUNICATIONS; NATIONAL OPERATIONS CEN19 TER.—Sections 514 and 515 of such Act (6 U.S.C. 321c 

20 and 321d) are amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 514. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CYBERSECURITY 

22 AND COMMUNICATIONS. 

23 ‘‘There is in the Department an Assistant Secretary 

24 for Cybersecurity and Communications. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 515. NATIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘situa3 tional awareness’ means information gathered from a vari4 ety of sources that, when communicated to emergency 

5 managers and homeland security decision makers, can 

6 form the basis for homeland security decisionmaking. 

7 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Operations 

8 Center is the principal operations center for the Depart9 ment and shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) provide situational awareness and a com11 mon operating picture for the entire Federal Govern12 ment, and for State, local, and tribal governments as 

13 appropriate, for homeland security purposes; and 

14 ‘‘(2) ensure that critical homeland security in15 formation reaches government decision-makers. 

16 ‘‘(c) FEMA AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section 

17 shall be construed to provide to the National Operations 

18 Center any authority that overlaps with the authority of 

19 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

20 Agency, except to the extent necessary to coordinate the 

21 activities or information of the National Operations Cen22 ter with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.’’. 

23 (c) CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER.—Section 516 of such 

24 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 321e) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

2 by striking ‘‘natural disasters, acts of terrorism, 

3 and other man-made disasters’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘homeland security’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (4) by inserting ‘‘the 

6 Federal Emergency Management Agency,’’ 

7 after ‘‘the Department of Veterans Affairs,’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) FEMA AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section 

11 shall be construed to provide to the Chief Medical Officer 

12 any authority that overlaps with the authority of the Ad13 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen14 cy, except to the extent necessary to coordinate activities 

15 or information with the Federal Emergency Management 

16 Agency.’’. 

17 (d) REPEALS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions of 

19 such Act (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) are repealed: 

20 (A) Section 501. 

21 (B) Section 503. 

22 (C) Section 504. 

23 (D) Section 505. 

24 (E) Section 506. 

25 (F) Section 507. 


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1 (G) Section 508. 

2 (H) Section 509. 

3 (I) Section 510. 

4 (J) Section 513. 

5 (K) Section 519. 

6 (e) REDESIGNATIONS.—Sections 502, 511, 512, 514, 

7 515, 516, 517, 518, 520, 521, 522, 523, and 524 of such 

8 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 312, 321, 321a, 321c, 321d, 321e, 

9 321f, 321g, 321i, 321j, 321k, 321l, and 321m) are redes10 ignated as sections 501 through 513, respectively. 

11 (f) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

12 contained in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by strik13 ing the items relating to title V and inserting the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘TITLE V—OTHER OFFICES AND FUNCTIONS 

‘‘Sec. 501. Definition. 

‘‘Sec. 502. The National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center. 

‘‘Sec. 503. Evacuation plans and exercises. 

‘‘Sec. 504. Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications. 

‘‘Sec. 505. National Operations Center. 

‘‘Sec. 506. Chief Medical Officer 

‘‘Sec. 507. Nuclear incident response. 

‘‘Sec. 508. Conduct of certain public health-related activities. 

‘‘Sec. 509. Use of commercially available technology, goods, and services. 

‘‘Sec. 510. Procurement of security countermeasures for strategic national 

stockpile. 

‘‘Sec. 511. Model standards and guidelines for critical infrastructure workers. 

‘‘Sec. 512. Guidance and recommendations. 

‘‘Sec. 513. Voluntary private sector preparedness accreditation and certification 

program.’’. 

15 SEC. 110. RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—After consultation with Congress, 

17 the Administrator shall prepare recommended legislation 


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1 containing technical and conforming amendments to re2 flect the changes made by this title. 

3 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 

4 days after the last day of the transition period referred 

5 to in section 105(e), the Administrator shall submit to 

6 Congress a report containing the recommended legislation. 

7 TITLE II—RELATED MATTERS 

8 SEC. 201. NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall con10 tinue to maintain an advisory body to ensure effective and 

11 ongoing coordination of Federal preparedness, response, 

12 recovery, and mitigation for hazards, to be known as the 

13 National Advisory Council. 

14 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The National Advisory 

15 Council shall advise the Administrator on all aspects of 

16 emergency management. 

17 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Na19 tional Advisory Council shall be appointed by the 

20 Administrator, and shall, to the extent practicable, 

21 represent a geographic (including urban and rural) 

22 and substantive cross section of officials, emergency 

23 managers, and emergency response providers from 

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1 tor, and nongovernmental organizations, including as 

2 appropriate— 

3 (A) members selected from the emergency 

4 management field and emergency response pro5 viders, including fire service, law enforcement, 

6 hazardous materials response, emergency med7 ical services, and emergency management per8 sonnel, or organizations representing such indi9 viduals; 

10 (B) health scientists, emergency and inpa11 tient medical providers, and public health pro12 fessionals; 

13 (C) experts from Federal, State, local, and 

14 tribal governments, and the private sector, rep15 resenting standards-setting and accrediting or16 ganizations, including representatives from the 

17 voluntary consensus codes and standards devel18 opment community, particularly those with ex19 pertise in the emergency preparedness and re20 sponse field; 

21 (D) State, local, and tribal government of22 ficials with expertise in preparedness, response, 

23 recovery, and mitigation, including Adjutants 

24 General; 


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1 (E) elected State, local, and tribal govern2 ment executives; 

3 (F) experts in public and private sector in4 frastructure protection, cybersecurity, and com5 munications; 

6 (G) representatives of individuals with dis7 abilities and other populations with special 

8 needs; and 

9 (H) such other individuals as the Adminis10 trator determines to be appropriate. 

11 (2) COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENTS

12 OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND TRANSPOR13 TATION.—In the selection of members of the Na14 tional Advisory Council who are health or emergency 

15 medical services professionals, the Administrator 

16 shall work with the Secretary of Health and Human 

17 Services and the Secretary of Transportation. 

18 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Administrator 

19 shall designate 1 or more officers of the Federal 

20 Government to serve as ex officio members of the 

21 National Advisory Council. 

22 (4) TERMS OF OFFICE.—The term of office of 

23 each member of the National Advisory Council shall 

24 be 3 years. 


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1 (d) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

4 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

5 App.), including subsections (a), (b), and (d) of sec6 tion 10 of such Act, and section 552b(c) of title 5, 

7 United States Code, shall apply to the National Ad8 visory Council. 

9 (2) TERMINATION.—Section 14(a)(2) of the 

10 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

11 shall not apply to the National Advisory Council. 

12 SEC. 202. NATIONAL INTEGRATION CENTER. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Agency 

14 a National Integration Center. 

15 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Administrator, through 

16 the National Integration Center, and in consultation with 

17 other Federal departments and agencies and the National 

18 Advisory Council, shall ensure ongoing management and 

19 maintenance, including revisions as appropriate, of the 

20 National Incident Management System, the National Re21 sponse Plan (including the Catastrophic Incident Annex), 

22 and any successor to such system or plan. 

23 (c) INCIDENT MANAGEMENT.— 

24 (1) NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN.—The Adminis25 trator shall ensure that the National Response Plan 


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1 provides for a clear chain of command to lead and 

2 coordinate the Federal response to any hazard. 

3 (2) PRINCIPAL FEDERAL OFFICIAL.—The posi4 tion of Principal Federal Official is abolished. 

5 SEC. 203. CREDENTIALING AND TYPING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall continue 

7 to implement a memorandum of understanding with the 

8 administrators of the Emergency Management Assistance 

9 Compact, State, local, and tribal governments, and organi10 zations that represent emergency response providers to 

11 collaborate on developing standards for deployment capa12 bilities, including for credentialing and typing of incident 

13 management personnel, emergency response providers, 

14 and other personnel (including temporary personnel) and 

15 resources likely needed to respond to a hazard. 

16 (b) DISTRIBUTION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro18 vide the standards developed under subsection (a), 

19 including detailed written guidance, to— 

20 (A) each Federal agency that has respon21 sibilities under the National Response Plan to 

22 aid that agency with credentialing and typing 

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1 ing temporary personnel) and resources likely 

2 needed to respond to a hazard; and 

3 (B) State, local, and tribal governments, to 

4 aid such governments with credentialing and 

5 typing of State, local, and tribal incident man6 agement personnel, emergency response pro7 viders, and other personnel (including tem8 porary personnel) and resources likely needed to 

9 respond to a hazard. 

10 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall pro11 vide expertise and technical assistance to aid Fed12 eral, State, local, and tribal government agencies 

13 with credentialing and typing incident management 

14 personnel, emergency response providers, and other 

15 personnel (including temporary personnel) and re16 sources likely needed to respond to a hazard. 

17 (c) CREDENTIALING AND TYPING OF PERSONNEL.— 

18 Each Federal agency with responsibilities under the Na19 tional Response Plan shall ensure that incident manage20 ment personnel, emergency response providers, and other 

21 personnel (including temporary personnel) and resources 

22 likely needed to respond to a hazard. 

23 (d) CONSULTATION ON HEALTH CARE STAND24 ARDS.—In developing standards for credentialing health 

25 care professionals under this section, the Administrator 


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1 shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human 

2 Services. 

3 SEC. 204. DISABILITY COORDINATOR. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall appoint 

5 in the Agency a Disability Coordinator in order to ensure 

6 that the needs of individuals with disabilities are being 

7 properly addressed in emergency preparedness and dis8 aster relief. The Disability Coordinator shall report di9 rectly to the Administrator. 

10 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Disability Coordinator 

11 shall be appointed after consultation with organizations 

12 representing individuals with disabilities, the National 

13 Council on Disabilities, and the Interagency Coordinating 

14 Council on Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities 

15 established under Executive Order No. 13347 (6 U.S.C. 

16 312 note). 

17 (c) TRANSITIONAL PROVISION.—The individual serv18 ing in the Agency as Disability Coordinator on the date 

19 of enactment of this Act may continue to serve in that 

20 position at the discretion of the Administrator. 

Æ 


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