II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1427 

To establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an independent 

agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2007 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. LAUTENBERG, 

Mr. LEAHY, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. AKAKA) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

as an independent agency, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Emergency 

5 Management Improvement Act of 2007’’. 

6 TITLE I—FEDERAL EMERGENCY 

7 MANAGEMENT AGENCY 

8 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘catastrophic incident’’ means any 

2 natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man3 made disaster that results in extraordinary levels of 

4 casualties or damage or disruption severely affecting 

5 the population (including mass evacuations), infra6 structure, environment, economy, national morale, or 

7 government functions in an area; 

8 (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

9 the Federal Emergency Management Agency; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘Federal coordinating officer’’ 

11 means a Federal coordinating officer as described in 

12 section 302 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

13 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5143); 

14 (4) the term ‘‘interoperable’’ has the meaning 

15 given the term ‘‘interoperable communications’’ 

16 under section 7303(g)(1) of the Intelligence Reform 

17 and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 

18 194(g)(1)); 

19 (5) the term ‘‘National Advisory Council’’ 

20 means the National Advisory Council established 

21 under section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 

22 2002; 

23 (6) the term ‘‘National Incident Management 

24 System’’ means a system to enable effective, effi25 cient, and collaborative incident management; 


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1 (7) the term ‘‘National Response Plan’’ means 

2 the National Response Plan or any successor plan 

3 prepared under section 104(b)(6); 

4 (8) the term ‘‘Nuclear Incident Response 

5 Team’’ means a resource that includes— 

6 (A) those entities of the Department of 

7 Energy that perform nuclear or radiological 

8 emergency support functions (including accident 

9 response, search response, advisory, and tech10 nical operations functions), radiation exposure 

11 functions at the medical assistance facility 

12 known as the Radiation Emergency Assistance 

13 Center/Training Site (REAC/TS), radiological 

14 assistance functions, and related functions; and 

15 (B) those entities of the Environmental 

16 Protection Agency that perform such support 

17 functions (including radiological emergency re18 sponse functions) and related functions; and 

19 (9) the term ‘‘tribal government’’ means the 

20 government of any entity described under section 

21 2(10)(B) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

22 U.S.C. 101). 


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1 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF AGENCY AND DIRECTOR AND 

2 DEPUTY DIRECTOR. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Federal Emergency 

4 Management Agency is established as an independent es5 tablishment in the executive branch as defined under sec6 tion 104 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal 

9 Emergency Management Agency shall be the head of 

10 the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 

11 Director shall be appointed by the President, by and 

12 with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Di13 rector shall report directly to the President. 

14 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director of the 

15 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall have 

16 significant experience, knowledge, training, and ex17 pertise in the area of emergency preparedness, re18 sponse, recovery, and mitigation as related to nat19 ural disasters and other national cataclysmic events. 

20 (3) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITION.—Section 

21 5312 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘Director of the Federal Emergency Manage24 ment Agency.’’. 

25 (4) PRINCIPAL ADVISOR ON EMERGENCY MAN26 AGEMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

2 Federal Emergency Management Agency is the 

3 principal advisor to the President, the Home4 land Security Council, and the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security for all matters relating to 

6 emergency management in the United States. 

7 (B) ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—In presenting ad9 vice with respect to any matter to the 

10 President, the Homeland Security Council, 

11 or the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 

12 Director of the Federal Emergency Man13 agement Agency shall, as the Director con14 siders appropriate, inform the President, 

15 the Homeland Security Council, or the 

16 Secretary, as the case may be, of the range 

17 of emergency preparedness, protection, re18 sponse, recovery, and mitigation options 

19 with respect to that matter. 

20 (ii) ADVICE ON REQUEST.—The Di21 rector of the Federal Emergency Manage22 ment Agency, as the principal advisor on 

23 emergency management, shall provide ad24 vice to the President, the Homeland Secu25 rity Council, or the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security on a particular matter when the 

2 President, the Homeland Security Council, 

3 or the Secretary requests such advice. 

4 (iii) RECOMMENDATIONS TO CON5 GRESS.—After informing the President, 

6 the Director of the Federal Emergency 

7 Management Agency may make such rec8 ommendations to Congress relating to 

9 emergency management as the Director 

10 considers appropriate. 

11 (5) CABINET STATUS.—The President shall 

12 designate the Administrator to serve as a member of 

13 the Cabinet in the event of natural disasters, acts of 

14 terrorism, or other man-made disasters. 

15 (c) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Deputy Director of the 

17 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall assist 

18 the Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency. The Deputy Director shall be appointed by 

20 the President, by and with the advice and consent 

21 of the Senate. 

22 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Deputy Director of 

23 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall 

24 have significant experience, knowledge, training, and 

25 expertise in the area of emergency preparedness, reVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:42 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

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1 sponse, recovery, and mitigation as related to nat2 ural disasters and other national cataclysmic events. 

3 (3) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITION.—Section 

4 5313 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) by striking the following: 

6 ‘‘Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man7 agement Agency.’’; 

8 and 

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

10 ‘‘Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency 

11 Management Agency.’’. 

12 SEC. 103. MISSION. 

13 (a) PRIMARY MISSION.—The primary mission of the 

14 Federal Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the 

15 loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all 

16 hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and 

17 other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the 

18 Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency manage19 ment system of preparedness, protection, response, recov20 ery, and mitigation. 

21 (b) SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—In support of the primary 

22 mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

23 the Director shall— 

24 (1) lead the Nation’s efforts to prepare for, pro25 tect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate 


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1 against the risk of natural disasters, acts of ter2 rorism, and other man-made disasters, including cat3 astrophic incidents; 

4 (2) partner with State, local, and tribal govern5 ments and emergency response providers, with other 

6 Federal agencies, with the private sector, and with 

7 nongovernmental organizations to build a national 

8 system of emergency management that can effec9 tively and efficiently utilize the full measure of the 

10 Nation’s resources to respond to natural disasters, 

11 acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, in12 cluding catastrophic incidents; 

13 (3) develop a Federal response capability that, 

14 when necessary and appropriate, can act effectively 

15 and rapidly to deliver assistance essential to saving 

16 lives or protecting or preserving property or public 

17 health and safety in a natural disaster, act of ter18 rorism, or other man-made disaster; 

19 (4) integrate the Federal Emergency Manage20 ment Agency’s emergency preparedness, protection, 

21 response, recovery, and mitigation responsibilities to 

22 confront effectively the challenges of a natural dis23 aster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster; 

24 (5) develop and maintain robust Regional Of25 fices that will work with State, local, and tribal govVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:42 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

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1 ernments, emergency response providers, and other 

2 appropriate entities to identify and address regional 

3 priorities; 

4 (6) coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, the 

6 Director of Customs and Border Protection, the Di7 rector of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

8 the National Operations Center, and other agencies 

9 and offices in the Department of Homeland Security 

10 to take full advantage of the substantial range of re11 sources in that Department; 

12 (7) provide funding, training, exercises, tech13 nical assistance, planning, and other assistance to 

14 build tribal, local, State, regional, and national capa15 bilities (including communications capabilities), nec16 essary to respond to a natural disaster, act of ter17 rorism, or other man-made disaster; and 

18 (8) develop and coordinate the implementation 

19 of a risk-based, all-hazards strategy for preparedness 

20 that builds those common capabilities necessary to 

21 respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and 

22 other man-made disasters while also building the 

23 unique capabilities necessary to respond to specific 

24 types of incidents that pose the greatest risk to our 

25 Nation. 


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1 SEC. 104. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal 

3 Emergency Management Agency shall provide Federal 

4 leadership necessary to prepare for, protect against, re5 spond to, recover from, or mitigate against a natural dis6 aster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster, in7 cluding— 

8 (1) helping to ensure the effectiveness of emer9 gency response providers to terrorist attacks, major 

10 disasters, and other emergencies; 

11 (2) with respect to the Nuclear Incident Re12 sponse Team, regardless of whether it is operating 

13 as an organizational unit of the Department of 

14 Homeland Security, and in consultation with the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security— 

16 (A) establishing standards and certifying 

17 when those standards have been met; 

18 (B) conducting joint and other exercises 

19 and training and evaluating performance; and 

20 (C) providing funds to the Department of 

21 Energy and the Environmental Protection 

22 Agency, as appropriate, for homeland security 

23 planning, exercises and training, and equip24 ment; 


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1 (3) providing the Federal Government’s re2 sponse to terrorist attacks and major disasters, in3 cluding— 

4 (A) managing such response; 

5 (B) directing the Domestic Emergency 

6 Support Team, the National Disaster Medical 

7 System, and, in consultation with the Secretary 

8 of Homeland Security, the Nuclear Incident Re9 sponse Team (when that team is operating as 

10 an organizational unit of the Department of 

11 Homeland Security); 

12 (C) overseeing the Metropolitan Medical 

13 Response System; and 

14 (D) coordinating other Federal response 

15 resources, including requiring deployment of the 

16 Strategic National Stockpile, in the event of a 

17 terrorist attack or major disaster; 

18 (4) aiding the recovery from terrorist attacks 

19 and major disasters; 

20 (5) building a comprehensive national incident 

21 management system with Federal, State, and local 

22 government personnel, agencies, and authorities, to 

23 respond to such attacks and disasters; 


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1 (6) consolidating existing Federal Government 

2 emergency response plans into a single, coordinated 

3 national response plan; 

4 (7) helping ensure the acquisition of operable 

5 and interoperable communications capabilities by 

6 Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and 

7 emergency response providers; 

8 (8) assisting the President in carrying out the 

9 functions under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re10 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

11 et seq.) and carrying out all functions and authori12 ties given to the Director under that Act; 

13 (9) carrying out the mission of the Federal 

14 Emergency Management Agency to reduce the loss 

15 of life and property and protect the Nation from all 

16 hazards by leading and supporting the Nation in a 

17 risk-based, comprehensive emergency management 

18 system of— 

19 (A) mitigation, by taking sustained actions 

20 to reduce or eliminate long-term risks to people 

21 and property from hazards and their effects; 

22 (B) preparedness, by planning, training, 

23 and building the emergency management pro24 fession to prepare effectively for, mitigate 


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1 against, respond to, and recover from any haz2 ard; 

3 (C) response, by conducting emergency op4 erations to save lives and property through po5 sitioning emergency equipment, personnel, and 

6 supplies, through evacuating potential victims, 

7 through providing food, water, shelter, and 

8 medical care to those in need, and through re9 storing critical public services; and 

10 (D) recovery, by rebuilding communities so 

11 individuals, businesses, and governments can 

12 function on their own, return to normal life, 

13 and protect against future hazards; 

14 (10) increasing efficiencies, by coordinating ef15 forts relating to preparedness, protection, response, 

16 recovery, and mitigation; 

17 (11) helping to ensure the effectiveness of emer18 gency response providers in responding to a natural 

19 disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made dis20 aster; 

21 (12) supervising grant programs administered 

22 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; 

23 (13) administering and ensuring the implemen24 tation of the National Response Plan, including co25 ordinating and ensuring the readiness of each emerVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:42 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

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1 gency support function under the National Response 

2 Plan; 

3 (14) coordinating with the National Advisory 

4 Council established under section 508 of the Home5 land Security Act of 2002; 

6 (15) preparing and implementing the plans and 

7 programs of the Federal Government for— 

8 (A) continuity of operations; 

9 (B) continuity of government; and 

10 (C) continuity of plans; 

11 (16) minimizing, to the extent practicable, over12 lapping planning and reporting requirements appli13 cable to State, local, and tribal governments and the 

14 private sector; 

15 (17) maintaining and operating within the Fed16 eral Emergency Management Agency the National 

17 Response Coordination Center or its successor; 

18 (18) developing a national emergency manage19 ment system that is capable of preparing for, pro20 tecting against, responding to, recovering from, and 

21 mitigating against catastrophic incidents; 

22 (19) assisting the President in carrying out the 

23 functions under the national preparedness goal and 

24 the national preparedness system and carrying out 


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1 all functions and authorities of the Director under 

2 the national preparedness System; 

3 (20) carrying out all authorities of the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency; and 

5 (21) otherwise carrying out the mission of the 

6 Federal Emergency Management Agency as de7 scribed in section 103. 

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

9 responsibilities under this section, the Director shall co10 ordinate the implementation of a risk-based, all-hazards 

11 strategy that builds those common capabilities necessary 

12 to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, 

13 or mitigate against natural disasters, acts of terrorism, 

14 and other man-made disasters, while also building the 

15 unique capabilities necessary to prepare for, protect 

16 against, respond to, recover from, or mitigate against the 

17 risks of specific types of incidents that pose the greatest 

18 risk to the Nation. 

19 (c) CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES.—If the Director de20 termines that there is a conflict between any authority of 

21 the Director under this Act, the amendments made by this 

22 Act, or the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer23 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and any 

24 authority of another Federal officer, the Director shall reVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:42 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

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1 quest that the President make such determinations as may 

2 be necessary regarding such authorities. 

3 SEC. 105. REGIONAL OFFICES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are in the Federal Emer5 gency Management Agency 10 regional offices, as identi6 fied by the Director of the Federal Emergency Manage7 ment Agency. 

8 (b) MANAGEMENT OF REGIONAL OFFICES.— 

9 (1) REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR.—Each Re10 gional Office shall be headed by a Regional Adminis11 trator who shall be appointed by the Director, after 

12 consulting with State, local, and tribal government 

13 officials in the region. Each Regional Administrator 

14 shall report directly to the Director and be in the 

15 Senior Executive Service. 

16 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Regional Admin18 istrator shall be appointed from among individ19 uals who have a demonstrated ability in and 

20 knowledge of emergency management and 

21 homeland security. 

22 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting a Re23 gional Administrator for a Regional Office, the 

24 Director shall consider the familiarity of an in25 dividual with the geographical area and demoVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:42 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

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1 graphic characteristics of the population served 

2 by such Regional Office. 

3 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Regional Administrator 

5 shall work in partnership with State, local, and trib6 al governments, emergency managers, emergency re7 sponse providers, medical providers, the private sec8 tor, nongovernmental organizations, multijuris9 dictional councils of governments, and regional plan10 ning commissions and organizations in the geo11 graphical area served by the Regional Office to carry 

12 out the responsibilities of a Regional Administrator 

13 under this section. 

14 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of 

15 a Regional Administrator include— 

16 (A) ensuring effective, coordinated, and in17 tegrated regional preparedness, protection, re18 sponse, recovery, and mitigation activities and 

19 programs for natural disasters, acts of ter20 rorism, and other man-made disasters (includ21 ing planning, training, exercises, and profes22 sional development); 

23 (B) assisting in the development of re24 gional capabilities needed for a national cata25 strophic response system; 


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1 (C) coordinating the establishment of ef2 fective regional operable and interoperable 

3 emergency communications capabilities; 

4 (D) staffing and overseeing 1 or more 

5 strike teams within the region under subsection 

6 (f), to serve as the focal point of the Federal 

7 Government’s initial response efforts for nat8 ural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other 

9 man-made disasters within that region, and 

10 otherwise building Federal response capabilities 

11 to respond to natural disasters, acts of ter12 rorism, and other man-made disasters within 

13 that region; 

14 (E) designating an individual responsible 

15 for the development of strategic and operational 

16 regional plans in support of the National Re17 sponse Plan; 

18 (F) fostering the development of mutual 

19 aid and other cooperative agreements; 

20 (G) identifying critical gaps in regional ca21 pabilities to respond to populations with special 

22 needs; 

23 (H) maintaining and operating a Regional 

24 Response Coordination Center or its successor; 

25 and 


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1 (I) performing such other duties relating 

2 to such responsibilities as the Director may re3 quire. 

4 (3) TRAINING AND EXERCISE REQUIRE5 MENTS.— 

6 (A) TRAINING.—The Director shall require 

7 each Regional Administrator to undergo specific 

8 training periodically to complement the quali9 fications of the Regional Administrator. Such 

10 training, as appropriate, shall include training 

11 with respect to the National Incident Manage12 ment System, the National Response Plan, and 

13 such other subjects as determined by the Direc14 tor. 

15 (B) EXERCISES.—The Director shall re16 quire each Regional Administrator to partici17 pate as appropriate in regional and national ex18 ercises. 

19 (d) AREA OFFICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is an Area Office for 

21 the Pacific and an Area Office for the Caribbean, as 

22 components in the appropriate Regional Offices. 

23 (2) ALASKA.—The Director shall establish an 

24 Area Office in Alaska, as a component in the appro25 priate Regional Office. 


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1 (e) REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

2 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each Regional Adminis3 trator shall establish a Regional Advisory Council. 

4 (2) NOMINATIONS.—A State, local, or tribal 

5 government located within the geographic area 

6 served by the Regional Office may nominate offi7 cials, including Adjutants General and emergency 

8 managers, to serve as members of the Regional Ad9 visory Council for that region. 

10 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Regional Advi11 sory Council shall— 

12 (A) advise the Regional Administrator on 

13 emergency management issues specific to that 

14 region; 

15 (B) identify any geographic, demographic, 

16 or other characteristics peculiar to any State, 

17 local, or tribal government within the region 

18 that might make preparedness, protection, re19 sponse, recovery, or mitigation more com20 plicated or difficult; and 

21 (C) advise the Regional Administrator of 

22 any weaknesses or deficiencies in preparedness, 

23 protection, response, recovery, and mitigation 

24 for any State, local, and tribal government 


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1 within the region of which the Regional Advi2 sory Council is aware. 

3 (f) REGIONAL OFFICE STRIKE TEAMS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In coordination with other 

5 relevant Federal agencies, each Regional Adminis6 trator shall oversee multi-agency strike teams au7 thorized under section 303 of the Robert T. Stafford 

8 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 5144) that shall consist of— 

10 (A) a designated Federal coordinating offi11 cer; 

12 (B) personnel trained in incident manage13 ment; 

14 (C) public affairs, response and recovery, 

15 and communications support personnel; 

16 (D) a defense coordinating officer; 

17 (E) liaisons to other Federal agencies; 

18 (F) such other personnel as the Director or 

19 Regional Administrator determines appropriate; 

20 and 

21 (G) individuals from the agencies with pri22 mary responsibility for each of the emergency 

23 support functions in the National Response 

24 Plan. 


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1 (2) OTHER DUTIES.—The duties of an indi2 vidual assigned to a Regional Office strike team 

3 from another relevant agency when such individual 

4 is not functioning as a member of the strike team 

5 shall be consistent with the emergency preparedness 

6 activities of the agency that employs such individual. 

7 (3) LOCATION OF MEMBERS.—The members of 

8 each Regional Office strike team, including rep9 resentatives from agencies other than the Depart10 ment, shall be based primarily within the region that 

11 corresponds to that strike team. 

12 (4) COORDINATION.—Each Regional Office 

13 strike team shall coordinate the training and exer14 cises of that strike team with the State, local, and 

15 tribal governments and private sector and non16 governmental entities which the strike team shall 

17 support when a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or 

18 other man-made disaster occurs. 

19 (5) PREPAREDNESS.—Each Regional Office 

20 strike team shall be trained as a unit on a regular 

21 basis and equipped and staffed to be well prepared 

22 to respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, 

23 and other man-made disasters, including cata24 strophic incidents. 


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1 (6) AUTHORITIES.—If the Director determines 

2 that statutory authority is inadequate for the pre3 paredness and deployment of individuals in strike 

4 teams under this subsection, the Director shall re5 port to Congress regarding the additional statutory 

6 authorities that the Director determines are nec7 essary. 

8 SEC. 106. NATIONAL INTEGRATION CENTER. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Fed10 eral Emergency Management Agency a National Integra11 tion Center. 

12 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal 

14 Emergency Management Agency, through the Na15 tional Integration Center, and in consultation with 

16 other Federal departments and agencies and the Na17 tional Advisory Council, shall ensure ongoing man18 agement and maintenance of the National Incident 

19 Management System, the National Response Plan, 

20 and any successor to such system or plan. 

21 (2) SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Na22 tional Integration Center shall periodically review, 

23 and revise as appropriate, the National Incident 

24 Management System and the National Response 

25 Plan, including— 


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1 (A) establishing, in consultation with the 

2 Director of the Corporation for National and 

3 Community Service, a process to better use vol4 unteers and donations; 

5 (B) improving the use of Federal, State, 

6 local, and tribal resources and ensuring the ef7 fective use of emergency response providers at 

8 emergency scenes; and 

9 (C) revising the Catastrophic Incident 

10 Annex, finalizing and releasing the Catastrophic 

11 Incident Supplement to the National Response 

12 Plan, and ensuring that both effectively address 

13 response requirements in the event of a cata14 strophic incident. 

15 (c) INCIDENT MANAGEMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (A) NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN.—The Di18 rector of the Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency, in consultation with the Secretary, 

20 shall ensure that the National Response Plan 

21 provides for a clear chain of command to lead 

22 and coordinate the Federal response to any nat23 ural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man24 made disaster. 


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1 (B) DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL EMER2 GENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—The chain of 

3 the command specified in the National Re4 sponse Plan shall— 

5 (i) provide for a role for the Director 

6 of the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency consistent with the role of the Di8 rector under this Act and the amendments 

9 made by this Act; and 

10 (ii) provide for a role for the Federal 

11 Coordinating Officer consistent with the 

12 responsibilities under section 302(b) of the 

13 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

14 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 5143(b)). 

16 (2) PRINCIPAL FEDERAL OFFICIAL.—The Prin17 cipal Federal Official (or the successor thereto) shall 

18 not— 

19 (A) direct or replace the incident command 

20 structure established at the incident; or 

21 (B) have directive authority over the Sen22 ior Federal Law Enforcement Official, Federal 

23 Coordinating Officer, or other Federal and 

24 State officials. 


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1 SEC. 107. CREDENTIALING AND TYPING. 

2 The Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

3 Agency shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 

4 with the administrators of the Emergency Management 

5 Assistance Compact, State, local, and tribal governments, 

6 and organizations that represent emergency response pro7 viders, to collaborate on developing standards for deploy8 ment capabilities, including credentialing of personnel and 

9 typing of resources likely needed to respond to natural dis10 asters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters. 

11 SEC. 108. DISABILITY COORDINATOR. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—After consultation with organiza13 tions representing individuals with disabilities, the Na14 tional Council on Disabilities, and the Interagency Coordi15 nating Council on Preparedness and Individuals with Dis16 abilities, established under Executive Order No. 13347 (6 

17 U.S.C. 312 note), the Director of the Federal Emergency 

18 Management Agency shall appoint a Disability Coordi19 nator. The Disability Coordinator shall report directly to 

20 the Director, in order to ensure that the needs of individ21 uals with disabilities are being properly addressed in emer22 gency preparedness and disaster relief. 

23 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Disability Coordinator 

24 shall be responsible for— 

25 (1) providing guidance and coordination on 

26 matters related to individuals with disabilities in 


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1 emergency planning requirements and relief efforts 

2 in the event of a natural disaster, act of terrorism, 

3 or other man-made disaster; 

4 (2) interacting with the staff of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency, the National 

6 Council on Disabilities, the Interagency Coordinating 

7 Council on Preparedness and Individuals with Dis8 abilities established under Executive Order No. 

9 13347 (6 U.S.C. 312 note), other agencies of the 

10 Federal Government, and State, local, and tribal 

11 government authorities regarding the needs of indi12 viduals with disabilities in emergency planning re13 quirements and relief efforts in the event of a nat14 ural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made 

15 disaster; 

16 (3) consulting with organizations that represent 

17 the interests and rights of individuals with disabil18 ities about the needs of individuals with disabilities 

19 in emergency planning requirements and relief ef20 forts in the event of a natural disaster, act of ter21 rorism, or other man-made disaster; 

22 (4) ensuring the coordination and dissemination 

23 of best practices and model evacuation plans for in24 dividuals with disabilities; 


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1 (5) ensuring the development of training mate2 rials and a curriculum for training of emergency re3 sponse providers, State, local, and tribal government 

4 officials, and others on the needs of individuals with 

5 disabilities; 

6 (6) promoting the accessibility of telephone hot7 lines and websites regarding emergency prepared8 ness, evacuations, and disaster relief; 

9 (7) working to ensure that video programming 

10 distributors, including broadcasters, cable operators, 

11 and satellite television services, make emergency in12 formation accessible to individuals with hearing and 

13 vision disabilities; 

14 (8) ensuring the availability of accessible trans15 portation options for individuals with disabilities in 

16 the event of an evacuation; 

17 (9) providing guidance and implementing poli18 cies to ensure that the rights and wishes of individ19 uals with disabilities regarding post-evacuation resi20 dency and relocation are respected; 

21 (10) ensuring that meeting the needs of individ22 uals with disabilities are included in the components 

23 of the national preparedness system established 

24 under section 644 of the Post-Katrina Emergency 

25 Management Reform Act of 2006; and 


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1 (11) any other duties as assigned by the Direc2 tor of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

3 SEC. 109. NATIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER. 

4 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘situa5 tional awareness’’ means information gathered from a va6 riety of sources that, when communicated to emergency 

7 managers and decision makers, can form the basis for inci8 dent management decisionmaking. 

9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Operations 

10 Center is the principal operations center for the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency and shall— 

12 (1) provide situational awareness and a com13 mon operating picture for the entire Federal Govern14 ment, and for State, local, and tribal governments as 

15 appropriate, in the event of a natural disaster, act 

16 of terrorism, or other man-made disaster; and 

17 (2) ensure that critical terrorism and disaster18 related information reaches government decision19 makers. 

20 SEC. 110. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Homeland Se22 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amend23 ed— 

24 (A) in section 501, by striking all after ‘‘In 

25 this title’’ and inserting ‘‘the term ‘tribal govVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:42 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

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1 ernment’ means the government of any entity 

2 described under section 2(10)(B).’’; 

3 (B) by striking sections 503 through 507, 

4 509, 510, 513, and 515; 

5 (C) in section 508— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each 

7 place that term appears and inserting ‘‘Di8 rector of Federal Emergency Management 

9 Agency’’; and 

10 (ii) in subsection (c)— 

11 (I) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

12 ‘‘in consultation with the Secretary,’’ 

13 before ‘‘and shall, to the extent prac14 ticable’’; and 

15 (II) in paragraph (3), by insert16 ing ‘‘, in consultation with the Sec17 retary,’’ before ‘‘shall designate’’; 

18 (D) in section 512(c), by striking ‘‘Admin19 istrator’’ each place that term appears and in20 serting ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

21 (E) in section 514— 

22 (i) by striking subsection (a); and 

23 (ii) redesignating subsections (b) and 

24 (c) as subsections (a) and (b), respectively. 


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1 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con2 tents for the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

3 U.S.C. 101) is amended by striking the items relat4 ing to sections 503 through 510, 513 and 515. 

5 SEC. 111. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

6 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to detract from 

7 the Department of Homeland Security’s primary mission 

8 to secure the homeland from terrorist attacks. 

9 TITLE II—TRANSFER AND 

10 SAVINGS PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title, unless otherwise provided or indicated 

13 by the context— 

14 (1) the term ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the meaning 

15 given to the term ‘‘agency’’ by section 551(1) of title 

16 5, United States Code; 

17 (2) the term ‘‘function’’ means any duty, obli18 gation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privi19 lege, activity, or program; and 

20 (3) the term ‘‘office’’ includes any office, ad21 ministration, agency, institute, unit, organizational 

22 entity, or component thereof. 

23 SEC. 202. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS. 

24 There are transferred to the Federal Emergency 

25 Management Agency established under section 101 of this 


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1 Act all functions which the Director of the Federal Emer2 gency Management Agency of the Department of Home3 land Security exercised before the date of the enactment 

4 of this title, including all the functions described under 

5 section 505 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (before 

6 the repeal of that section under section 104 of this Act). 

7 SEC. 203. PERSONNEL PROVISIONS. 

8 (a) APPOINTMENTS.—The Director of the Federal 

9 Emergency Management Agency may appoint and fix the 

10 compensation of such officers and employees, including in11 vestigators, attorneys, and administrative law judges, as 

12 may be necessary to carry out the respective functions 

13 transferred under this title. Except as otherwise provided 

14 by law, such officers and employees shall be appointed in 

15 accordance with the civil service laws and their compensa16 tion fixed in accordance with title 5, United States Code. 

17 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Director of 

18 the Federal Emergency Management Agency may obtain 

19 the services of experts and consultants in accordance with 

20 section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, and com21 pensate such experts and consultants for each day (includ22 ing traveltime) at rates not in excess of the rate of pay 

23 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

24 of such title. The Director of the Federal Emergency Man25 agement Agency may pay experts and consultants who are 


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1 serving away from their homes or regular place of busi2 ness, travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence 

3 at rates authorized by sections 5702 and 5703 of such 

4 title for persons in Government service employed intermit5 tently. 

6 SEC. 204. DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT. 

7 Except where otherwise expressly prohibited by law 

8 or otherwise provided by this title, the Director of the Fed9 eral Emergency Management Agency may delegate any of 

10 the functions transferred to the Director of the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency by this title and any 

12 function transferred or granted to such Director after the 

13 effective date of this title to such officers and employees 

14 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the Di15 rector may designate, and may authorize successive redele16 gations of such functions as may be necessary or appro17 priate. No delegation of functions by the Director of the 

18 Federal Emergency Management Agency under this sec19 tion or under any other provision of this title shall relieve 

20 such Director of responsibility for the administration of 

21 such functions. 

22 SEC. 205. REORGANIZATION. 

23 The Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

24 Agency is authorized to allocate or reallocate any function 

25 transferred under section 202 among the officers of the 


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1 Federal Emergency Management Agency, and to estab2 lish, consolidate, alter, or discontinue such organizational 

3 entities in the Federal Emergency Management Agency as 

4 may be necessary or appropriate. 

5 SEC. 206. RULES. 

6 The Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency is authorized to prescribe, in accordance with the 

8 provisions of chapters 5 and 6 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, such rules and regulations as the Director deter10 mines necessary or appropriate to administer and manage 

11 the functions of the Federal Emergency Management 

12 Agency. 

13 SEC. 207. TRANSFER AND ALLOCATIONS OF APPROPRIA14 TIONS AND PERSONNEL. 

15 Except as otherwise provided in this title, the per16 sonnel employed in connection with, and the assets, liabil17 ities, contracts, property, records, and unexpended bal18 ances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and 

19 other funds employed, used, held, arising from, available 

20 to, or to be made available in connection with the func21 tions transferred by this title, subject to section 1531 of 

22 title 31, United States Code, shall be transferred to the 

23 Federal Emergency Management Agency. Unexpended 

24 funds transferred pursuant to this section shall be used 


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1 only for the purposes for which the funds were originally 

2 authorized and appropriated. 

3 SEC. 208. INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS. 

4 The Director of the Office of Management and Budg5 et, at such time or times as the Director shall provide, 

6 is authorized to make such determinations as may be nec7 essary with regard to the functions transferred by this 

8 title, and to make such additional incidental dispositions 

9 of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, property, 

10 records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, au11 thorizations, allocations, and other funds held, used, aris12 ing from, available to, or to be made available in connec13 tion with such functions, as may be necessary to carry out 

14 the provisions of this title. The Director of the Office of 

15 Management and Budget shall provide for the termination 

16 of the affairs of all entities terminated by this title and 

17 for such further measures and dispositions as may be nec18 essary to effectuate the purposes of this title. 

19 SEC. 209. EFFECT ON PERSONNEL. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided by 

21 this title, the transfer pursuant to this title of full-time 

22 personnel (except special Government employees) and 

23 part-time personnel holding permanent positions shall not 

24 cause any such employee to be separated or reduced in 


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1 grade or compensation for one year after the date of trans2 fer of such employee under this title. 

3 (b) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITIONS.—Except as 

4 otherwise provided in this title, any person who, on the 

5 day preceding the effective date of this title, held a posi6 tion compensated in accordance with the Executive Sched7 ule prescribed in chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

8 and who, without a break in service, is appointed in the 

9 Federal Emergency Management Agency to a position 

10 having duties comparable to the duties performed imme11 diately preceding such appointment shall continue to be 

12 compensated in such new position at not less than the rate 

13 provided for such previous position, for the duration of 

14 the service of such person in such new position. 

15 SEC. 210. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

16 (a) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.— 

17 All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, 

18 agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, reg19 istrations, privileges, and other administrative actions— 

20 (1) which have been issued, made, granted, or 

21 allowed to become effective by the President, any 

22 Federal agency or official thereof, or by a court of 

23 competent jurisdiction, in the performance of func24 tions which are transferred under this title, and 


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1 (2) which are in effect at the time this title 

2 takes effect, or were final before the effective date 

3 of this title and are to become effective on or after 

4 the effective date of this title, 

5 shall continue in effect according to their terms until 

6 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in 

7 accordance with law by the President, the Director of the 

8 Federal Emergency Management Agency or other author9 ized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or by oper10 ation of law. 

11 (b) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions 

12 of this title shall not affect any proceedings, including no13 tices of proposed rulemaking, or any application for any 

14 license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending 

15 before the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the 

16 time this title takes effect, with respect to functions trans17 ferred by this title but such proceedings and applications 

18 shall continue. Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, 

19 appeals shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be 

20 made pursuant to such orders, as if this title had not been 

21 enacted, and orders issued in any such proceedings shall 

22 continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, 

23 or revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court of com24 petent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this 

25 subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the discontinuance 


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1 or modification of any such proceeding under the same 

2 terms and conditions and to the same extent that such 

3 proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if 

4 this title had not been enacted. 

5 (c) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of this 

6 title shall not affect suits commenced before the effective 

7 date of this title, and in all such suits, proceedings shall 

8 be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the 

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

10 not been enacted. 

11 (d) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, action, 

12 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Federal 

13 Emergency Management Agency, or by or against any in14 dividual in the official capacity of such individual as an 

15 officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

16 shall abate by reason of the enactment of this title. 

17 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO PRO18 MULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administrative ac19 tion relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regu20 lation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency re21 lating to a function transferred under this title may be 

22 continued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

23 with the same effect as if this title had not been enacted. 


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1 SEC. 211. SEPARABILITY. 

2 If a provision of this title or its application to any 

3 person or circumstance is held invalid, neither the remain4 der of this title nor the application of the provision to 

5 other persons or circumstances shall be affected. 

6 SEC. 212. TRANSITION. 

7 The Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

8 Agency is authorized to utilize— 

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

10 other personnel of the Federal Emergency Manage11 ment Agency with respect to functions transferred 

12 by this title; and 

13 (2) funds appropriated to such functions for 

14 such period of time as may reasonably be needed to 

15 facilitate the orderly implementation of this title. 

16 SEC. 213. REFERENCES. 

17 Any reference in any other Federal law, Executive 

18 order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any 

19 document of or pertaining to a department, agency, or of20 fice from which a function is transferred by this title— 

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

22 office is deemed to refer to the head of the depart23 ment, agency, or office to which such function is 

24 transferred; or 


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

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

3 to which such function is transferred. 

4 SEC. 214. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.—After consulta6 tion with the appropriate committees of the Congress and 

7 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the 

8 Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

9 shall prepare and submit to Congress recommended legis10 lation containing technical and conforming amendments to 

11 reflect the changes made by this Act. 

12 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

13 months after the effective date of this title, the Director 

14 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall sub15 mit the recommended legislation referred to under sub16 section (a). 

Æ 


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