KESSLER Act

To require the President to develop a strategy to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of the civilian population of the United States in case of catastrophic incidents disabling 1 or more critical infrastructure sectors or significantly disrupting the critical functions of modern society, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Keeping Everyone Safe and Securing Lives by Emergency Readiness Act KESSLER Act 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) the integration of connected technologies has become essential to the operation of modern critical infrastructure; (2) reliance on connected technologies and interoperability across critical infrastructure sectors create new vulnerabilities that may be used against the United States; (3) adversaries of the United States have targeted critical infrastructure and are likely to increase attacks on essential services in the United States should global conflicts escalate; (4) while strong defenses and mitigation measures are essential to the safety of the United States, no strategy can stop all catastrophic events; (5) the Federal Government must prepare Federal, State, and local governments, along with the people of the United States, to promote the general welfare of the civilian population of the United States even if most or all critical infrastructure sectors are impacted by catastrophic events; and (6) such preparations must include coordination with State, local, and Tribal governments, private sector entities, and individual citizens. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Basic need The term basic need (A) means any good, service, or activity necessary to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the civilian population of the United States; and (B) includes— (i) food; (ii) water; (iii) shelter; (iv) reliable energy; (v) basic communication services; and (vi) public safety. (2) Catastrophic incident The term catastrophic incident (3) Critical infrastructure The term critical infrastructure 42 U.S.C. 5195c(e) (4) National exercise The term national exercise 6 U.S.C. 748(b) (5) Tribal government The term Tribal government 25 U.S.C. 5131 4. Strategy to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of the civilian population of the United States (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and submit to Congress a strategy to— (1) provide for the basic needs of the civilian population of the United States that is impacted by catastrophic incidents in the United States; (2) coordinate response efforts with State and local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit relief organizations; (3) promote personal and local readiness and non-reliance on government relief during periods of heightened tension or after catastrophic incidents; and (4) develop international partnerships with allied nations for the provision of relief services and goods. (b) Elements of the strategy The strategy developed under subsection (a) shall include a description of— (1) actions the President will take to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population of the United States in a catastrophic incident are met; (2) how the President will coordinate and facilitate agreements with non-Federal entities to multiply resources and enhance relief capabilities, including— (A) State and local governments; (B) Tribal governments; (C) State disaster relief agencies; (D) State and local disaster relief managers; (E) State National Guards; (F) law enforcement and first response entities; and (G) nonprofit relief services; (3) actions the President will take to enhance individual resiliency to the effects of a catastrophic incident, which actions shall include— (A) readiness alerts to the public during periods of elevated threat; (B) efforts to enhance domestic supply and availability of critical goods and basic necessities; and (C) information campaigns to ensure the public is aware of response plans and services that will be activated when necessary; (4) efforts the President will undertake and agreements the President will seek with international allies to enhance the readiness of the United States to provide for the general welfare; (5) how the strategic plan will be implemented should multiple levels of critical infrastructure be destroyed or taken offline entirely for an extended period of time; (6) how the strategic plan will be made operational within the larger response strategy of the United States; and (7) the authorities the President would implicate in responding to a catastrophic incident. (c) Assumptions In designing the strategy under subsection (a), the President shall account for certain factors to make the strategy operationally viable, including the assumption that— (1) multiple levels of critical infrastructure have been taken offline or destroyed by catastrophic incidents or the effects of catastrophic incidents; (2) impacted sectors may include— (A) the transportation sector; (B) the communication sector; (C) the energy sector; (D) the healthcare and public health sector; (E) the water and wastewater sector; and (F) the financial sector; (3) State and local governments have been equally affected or made largely inoperable by catastrophic incidents or the effects of catastrophic incidents; (4) the emergency has exceeded the response capabilities of State and local governments under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. (5) the United States military is sufficiently engaged in armed or cyber conflict with State or non-State adversaries, or is otherwise unable to augment domestic response capabilities in a significant manner due to a catastrophic incident. (d) Existing plans The President may incorporate existing contingency plans in the strategy developed under subsection (a) so long as those contingency plans are amended to be operational in accordance with the requirements under this section. (e) Availability The strategy developed under subsection (a)— (1) shall be made available to Congress and appropriate government entities; and (2) may include a classified, or other restricted, annex. (f) Delegation The President may delegate all or some of the authority under this section to the Secretary of Homeland Security or a designee thereof. 5. Implementation plan Not later than 90 days after the issuance of the strategy required under section 4, the President shall issue a plan to implement and operationalize the strategy, which shall include— (1) steps the President will take to prepare implicated entities for mobilization under the strategy; and (2) specific actions the President will take to— (A) ensure the continued readiness of the United States to implement the strategy; (B) educate the public and non-Federal entities on the strategy and the role individual citizens should play to ensure the objectives of the strategy are met; (C) ensure the objectives of the strategy are met; and (D) ensure foreign adversaries are not able to undermine the operationalization of the strategy. 6. National response exercise (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the issuance of the implementation plan required under section 5, the Department of Homeland Security shall lead a national exercise, in coordination with the appropriate government agencies, to test and enhance the operationalization of the implementation plan. (b) Requirements A national exercise conducted under this section shall include participation from most or all entities implicated by the strategy required under section 4, including— (1) State, local, and Tribal governments; (2) information sharing and analysis centers; and (3) owners and operators of critical infrastructure. 7. Recommendations (a) In general The President shall provide recommendations to Congress for— (1) actions that should be taken to prepare the United States to implement the strategy required under section 4, increase readiness, and address preparedness gaps for responding to the impacts and effects of catastrophic incidents on citizens of the United States; and (2) additional authorities that should be considered for Federal agencies and the President to more effectively implement the strategy required under section 4. (b) Inclusion in reports The President may include the recommendations required under subsection (a) in a report submitted under section 8. 8. Report on strategy, implementation plan, and national exercise Not later than 1 year after the date on which Department of Homeland Security leads the national exercise under section 6, the President shall submit to Congress a report that includes— (1) a description of the efforts of the President to develop and update the strategy required under section 4; (2) a description of the efforts of the President to develop and update the implementation plan required under section 5; and (3) an analysis of the effectiveness and benefit of the national exercise conducted under section 6.

Summary: Keeping Everyone Safe and Securing Lives by Emergency Readiness Act or the KESSLER Act This bill directs the President to develop a national strategy to ensure the health and safety of the U.S. civilian population in case of catastrophic incidents. Specifically, the President must develop and submit to Congress a strategy to provide for the basic needs of the civilian population that is impacted by catastrophic incidents in the United States; coordinate response efforts with state and local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit relief organizations; promote personal and local readiness and non-reliance on government relief during periods of heightened tension or after catastrophic incidents; and develop international partnerships with allied nations for the provision of relief services and goods. The President must issue a plan to implement and operationalize the strategy. The Department of Homeland Security shall lead a national exercise to test and enhance the operationalization of the implementation plan. The President must provide recommendations for (1) actions that should be taken to prepare the United States to implement the strategy, increase readiness, and address preparedness gaps; and (2) additional authorities that should be considered to more effectively implement the strategy.