SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE. 
(a) ORGANIZATION.—There is established in the exec-
utive branch a National Disaster Safety Board, which 
shall be an independent establishment, as defined in sec-
tion 104 of title 5, United States Code. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Board are— 
(1) to reduce loss of life, injury, and economic 
injury caused by future incidents by learning from 
natural hazards and public health incidents, includ-
ing the impacts and underlying factors of such inci-
dents, in a standardized way; 
(2) to maintain a focus that is future-looking 
and national in scope, by applying what the Board 
learns through the trends that emerge from the inci-
dents the Board reviews nationally to prevent loss of 
life, or human or economic injury, not only in the af-
fected jurisdiction, but nationally, as the Board de-
termines relevant; 
(3) in carrying out reviews, analyses, and rec-
ommendations, is not to be accusatory in nature and 
the Board shall not seek to find blame in any indi-
vidual or organization, or second-guess any relevant 
authorities; 
(4) to address systemic causes behind the loss 
of life and human or economic injury in incidents, 
including by recommending the augmentation of re-
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sources available to entities responsible for man-
aging incident consequences; and 
(5) while preventing economic injury as part of 
the mission of the Board, when relevant, to prioritize 
efforts that focus on lifesaving and injury preven-
tion, especially in disproportionately impacted com-
munities, as its work determines them to be. 
SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), 
the Board shall review and establish the facts, cir-
cumstances, and cause or probable cause of the loss 
of life, human injury, and economic injury due to a 
natural hazard or public health incident with 10 or 
more fatalities or that meets the requirements de-
scribed in paragraph (5) or (6) of subsection (b) 
that occurs after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(2) DUE TO A NATURAL HAZARD OR PUBLIC 
HEALTH
INCIDENT
DEFINED.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), the term ‘‘due to a natural hazard or 
public health incident’’ means a fatality that, if not 
for the natural hazard or public health incident, as 
the case may be, would not have occurred within the 
time frame of the incident, as defined by standards 
developed by the Board. 
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(b) DETERMINATION OF WHETHER INCIDENT WAR-
RANTS BOARD REVIEW.—In carrying out subsection (a), 
the Board— 
(1) may begin the review of an incident, includ-
ing by monitoring the natural hazard or public 
health incident and collecting facts, before the total 
number of fatalities is known if the Board deter-
mines that the natural hazard or public health inci-
dent has the potential to cause 10 or more fatalities 
at its onset, in accordance with the policies and pro-
cedures established by the Board; 
(2) may, by a two-thirds vote, decide that an in-
cident that caused 10 or more fatalities does not re-
quire a review and shall issue a public statement ex-
plaining the determination; 
(3) may, by a majority vote, decide to review 
any natural hazard or public health incident that oc-
curs after the date of enactment of this Act upon re-
quest from a representative of an affected State, 
Tribal government, or unit of local government, re-
gardless of the number of fatalities; 
(4) may, by a majority vote, decide to review 
any natural hazard or public health incident that oc-
curs after the date of enactment of this Act upon 
recommendation by the Office for the Protection of 
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Disproportionately Impacted Communities of the 
Board, which the Office may make because of the 
incident’s impacts on populations that are socially, 
medically, or economically vulnerable, as decided by 
the Office; and 
(5) may, by a majority vote, decide to review a 
natural hazard or public health incident that occurs 
after the date of enactment of this Act if— 
(A) the Board determines that information 
may be gained by the review that will be useful 
in reducing systemic causes behind the loss of 
life and human or economic injury; and 
(B) the incident— 
(i) did not result in 10 or more fatali-
ties; and 
(ii)(I) could have resulted in a large 
number of fatalities if not for swift inter-
vention or a shift in the course of events; 
or 
(II) resulted in, as determined by the 
Board— 
(aa) a significant amount of eco-
nomic or infrastructure damage; 
(bb) significant human displace-
ment; or 
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(cc) a significant number of se-
vere non-fatal injuries or cases of se-
vere illness; and 
(6) shall, by majority vote, determine whether 
each incident for which the President issues a major 
disaster declaration under section 401 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) meets the criteria for re-
view under paragraph (5). 
(c) NATURE OF REVIEW.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In carrying out a review 
under this Act, the Board shall— 
(A) conduct the review to determine the 
facts, conditions, and circumstances relating to 
the loss of life, human injury, and economic in-
jury due to an incident; 
(B) following an initial assessment of an 
incident by the Board, notify any individual or 
organization that the Board anticipates will be 
affected by the review as to the extent of the 
expected review response of the Board; 
(C) use the results of the review under 
subparagraph (A) to— 
(i) determine how and why people die 
and are injured during an incident; and 
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(ii) issue recommendations to prevent 
or mitigate the loss of life, human injury, 
or economic injury due to similar incidents; 
and 
(D) report on the facts and circumstances 
of the incident review, including the pre-inci-
dent resilience or vulnerabilities of the incident 
area or population. 
(2) GENERALIZED
NATURE
OF
REVIEWS.—A 
review of loss of life and injury conducted by the 
Board shall— 
(A) be generalized; 
(B) focus on trends across an incident; and 
(C) not aim to determine the exact indi-
vidual cause of death or injury of any affected 
people. 
(3) FACT-FINDING
PROCEEDING.—Any review 
of an incident by the Board under this Act shall be 
a fact-finding proceeding with no adverse parties. 
(4) LIMITATION OF APPLICABILITY OF OTHER 
ACTS.— 
(A) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT.— 
Any review proceedings of the Board under this 
Act shall not be— 
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(i) subject to the Administrative Pro-
cedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.); or 
(ii) conducted for the purpose of de-
termining the rights, liabilities, or blame of 
any person, as the review is not an adju-
dicatory proceeding. 
(B) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.—Chap-
ter 35 of title 44, United States Code (com-
monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 
Act’’), shall not apply to the review proceedings 
of the Board under this Act. 
(C) 
FEDERAL
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE 
ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Board. 
(5) INITIATING REVIEWS.—The Board shall ini-
tiate a review of an incident by monitoring the situa-
tion and assessing available facts to determine the 
appropriate review response, without interfering in 
any ongoing lifesaving and life sustaining efforts un-
derway by other entities. 
(6) ALIGNMENT AND COORDINATION.—In car-
rying out this Act, the Board shall coordinate with 
Federal, State, local, and Tribal entities to— 
(A) establish or adopt standard methods of 
measuring the impacts of natural hazards and 
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accessing response capacity and capabilities to 
maintain consistency and allow for the analysis 
of trends over time; 
(B) ensure that the standard data sets and 
formats necessary for reviews developed under 
subparagraph (A) are propagated among Fed-
eral, State, local, and tribal entities that may be 
involved in response operations; 
(C) leverage, to the extent practicable, 
data collected using standard data sets and for-
mats established under subparagraph (B) by 
Federal entities involved in response operations 
to avoid any duplication of data collection; and 
(D) during incident response operations, 
coordinate with partners active in the operation 
to collect data remotely or take other actions 
that the Board finds necessary to align and co-
ordinate the requirements of the review with 
ongoing operations, including through the re-
quirements of paragraph (7). 
(7) INCIDENT COMMAND.—The Board shall— 
(A) recognize the role of incident command 
systems to address incidents; 
(B) participate in the incident command 
system to identify and coordinate review needs 
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related to the preservation and collection of in-
formation and evidence; and 
(C) shall collect information and evidence 
from the incident command in a timely and rea-
sonable manner so as not to interfere with the 
operations of the incident command. 
(8) PARTIES TO THE REVIEW.— 
(A) PARTICIPANTS.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Board may invite 1 or more en-
tities to serve as a party in a review on a vol-
untary basis, and any party participant shall be 
required to follow all directions and instructions 
from the Board. 
(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In designating an 
entity to serve as a party under subparagraph 
(A), the Board may designate only a Federal, 
State, or local government agency or private or-
ganization whose employees, functions, activi-
ties, or products were involved in the incident, 
including responsible parties, and that can pro-
vide suitable qualified technical personnel to ac-
tively assist in the review. 
(C) REPRESENTATIVES OF ELIGIBLE ENTI-
TIES.—To the extent practicable, a representa-
tive proposed by an entity designated as a party 
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under subparagraph (A) to participate in the 
review may not be an individual who had direct 
involvement in the incident under review. 
(D) REVOCATION OF PARTY STATUS.—A 
designation as a party under subparagraph (A) 
may be revoked or suspended by the Board if 
the party fails to comply with assigned duties 
and instructions, withholds information, or oth-
erwise acts in a manner prejudicial or disrup-
tive to a review. 
(E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this paragraph shall be construed to establish a 
right for any entity to participate in a Board 
review as a party. 
(F) INTERNAL REVIEW BY A PARTY.—To 
assure coordination of concurrent efforts, a 
party to a review that conducts or authorizes an 
internal review of the processes and procedures 
of the party as a result of an incident that the 
Board is reviewing shall— 
(i) inform the Board of the nature of 
the review; and 
(ii) provide to the Board findings 
from the review. 
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(9) REVIEW PROCEDURES.—In addition to any 
procedures required under this Act, the Board shall 
determine and publish detailed review procedures as 
the Board determines necessary. 
(10) PRODUCTS.—The Board may use any me-
dium that will effectively convey the findings and 
recommendations of the Board to the targeted audi-
ence of such findings or recommendations. 
(d) REVIEW BY AFFECTED AUTHORITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—When the Board has com-
pleted the findings and recommendations or other 
products as a result of a review under this Act, the 
Board shall provide all affected States, Tribal Gov-
ernments, and units of local government, or their 
designees, an opportunity to review and comment 
not later than 30 days before the publication of the 
findings or recommendations. 
(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall make 
every reasonable effort, within its discretion, to re-
spond to requests for additional information and 
context that an affected jurisdiction may make and 
to edit their findings and recommendations with any 
useful additional information or context provided by 
any affected jurisdiction in its comments without af-
fecting the integrity or independence of the review 
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and its findings and recommendations, as the Board 
shall determine. 
(e) 
DISPROPORTIONATELY
IMPACTED
COMMU-
NITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a review of 
an incident under this section, including in deter-
mining whether to launch a review, the Board shall 
ensure the potential development of findings that 
would benefit the prevention of loss of life and 
human or economic injury to populations that are 
socially, medically, or economically vulnerable, as de-
cided by the Board. 
(2) DATA
REQUIREMENT.—To forward the 
analysis and identification of trends of fatalities and 
injuries as a result of incidents, the Board shall pub-
lish information regarding the number of fatalities 
and injuries, and the facts and circumstances sur-
rounding them, disaggregated by race, color or eth-
nicity, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, 
English proficiency, occupation, or economic status, 
and other demographic characteristics that the 
Board may determine appropriate. 
(f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER REVIEWS AND IN-
VESTIGATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements 
of this section, a review of a natural hazard incident 
by the Board under subsection (a)(1) shall have pri-
ority over any investigation by another department, 
agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Govern-
ment or a State, Tribal, or local government. 
(2) PARTICIPATION BY OTHER AGENCIES.—The 
Board shall provide for appropriate participation by 
other departments, agencies, or instrumentalities in 
a review conducted by the Board, except that an-
other department, agency, or instrumentality may 
not influence the final findings of the Board. 
(3) COORDINATION.—The Board shall coordi-
nate with all other Federal, State, Tribal, or local le-
gally mandated investigations or reviews and may 
share information with those entities, according to 
policies and procedures that the Board will provide, 
to ensure that appropriate findings and rec-
ommendations to reduce loss of life, injury, and eco-
nomic injury caused by future incidents are pro-
duced as efficiently as possible. 
(4) MEMORANDA
OF
UNDERSTANDING.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and biennially thereafter, the Chairman of the 
Board shall enter into memoranda of understanding 
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with the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology, the Administrator of the Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency, the Chairman 
of the Chemical Safety Board, and the Chairman of 
the National Transportation Safety Board, respec-
tively, and may enter into additional memoranda of 
understanding with any other Federal entity that re-
quests such due to the relationship that the require-
ments of the Federal entity may have with the re-
quirements with the Board, in order to— 
(A) determine the appropriate roles and re-
sponsibilities of the Board with respect to the 
other agency or board; 
(B) avoid any duplication of effort; and 
(C) ensure that appropriate findings and 
recommendations to reduce loss of life, injury, 
and economic injury caused by future incidents 
are provided. 
(g) PARTICIPATION IN SUPPORT OF ANOTHER AGEN-
CY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.— 
(A) INVESTIGATION
OF
ACTS
OF
VIO-
LENCE.—The Board may participate in an in-
vestigation of an act of violence in support of 
another Federal department or agency, or other 
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Federal investigative body with statutory au-
thority to lead such an investigation, if the head 
of the lead investigative agency determines that 
the participation of the Board would be bene-
ficial to reduce the likelihood of the loss of life 
and human or economic injury, for future simi-
lar incidents. 
(B) INVESTIGATION
OF
TECHNOLOGICAL 
INCIDENTS.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Board may 
participate in an investigation of a techno-
logical incident— 
(I) in support of another Federal 
department or agency, or other Fed-
eral investigative body with statutory 
authority to lead such an investiga-
tion, if the head of the lead investiga-
tive agency determines that the par-
ticipation of the Board would be bene-
ficial to reduce the likelihood of the 
loss of life and human or economic in-
jury, for future similar incidents; or 
(II) in the case of no statutory 
authority for another Federal depart-
ment or agency, or other Federal in-
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vestigative body, to lead such an in-
vestigation, as the lead investigative 
entity. 
(ii) 
MEMORANDA
OF
UNDER-
STANDING.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and bi-
ennially thereafter, the Chairman of the 
Board shall enter into memoranda of un-
derstanding with the heads of appropriate 
Federal agencies in order to— 
(I) determine the appropriate 
roles and responsibilities of the Board 
in investigating technological incidents 
with respect to the other agency; 
(II) avoid any duplication of ef-
fort; and 
(III) ensure that appropriate 
findings and recommendations to re-
duce loss of life, injury, and economic 
injury caused by future incidents are 
provided. 
(2) FINDINGS.—If the Board participates in an 
act of violence or technological incident investigation 
under subparagraph (A), the Board may issue inde-
pendent findings and recommendations notwith-
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standing the outcome of any investigation conducted 
by another Federal agency or other Federal inves-
tigative body. 
(3) CRIMINAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the Attor-
ney General, in consultation with the Chairperson, 
determines and notifies the Board that cir-
cumstances reasonably indicate that the act of vio-
lence or technological incident described in subpara-
graph (A) may have been caused by an intentional 
criminal act, the Board shall relinquish investigative 
priority to the responsible Federal law enforcement 
entity. 
(4) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—This section 
shall not be construed to affect the authority of an-
other department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
Federal Government to investigate an incident under 
applicable law or to obtain information directly from 
the parties involved in, and witnesses to, the inci-
dent. The Board and other departments, agencies, 
and instrumentalities shall ensure that appropriate 
information developed about the incident is ex-
changed in a timely manner. 
(h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Board may make 
the following types of technical assistance available to 
Federal, State, Tribal, and local government agencies and 
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to private entities as designated by a Federal, State, Trib-
al, or local government agency: 
(1) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Board shall 
disseminate best practices for the development of in-
ternal review organizations within State, Tribal, and 
local governments. 
(2) 
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
RECOMMENDA-
TIONS.—The Board— 
(A) may provide technical assistance to 
any entity identified as responsible for imple-
menting 
a 
recommendation 
under 
section 
5(a)(1) to assist the entity in implementing the 
recommendation; and 
(B) to the extent possible, shall provide the 
technical assistance described in subparagraph 
(A) in coordination with technical assistance of-
fered by another Federal department or agency. 
(3) PRIORITIZATION.—In offering technical as-
sistance under this subsection, the Board shall use 
a risk-based method of prioritization, as the Board 
determines appropriate. 
(i) FINDINGS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), not later than 1 year after the date on 
which the Board initiates a review conducted under 
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this section, the Board shall make the findings and 
relevant underlying data of the review available to 
the public. 
(2) EXTENSION
OF
DEADLINE.—The Chair-
person of the Board may extend the 1-year period 
described in paragraph (1) if the Chairperson, before 
the end of such 1-year period— 
(A) provides an explanation for the exten-
sion; and 
(B) makes available to the public all avail-
able interim findings and underlying data. 
SEC. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESPONSES. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—If the Board issues a rec-
ommendation about an incident, the Board shall— 
(1) explain the relationship between any rec-
ommendation and the results of a fact-finding re-
view; 
(2) identify each relevant entity responsible for 
making the change called for in the recommenda-
tion, including State, local, or private entities, as ap-
propriate; 
(3) publish any responses to the recommenda-
tion publicly; and 
(4) assess whether the responses adequately 
lower the likelihood that a future similar incident 
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will result in loss of life, or human or economic in-
jury in the view of the Board. 
(b) FEDERAL RESPONSES TO RECOMMENDATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—All Federal departments and 
agencies identified in a recommendation made by the 
Board shall reply to the recommendations not later 
than 90 days after the date on which the rec-
ommendation is published by the Board. 
(2) RESPONSE DESCRIBED.—A response under 
paragraph (1) made by a Federal department or 
agency shall include— 
(A) whether the department or agency in-
tends to adopt the recommendation in whole, in 
part, or not at all; 
(B) an explanation of the reasons for only 
adopting the recommendation in part or not at 
all; and 
(C) a proposed timetable for completing 
the action the Federal department or agency 
has agreed to. 
(3) PROGRESS
UPDATES.—A Federal depart-
ment or agency that agrees to adopt a recommenda-
tion of the Board shall— 
(A) track the progress of the department 
or agency toward completion; and 
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(B) provide an update to the Board, to be 
published publicly, periodically, and not less fre-
quently than annually. 
(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date on which a final determination is made on 
a recommendation under this section, the Board 
shall make a copy of the recommendation and re-
sponse to the recommendation available to the pub-
lic. 
(2) EXTENSION
OF
DEADLINE.—The Chair-
person of the Board may extend the 1-year period 
described in paragraph (1) if the Chairperson, before 
the end of such 1-year period— 
(A) provides an explanation for the exten-
sion; and 
(B) makes available to the public any 
available interim response to the recommenda-
tion and underlying data. 
(d) DISSEMINATION.—The Board shall propagate 
each recommendation issued under this section, including 
by— 
(1) incorporating the recommendation, and any 
related findings, into training material used by Fed-
eral, State, Tribal, and private training facilities 
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specializing in building resilience to and responding 
to and recovering from natural hazards and public 
health incidents, as the Board deems appropriate; 
(2) coordinating with professional associations 
related to building resilience to and responding to 
and recovering from natural hazards and public 
health incidents; 
(3) collaborating with relevant Federal, State, 
and Tribal authorities and private organizations; 
and 
(4) coordinating with private and public institu-
tions of higher education and research institutions. 
SEC. 6. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 
(a) STUDIES AND OTHER REPORTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall periodically 
submit a report containing the information described 
in paragraph (2) to— 
(A) Congress; 
(B) any department, agency, or instrumen-
tality of the Federal Government concerned 
with natural hazards and public health safety; 
(C) all State and Tribal governments; and 
(D) the general public. 
(2) INFORMATION
DESCRIBED.—The informa-
tion described in this paragraph is— 
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(A) the results of special studies on how to 
reduce morbidity and mortality from incidents; 
(B) an examination of techniques and 
methods of evaluating measures to protect the 
public from incidents and periodically publish 
recommended procedures for reviews; 
(C) evaluation and examination of the ef-
fectiveness of the findings of the Board about 
the natural hazard and public health resilience 
of other departments, agencies, and instrumen-
talities of the Federal Government and their ef-
fectiveness in preventing loss of life, or human 
or economic injury; and 
(D) recommend meaningful responses to 
reduce the likelihood of loss of life, or human 
or economic injury, according to the findings of 
the above-mentioned research, including na-
tional and regional policies and programs. 
(b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than June 1, 
2022, and once every 2 years thereafter, the Board shall 
submit a report to Congress, which shall include— 
(1) a statistical and analytical summary of the 
reviews conducted and reviewed by the Board during 
the prior 2 calendar years; 
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(2) a survey and summary of the recommenda-
tions made by the Board and the observed response 
to each recommendation, including the classification, 
containing a written justification and explanation of 
each recommendation as— 
(A) open, if, in the determination of the 
Board, sufficient action to fulfill the intent of 
the recommendation has not been taken and 
still should be; 
(B) closed, if, in the determination of the 
Board, sufficient action to fulfill the intent of 
the recommendation has been taken and no fur-
ther action is necessary; and 
(C) outdated, if, in the determination of 
the Board, the recommendation is no longer rel-
evant because of any change in circumstances 
or actions by parties other than the intended 
recipient of the recommendation; 
(3) an assessment of efforts of Federal, State, 
Tribal, and local governments to respond to rec-
ommendations made by the Board, if such entities 
have voluntarily provided information to the Board 
on the progress of the entity; 
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(4) a description of the training undertaken by 
the Board and its staff and persons sponsored by 
the Board; 
(5) a list of natural hazards and public health 
incidents that caused 10 or more fatalities that the 
Board did not review and a recommendation with 
justification by the Board of whether similar inci-
dents should be reviewed in the future; 
(6) a recommendation on how, if at all, the 
thresholds and triggers for a review by the Board 
should change; 
(7) an assessment of the sufficiency of Federal 
resources provided to State, Tribal, and local gov-
ernments in aggregate relative to any vulnerabilities 
that the Board determines the governments have; 
(8) a list of all requests for review from Gov-
ernors of States and territories and chief executives 
of Tribal governments or recommended by the office 
established under section 7(f)(2) that the Board re-
jected, including comments and recommendations 
from the Board regarding whether similar incidents 
should be reviewed in the future; and 
(9) a list of ongoing reviews that have exceeded 
the expected time allotted for completion by Board 
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order and an explanation for the additional time re-
quired to complete each such review. 
(c) DISSEMINATION.—The Board shall propagate the 
information described in subsection (a)(2), including by— 
(1) incorporating the information into training 
material used by Federal, State, Tribal, and private 
training facilities specializing in building resilience 
to and responding to and recovering from natural 
hazards and public health incidents, as the Board 
deems appropriate; 
(2) coordinating with professional associations 
related to building resilience to and responding to 
and recovering from natural hazards and public 
health incidents; 
(3) collaborating with relevant Federal, State, 
and Tribal authorities and private organizations; 
and 
(4) coordinating with private and public institu-
tions of higher education and research institutions. 
SEC. 7. APPOINTMENT AND ORGANIZATION. 
(a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Board shall be com-
posed of 7 members, who shall, in accordance with 
paragraph (2) and subject to paragraph (3), be ap-
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pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate. 
(2) PROCEDURE.— 
(A) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Presi-
dent shall, in consultation with the National 
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi-
cine and relevant professional associations and 
leaders in the private sector, appoint the 7 
members of the Board from among a list of 14 
individuals provided by both houses of Con-
gress, of which— 
(i) the majority leader of the Senate 
shall provide the names of 4 individuals; 
(ii) the minority leader of the Senate 
shall provide the names of 3 individuals; 
(iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives shall provide the names of 4 
individuals; and 
(iv) the minority leader of the House 
of Representatives shall provide the names 
of 3 individuals. 
(B) SUBSEQUENT
APPOINTMENTS.—Any 
vacancy of the Board shall be filled in the same 
manner as the original appointment. 
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(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Of the 7 members ap-
pointed under paragraph (1)— 
(A) not more than 4 members may be ap-
pointed from the same political party; 
(B) all members shall be appointed on the 
basis of technical qualification, professional 
standing, and demonstrated knowledge in emer-
gency management, fire management, emer-
gency medical services, public-health, engineer-
ing, social science, or behavioral science; 
(C) a minimum of 2 members shall have 
experience working at the State or municipal 
level in 1 of the fields described in subpara-
graph (B); and 
(D) a minimum of 2 members shall have 
demonstrated professional experience working 
with populations that have historically been 
more vulnerable to incidents because of their 
race, color, nationality, sex, age, disability, 
English proficiency, or economic status. 
(b) TERMS OF OFFICE AND REMOVAL.— 
(1) TERM OF OFFICE.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), the term of office of each member 
shall be 5 years. 
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(2) FILLING OF VACANCY.—An individual ap-
pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira-
tion of the term for which the predecessor of that 
individual was appointed is appointed for the re-
mainder of that term. 
(3) CONTINUATION UNTIL SUCCESSOR IS AP-
POINTED.—When the term of office of a member 
ends, the member may continue to serve until a suc-
cessor is appointed and confirmed. 
(4) REMOVAL.—The President may remove a 
member only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or 
malfeasance in office. Immediately upon removing a 
member of the Board, the President shall issue a 
public statement that details how the actions of the 
removed member met the criteria of this paragraph. 
(c) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 
(1) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall des-
ignate, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, a member appointed under subsection (b) to 
serve as the Chairperson of the Board. 
(2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall 
designate a member appointed under subsection (b) 
to serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Board and 
if the Chairperson is absent or unable to serve, or 
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if the position of Chairperson is vacant, the Vice 
Chairperson shall act as the Chairperson. 
(3) TERM OF OFFICE.—The Chairperson and 
Vice Chairperson shall each serve in such position 
for a term of 3 years. 
(d) DUTIES AND POWERS OF CHAIRPERSON.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson shall be the 
chief executive and administrative officer of the 
Board. 
(2) POWERS.—Subject to the general policies 
and decisions of the Board, the Chairperson shall— 
(A) appoint and supervise officers and em-
ployees, other than regular and full-time em-
ployees in the immediate offices of another 
member, necessary to carry out this Act; 
(B) fix the pay of officers and employees 
necessary to carry out this Act; 
(C) distribute business among the officers, 
employees, and administrative units of the 
Board; and 
(D) supervise the expenditures of the 
Board. 
(e) QUORUM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 
and (3), 4 members of the Board shall constitute a 
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