440 
(5) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS GOAL.—The term ‘‘national prepared-
ness goal’’ means the national preparedness goal established under sec-
tion 20503 of this title. 
(6) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘national pre-
paredness system’’ means the national preparedness system established 
under section 20504 of this title. 
(7) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘national training 
program’’ means the national training program established under sec-
tion 20508(a) of this title. 
(8) OPERATIONAL READINESS.—The term ‘‘operational readiness’’ 
means the capability of an organization, an asset, a system, or equip-
ment to perform the missions or functions for which it is organized or 
designed. 
(9) PERFORMANCE MEASURE.—The term ‘‘performance measure’’ 
means a quantitative or qualitative characteristic used to gauge the re-
sults of an outcome compared to its intended purpose. 
(10) PERFORMANCE
METRIC.—The term ‘‘performance metric’’ 
means a particular value or characteristic used to measure the outcome 
that is generally expressed in terms of a baseline and a target. 
(11) PREVENTION.—The term ‘‘prevention’’ means any activity un-
dertaken to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of ter-
rorism. 
(12) RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘resources’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 11101 of this title. 
(13) TYPE.—The term ‘‘type’’ means a classification of resources 
that refers to the capability of a resource. 
(14) TYPED; TYPING.—The terms ‘‘typed’’ and ‘‘typing’’ have the 
meanings given the terms in section 11101 of this title. 
§ 20502. Development of national preparedness goal and na-
tional preparedness system 
To prepare the Nation for all hazards, including natural disasters, acts 
of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, the President, consistent with 
the declaration of policy under section 601 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195) and chapter 
111 of this title, shall develop a national preparedness goal and a national 
preparedness system. 
§ 20503. National preparedness goal 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting through the Administrator, 
shall complete, revise, and update, as necessary, a national preparedness 
goal that defines the target level of preparedness to ensure the Nation’s 
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ability to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against natural 
disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters. 
(b) CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND 
NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN.—The national preparedness goal, to the great-
est extent practicable, shall be consistent with the National Incident Man-
agement System and the National Response Plan. 
§ 20504. National preparedness system 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting through the Administrator, 
shall develop a national preparedness system to enable the Nation to meet 
the national preparedness goal. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—The national preparedness system shall include the 
following components: 
(1) Target capabilities and preparedness priorities. 
(2) Equipment and training standards. 
(3) Training and exercises. 
(4) Comprehensive assessment system. 
(5) Remedial action management program. 
(6) Federal response capability inventory. 
(7) Reporting requirements. 
(8) Federal preparedness. 
(c) NATIONAL PLANNING SCENARIOS.—The national preparedness system 
may include national planning scenarios. 
§ 20505. National planning scenarios 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination with the heads of 
appropriate Federal agencies and the National Advisory Council, may de-
velop planning scenarios to reflect the relative risk requirements presented 
by all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other 
man-made disasters, to provide the foundation for the flexible and adaptive 
development of target capabilities and the identification of target capability 
levels to meet the national preparedness goal. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing, revising, and replacing national plan-
ning scenarios, the Administrator shall ensure that the scenarios— 
(1) reflect the relative risk of all hazards and illustrate the potential 
scope, magnitude, and complexity of a broad range of representative 
hazards; and 
(2) provide the minimum number of representative scenarios nec-
essary to identify and define the tasks and target capabilities required 
to respond to all hazards. 
§ 20506. Target capabilities and preparedness priorities 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GUIDELINES ON TARGET CAPABILITIES.—The 
Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agen-
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cies, the National Council on Disability, and the National Advisory Council, 
shall complete, revise, and update, as necessary, guidelines to define risk- 
based target capabilities for Federal, State, local, and tribal government 
preparedness that will enable the Nation to prevent, respond to, recover 
from, and mitigate against all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of 
terrorism, and other man-made disasters. 
(b) DISTRIBUTION OF GUIDELINES.—The Administrator shall ensure that 
the guidelines are provided promptly to the appropriate committees of Con-
gress and the States. 
(c) OBJECTIVES.—The Administrator shall ensure that the guidelines are 
specific, flexible, and measurable. 
(d) TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENT.—With respect to analyzing and as-
sessing the risk of acts of terrorism, the Administrator shall consider— 
(1) the variables of threat, vulnerability, and consequences related to 
population (including transient commuting and tourist populations), 
areas of high population density, critical infrastructure, coastline, and 
international borders; and 
(2) the most current risk assessment available from the Chief Intel-
ligence Officer of the Department of the threats of terrorism against 
the United States. 
(e) PREPAREDNESS PRIORITIES.—In establishing the guidelines under 
subsection (a), the Administrator shall establish preparedness priorities that 
appropriately balance the risk of all hazards, including natural disasters, 
acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, with the resources re-
quired to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the haz-
ards. 
(f) MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS.—The Administrator may provide support 
for the development of mutual aid agreements in States. 
§ 20507. Equipment and training standards 
(a) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination with the 
heads of appropriate Federal agencies and the National Advisory Coun-
cil, shall support the development, promulgation, and updating, as nec-
essary, of national voluntary consensus standards for the performance, 
use, and validation of equipment used by Federal, State, local, and 
tribal governments and nongovernmental emergency response providers. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The national voluntary consensus standards 
shall— 
(A) be designed to achieve equipment and other capabilities con-
sistent with the national preparedness goal, including the safety 
and health of emergency response providers; 
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(B) to the maximum extent practicable, be consistent with exist-
ing national voluntary consensus standards; 
(C) take into account, as appropriate, threats that may not have 
been contemplated when the existing standards were developed; 
and 
(D) focus on maximizing operability, interoperability, inter-
changeability, durability, flexibility, efficiency, efficacy, portability, 
sustainability, and safety. 
(b) TRAINING STANDARDS.—The Administrator shall— 
(1) support the development, promulgation, and regular updating, as 
necessary, of national voluntary consensus standards for training; and 
(2) ensure that the training provided under the national training 
program is consistent with the standards. 
(c) CONSULTATION WITH STANDARDS ORGANIZATIONS.—In carrying out 
this section, the Administrator shall consult with representatives of relevant 
public- and private-sector national voluntary consensus standards develop-
ment organizations. 
§ 20508. Training and exercises 
(a) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination with the 
heads of appropriate Federal agencies, the National Council on Dis-
ability, and the National Advisory Council, shall carry out a national 
training program to implement the national preparedness goal, Na-
tional Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and 
other related plans and strategies. 
(2) TRAINING PARTNERS.—In developing and implementing the na-
tional training program, the Administrator shall— 
(A) work with government training facilities, academic institu-
tions, private organizations, and other entities that provide special-
ized, state-of-the-art training for emergency managers or emer-
gency response providers; and 
(B) utilize, as appropriate, training courses provided by commu-
nity colleges, State and local public safety academies, State and 
private universities, and other facilities. 
(b) NATIONAL EXERCISE PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination with the 
heads of appropriate Federal agencies, the National Council on Dis-
ability, and the National Advisory Council, shall carry out a national 
exercise program to test and evaluate the national preparedness goal, 
National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and 
other related plans and strategies. 
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