I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6038 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to direct the President to modernize the integrated public alert 
and warning system of the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2008 
Mr. GRAVES (for himself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to direct the President to mod-
ernize the integrated public alert and warning system 
of the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Integrated Public Alert 
and Warning System Modernization Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) numerous technologies exist to enable the 
Federal Government to vastly enhance its public 
alert and warning system; 
(2) the potential benefits of these enhancements 
include— 
(A) greater security, survivability, and re-
dundancy of the system; 
(B) an improved ability to notify remote 
locations; 
(C) the ability to geographically target and 
deliver alerts and warnings to multiple devices; 
and 
(D) the ability to allow individuals to re-
quest specific alerts and warnings; 
(3) a modern, integrated public alert and warn-
ing system will better enable government officials to 
provide civilian populations with timely and effective 
warnings of disasters, such as the devastating tor-
nados and floods in the Midwest in 2008; and 
(4) the Federal Government should modernize 
its alert and warning system to improve its ability 
to alert the residents of the United States of all po-
tential hazards under all conditions. 
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SEC. 3. INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYS-
TEM MODERNIZATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5132) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(e) INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT
AND WARNING 
SYSTEM MODERNIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide timely 
and effective disaster warnings under this section, 
the President, acting through the Director of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall— 
‘‘(A) modernize the integrated public alert 
and warning system of the United States (in 
this section referred to as the ‘public alert and 
warning system’) to ensure that the President 
under all conditions can alert and warn govern-
mental authorities and the civilian population in 
areas endangered by disasters; and 
‘‘(B) implement the public alert and warn-
ing system. 
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION
REQUIREMENTS.—In 
carrying out paragraph (1), the Director shall— 
‘‘(A) assign to the National Continuity 
Programs Directorate, or its successor, respon-
sibility for advising the Director on the mod-
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ernization and implementation of the public 
alert and warning system; 
‘‘(B) establish or adopt, as appropriate, 
common alerting and warning protocols, stand-
ards, terminology, and operating procedures for 
the public alert and warning system; 
‘‘(C) include in the public alert and warn-
ing system the capability to adapt the distribu-
tion and content of communications on the 
basis of geographic location, risks, or personal 
user preferences, as appropriate; 
‘‘(D) include in the public alert and warn-
ing system the capability to alert and warn in-
dividuals with disabilities and individuals with 
limited English proficiency; and 
‘‘(E) ensure the conduct of training, tests, 
and exercises for the public alert and warning 
system. 
‘‘(3) SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS.—The public 
alert and warning system shall— 
‘‘(A) incorporate multiple communications 
technologies; 
‘‘(B) be designed to adapt to, and incor-
porate, future technologies for communicating 
directly with the public; 
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