KESSLER Act
Bill: S.4521 | Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John (R-TX)
Policy area: Emergency Management

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
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.

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Everyone Safe and Securing 
Lives by Emergency Readiness Act'' or the ``KESSLER Act''.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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'' means an incident, whether caused by human or 
        natural events, in which multiple levels of United States 
        critical infrastructure are destroyed, damaged, or interrupted 
        in sufficient magnitude to threaten the health, safety, or 
        general welfare of the civilian population of the United 
        States.
            (3) Critical infrastructure.--The term ``critical 
        infrastructure'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        1016(e) of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2001 
        (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)).
            (4) National exercise.--The term ``national exercise'' 
        means a national exercise described in section 648(b) of the 
        Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 
        748(b)).
            (5) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government'' 
        means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 
        Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
        component band, or component reservation, that is individually 
        identified (including parenthetically) in the most recent list 
        published pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized 
        Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).

SEC. 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.) and other relevant disaster response laws; and
            (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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.
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