About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 1 (February 19, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govyia0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 







              Congressional
            *.Research Service






National Preparedness Policy: Homeland

Security Issues in the 116th Congress



February 19, 2019

The United States is threatened by a wide array of hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism,
viral pandemics, and man-made disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The way the nation
strategically prioritizes and allocates resources to prepare for all hazards can significantly influence the
ultimate cost to society, both in the number of human casualties and the scope and magnitude of economic
damage. As authorized in part by the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA; P.L. 109-
295), the President, acting through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator,
is directed to create a national preparedness goal (NPG) and develop a national preparedness system
(NPS) that will help ensure the Nation's ability to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against
natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters (6 U.S.C. §§743-744).
Currently, NPG and NPS implementation is guided by Presidential Policy Directive 8: National
Preparedness (PPD-8), issued by then-President Barack Obama on March 30, 2011. PPD-8 rescinded the
existing Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8: National Preparedness (HSPD-8), which was
released and signed by then-President George W. Bush on December 17, 2003.
As directed by PPD-8, the NPS is supported by numerous strategic component policies, national planning
frameworks (e.g., the National Response Framework), and federal interagency operational plans (e.g., the
Protection Federal Interagency Operational Plan). In brief, the NPS and its many component policies
represent the federal government's strategic vision and planning, with input from the whole community,
as it relates to preparing the nation for all hazards. The NPS also establishes methods for achieving the
nation's desired level of preparedness for both federal and nonfederal partners by identifying the core
capabilities necessary to achieve the NPG. A capability is defined in law as the ability to provide the
means to accomplish one or more tasks under specific conditions and to specific performance standards. A
capability may be achieved with any combination of properly planned, organized, equipped, trained, and
exercised personnel that achieves the intended outcome. A core capability is defined in PPD-8 as a
capability that is necessary to prepare for the specific types of incidents that pose the greatest risk to the
security of the Nation.
Furthermore, the NPS includes annual National Preparedness Reports that document progress made
toward achieving national preparedness objectives. The reports rely heavily on self-assessment processes,
called the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness

                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                  https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                      IN11051

CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most