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Skriven 2006-06-26 23:35:38 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060626) for Mon, 2006 Jun 26
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Executive Order: Public Alert and Warning System
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 26, 2006

Executive Order: Public Alert and Warning System



By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States of America, including the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.),
and the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.),
it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to have an
effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to
alert and warn the American people in situations of war, terrorist attack,
natural disaster, or other hazards to public safety and well-being (public
alert and warning system), taking appropriate account of the functions,
capabilities, and needs of the private sector and of all levels of
government in our Federal system, and to ensure that under all conditions
the President can communicate with the American people.

Sec. 2. Functions of the Secretary of Homeland Security.

(a) To implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall:

(i) inventory, evaluate, and assess the capabilities and integration with
the public alert and warning system of Federal, State, territorial, tribal,
and local public alert and warning resources;

(ii) establish or adopt, as appropriate, common alerting and warning
protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the public
alert and warning system to enable interoperability and the secure delivery
of coordinated messages to the American people through as many
communication pathways as practicable, taking account of Federal
Communications Commission rules as provided by law;

(iii) ensure the capability to adapt the distribution and content of
communications on the basis of geographic location, risks, or personal user
preferences, as appropriate;

(iv) include in the public alert and warning system the capability to alert
and warn all Americans, including those with disabilities and those without
an understanding of the English language;

(v) through cooperation with the owners and operators of communication
facilities, maintain, protect, and, if necessary, restore communications
facilities and capabilities necessary for the public alert and warning
system;

(vi) ensure the conduct of training, tests, and exercises for the public
alert and warning system;

(vii) ensure the conduct of public education efforts so that State,
territorial, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, and the
American people understand the functions of the public alert and warning
system and how to access, use, and respond to information from the public
alert and warning system;

(viii) consult, coordinate, and cooperate with the private sector,
including communications media organizations, and Federal, State,
territorial, tribal, and local governmental authorities, including
emergency response providers, as appropriate;

(ix) administer the Emergency Alert System (EAS) as a critical component of
the public alert and warning system; and

(x) ensure that under all conditions the President of the United States can
alert and warn the American people.

(b) In performing the functions set forth in subsection (a) of this
section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall coordinate with the
Secretary of Commerce, the heads of other departments and agencies of the
executive branch (agencies), and other officers of the United States, as
appropriate, and the Federal Communications Commission.

(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security may issue guidance to implement this
order.

Sec. 3. Duties of Heads of Departments and Agencies.

(a) The heads of agencies shall provide such assistance and information as
the Secretary of Homeland Security may request to implement this order.

(b) In addition to performing the duties specified under subsection (a) of
this section:

(i) the Secretary of Commerce shall make available to the Secretary of
Homeland Security, to assist in implementing this order, the capabilities
and expertise of the Department of Commerce relating to standards,
technology, telecom-munications, dissemination systems, and weather;

(ii) the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Secretary of Homeland
Security requirements for the public alert and warning system necessary to
ensure proper coordination of the functions of the Department of Defense
with the use of such system;

(iii) the Federal Communications Commission shall, as provided by law,
adopt rules to ensure that communications systems have the capacity to
transmit alerts and warnings to the public as part of the public alert and
warning system; and

(iv) the heads of agencies with capabilities for public alert and warning
shall comply with guidance issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security
under subsection 2(c) of this order, and shall develop and maintain such
capabilities in a manner consistent and interoperable with the public alert
and warning system.

Sec. 4. Reports on Implementation. Not later than 90 days after the date of
this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the
President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism, a plan for the implementation of this order, and shall
thereafter submit reports from time to time, and not less often than once
each year, on such implementation, together with any recommendations the
Secretary finds appropriate.

Sec. 5. Amendment, Revocation, and Transition.

(a) Section 3(b)(4) of Executive Order 12472 of April 3, 1984, as amended,
is further amended by striking "Emergency Broadcast System" and inserting
in lieu thereof "Emergency Alert System".

(b) Not later than 120 days after the date of this order, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, after consultation with the Assistant to the President
for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, shall issue guidance under
section 2(c) of this order that shall address the subject matter of the
presidential memorandum of September 15, 1995, for the Director, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, on Presidential Communications with the
General Public During Periods of National Emergency, and upon issuance of
such guidance such memorandum is revoked.

(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure an orderly and
effective transition, without loss of capability, from

alert and warning systems available as of the date of this order to the
public alert and warning system for which this order provides.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented in a manner
consistent with:

(i) applicable law and presidential guidance, including Executive Order
12472 of April 3, 1984, as amended, and subject to the availability of
appropriations; and

(ii) the authorities of agencies, or heads of agencies, vested by law.

(b) This order shall not be construed to impair or otherwise affect the
functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating
to budget, administrative, and legislative proposals.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any rights or
benefits, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a
party against the United States, its agencies, instrumentalities, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

June 26, 2006.

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