Executive Order 13407

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 28, 2006 / Presidential Documents

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Presidential Documents

Executive Order 13407 of June 26, 2006

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;

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(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;

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 28, 2006 / Presidential Documents
(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, telecommunications, 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.

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(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.

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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.

W
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 26, 2006.
[FR Doc. 06–5829
Filed 6–27–06; 8:45 am]

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