Eo 13618

Executive Orders

EO 13618

Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their statutory authority to
carry out the provisions of this order.
(b) Nothing contained in this order shall relieve a person from any requirement to obtain a license or other authorization from any department
or agency of the United States Government in compliance with applicable
laws and regulations subject to the jurisdiction of the department or agency.
Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary
of State, is hereby authorized to submit the recurring and final reports to
the Congress on the national emergency declared in this order, consistent
with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of
IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).
Sec. 7. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
The White House,
June 25, 2012.

Executive Order 13618 of July 6, 2012

Assignment of National Security and Emergency
Preparedness Communications Functions
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions. Survivable, resilient, enduring, and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial, and tribal governments;
private sector entities; and the public, allies, and other nations. Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national
security, effectively manage emergencies, and improve national resilience.
The views of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors,
and the public must inform the development of national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications policies, programs, and capabilities.
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Sec. 2. Executive Office Responsibilities.
Sec. 2.1. Policy coordination, guidance, dispute resolution, and periodic inprogress reviews for the functions described and assigned herein shall be
provided through the interagency process established in Presidential Policy

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Directive-1 of February 13, 2009 (Organization of the National Security
Council System) (PPD–1).
Sec. 2.2. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP) shall: (a) issue an annual memorandum to the NS/EP Communications Executive Committee (established in section 3 of this order) highlighting national priorities for Executive Committee analyses, studies, research, and development regarding NS/EP communications;
(b) advise the President on the prioritization of radio spectrum and wired
communications that support NS/EP functions; and
(c) have access to all appropriate information related to the test, exercise,
evaluation, and readiness of the capabilities of all existing and planned NS/
EP communications systems, networks, and facilities to meet all executive
branch NS/EP requirements.
Sec. 2.3. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism and the Director of OSTP shall make recommendations to
the President, informed by the interagency policy process established in
PPD–1, with respect to the exercise of authorities assigned to the President
under section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47
U.S.C. 606). The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism and the Director of OSTP shall also jointly monitor the
exercise of these authorities, in the event of any delegation, through the
process established in PPD–1 or as the President otherwise may direct.
Sec. 3. The NS/EP Communications Executive Committee.
Sec. 3.1. There is established an NS/EP Communications Executive Committee (Executive Committee) to serve as a forum to address NS/EP communications matters.
Sec. 3.2. The Executive Committee shall be composed of Assistant Secretary-level or equivalent representatives designated by the heads of the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Commerce, and Homeland Security,
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the General Services Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission, as well
as such additional agencies as the Executive Committee may designate. The
designees of the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Executive Committee.

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Sec. 3.3. The responsibilities of the Executive Committee shall be to: (a) advise and make policy recommendations to the President, through the PPD–
1 process, on enhancing the survivability, resilience, and future architecture of NS/EP communications, including what should constitute NS/EP
communications requirements;
(b) develop a long-term strategic vision for NS/EP communications and
propose funding requirements and plans to the President and the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), through the PPD–1 process, for NS/EP communications initiatives that benefit multiple agencies or
other Federal entities;
(c) coordinate the planning for, and provision of, NS/EP communications
for the Federal Government under all hazards;

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(d) promote the incorporation of the optimal combination of hardness,
redundancy, mobility, connectivity, interoperability, restorability, and security to obtain, to the maximum extent practicable, the survivability of NS/
EP communications under all circumstances;
(e) recommend to the President, through the PPD–1 process, the regimes
to test, exercise, and evaluate the capabilities of existing and planned communications systems, networks, or facilities to meet all executive branch
NS/EP communications requirements, including any recommended remedial actions;
(f) provide quarterly updates to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and the Director of OSTP, through the
Co-Chairs, on the status of Executive Committee activities and develop an
annual NS/EP communications strategic agenda utilizing the PPD–1 process;
(g) enable industry input with respect to the responsibilities established
in this section; and
(h) develop, approve, and maintain a charter for the Executive Committee.
Sec. 4. Executive Committee Joint Program Office.
Sec. 4.1. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish an Executive
Committee Joint Program Office (JPO) to provide full-time, expert, and administrative support for the Executive Committee’s performance of its responsibilities under section 3.3 of this order. Staff of the JPO shall include
detailees, as needed and appropriate, from agencies represented on the Executive Committee. The Department of Homeland Security shall provide resources to support the JPO. The JPO shall be responsive to the guidance
of the Executive Committee.
Sec. 4.2. The responsibilities of the JPO shall include: coordination of programs that support NS/EP missions, priorities, goals, and policy; and, when
directed by the Executive Committee, the convening of governmental and
nongovernmental groups (consistent with the Federal Advisory Committees
Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.)), coordination of activities, and development of policies for senior official review and approval.

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Sec. 5. Specific Department and Agency Responsibilities.
Sec. 5.1. The Secretary of Defense shall: (a) oversee the development, testing, implementation, and sustainment of NS/EP communications that are
directly responsive to the national security needs of the President, Vice
President, and senior national leadership, including: communications with
or among the President, Vice President, White House staff, heads of state
and government, and Nuclear Command and Control leadership; Continuity of Government communications; and communications among the
executive, judicial, and legislative branches to support Enduring Constitutional Government;
(b) incorporate, integrate, and ensure interoperability and the optimal
combination of hardness, redundancy, mobility, connectivity, interoperability, restorability, and security to obtain, to the maximum extent practicable, the survivability of NS/EP communications defined in section
5.1(a) of this order under all circumstances, including conditions of crisis
or emergency;

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(c) provide to the Executive Committee the technical support necessary
to develop and maintain plans adequate to provide for the security and
protection of NS/EP communications; and
(d) provide, operate, and maintain communication services and facilities
adequate to execute responsibilities consistent with Executive Order 12333
of December 4, 1981, as amended.
Sec. 5.2. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall: (a) oversee the development, testing, implementation, and sustainment of NS/EP communications,
including: communications that support Continuity of Government; Federal, State, local, territorial, and tribal emergency preparedness and response communications; non-military executive branch communications
systems; critical infrastructure protection networks; and non-military communications networks, particularly with respect to prioritization and restoration;
(b) incorporate, integrate, and ensure interoperability and the necessary
combination of hardness, redundancy, mobility, connectivity, interoperability, restorability, and security to obtain, to the maximum extent practicable, the survivability of NS/EP communications defined in section
5.2(a) of this order under all circumstances, including conditions of crisis
or emergency;
(c) provide to the Executive Committee the technical support necessary
to develop and maintain plans adequate to provide for the security and
protection of NS/EP communications;
(d) receive, integrate, and disseminate NS/EP communications information to the Federal Government and State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as appropriate, to establish situational awareness, priority setting
recommendations, and a common operating picture for NS/EP communications information;
(e) satisfy priority communications requirements through the use of commercial, Government, and privately owned communications resources,
when appropriate;
(f) maintain a joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration, and reconstitution of NS/EP
communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging
threats, crisis, or emergency;

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(g) serve as the Federal lead for the prioritized restoration of communications infrastructure and coordinate the prioritization and restoration of
communications, including resolution of any conflicts in or among priorities, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense when activities referenced in section 5.1(a) of this order are impacted, consistent with the National Response Framework. If conflicts in or among priorities cannot be
resolved between the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, they
shall be referred for resolution in accordance with section 2.1 of this order;
and
(h) within 60 days of the date of this order, in consultation with the Executive Committee where appropriate, develop and submit to the President,
through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, a detailed plan that describes the Department of Homeland Security’s organization and management structure for its NS/EP communications functions, including the Government Emergency Telecommunications

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Service, Wireless Priority Service, Telecommunications Service Priority
program, Next Generation Network Priority program, the Executive Committee JPO, and relevant supporting entities.
Sec. 5.3. The Secretary of Commerce shall: (a) provide advice and guidance
to the Executive Committee on the use of technical standards and metrics
to support execution of NS/EP communications;
(b) identify for the Executive Committee requirements for additional
technical standards and metrics to enhance NS/EP communications;
(c) engage with relevant standards development organizations to develop
appropriate technical standards and metrics to enhance NS/EP communications;
(d) develop plans and procedures concerning radio spectrum allocations,
assignments, and priorities for use by agencies and executive offices;
(e) develop, maintain, and publish policies, plans, and procedures for the
management and use of radio frequency assignments, including the authority to amend, modify, or revoke such assignments, in those parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum assigned to the Federal Government; and
(f) administer a system of radio spectrum priorities for those spectrumdependent telecommunications resources belonging to and operated by the
Federal Government and certify or approve such radio spectrum priorities,
including the resolution of conflicts in or among such radio spectrum priorities during a crisis or emergency.
Sec. 5.4. The Administrator of General Services shall provide and maintain
a common Federal acquisition approach that allows for the efficient centralized purchasing of equipment and services that meet NS/EP communications requirements. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair
or otherwise affect the procurement authorities granted by law to an agency
or the head thereof.

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Sec. 5.5. With respect to the Intelligence Community, the DNI, after consultation with the heads of affected agencies, may issue such policy directives and guidance as the DNI deems necessary to implement this order.
Procedures or other guidance issued by the heads of elements of the Intelligence Community shall be in accordance with such policy directives or
guidelines issued by the DNI.
Sec. 5.6. The Federal Communications Commission performs such functions as are required by law, including: (a) with respect to all entities licensed or regulated by the Federal Communications Commission: the extension, discontinuance, or reduction of common carrier facilities or services; the control of common carrier rates, charges, practices, and classifications; the construction, authorization, activation, deactivation, or closing of
radio stations, services, and facilities; the assignment of radio frequencies
to Federal Communications Commission licensees; the investigation of violations of pertinent law; and the assessment of communications service
provider emergency needs and resources; and
(b) supporting the continuous operation and restoration of critical communications systems and services by assisting the Secretary of Homeland
Security with infrastructure damage assessment and restoration, and by
providing the Secretary of Homeland Security with information collected
by the Federal Communications Commission on communications infrastructure, service outages, and restoration, as appropriate.

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Sec. 6. General Agency Responsibilities. All agencies, to the extent consistent with law, shall: (a) determine the scope of their NS/EP communications requirements, and provide information regarding such requirements
to the Executive Committee;
(b) prepare policies, plans, and procedures concerning communications
facilities, services, or equipment under their management or operational
control to maximize their capability to respond to the NS/EP needs of the
Federal Government;
(c) propose initiatives, where possible, that may benefit multiple agencies or other Federal entities;
(d) administer programs that support broad NS/EP communications goals
and policies;
(e) submit reports annually, or as otherwise requested, to the Executive
Committee, regarding agency NS/EP communications activities;
(f) devise internal acquisition strategies in support of the centralized acquisition approach provided by the General Services Administration pursuant to section 5.4 of this order; and
(g) provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with timely reporting on
NS/EP communications status to inform the common operating picture required under 6 U.S.C. 321(d).
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) For the purposes of this order, the word
‘‘agency’’ shall have the meaning set forth in section 6.1(b) of Executive
Order 13526 of December 29, 2009.
(b) Executive Order 12472 of April 3, 1984, as amended, is hereby revoked.
(c) Executive Order 12382 of September 13, 1982, as amended, is further
amended by striking the following language from section 2(e): ‘‘in his capacity as Executive Agent for the National Communications System’’.
(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(e) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and
subject to the availability of appropriations.

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(f) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
The White House,
July 6, 2012.

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