42 U.S.C. § 5197e — Security regulations

**(a) Establishment** The Administrator shall establish such security requirements and safeguards, including restrictions with respect to access to information and property as the Administrator considers necessary. **(b) Limitations on employee access to information** No employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall be permitted to have access to information or property with respect to which access restrictions have been established under this section, until it shall have been determined that no information is contained in the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other investigative agency of the Government indicating that such employee is of questionable loyalty or reliability for security purposes, or if any such information is so disclosed, until the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall have conducted a full field investigation concerning such person and a report thereon shall have been evaluated in writing by the Administrator. **(c) National security positions** No employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall occupy any position determined by the Administrator to be of critical importance from the standpoint of national security until a full field investigation concerning such employee shall have been conducted by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and a report thereon shall have been evaluated in writing by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In the event such full field investigation by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management develops any data reflecting that such applicant for a position of critical importance is of questionable loyalty or reliability for security purposes, or if the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for any other reason considers it to be advisable, such investigation shall be discontinued and a report thereon shall be referred to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for evaluation in writing. Thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may refer the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the conduct of a full field investigation by such Bureau. The result of such latter investigation by such Bureau shall be furnished to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for action. **(d) Employee oaths** Each Federal employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency acting under the authority of this subchapter, except the subjects of the United Kingdom and citizens of Canada specified in [section 5197(b) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section5197/b&num=0&edition=prelim), shall execute the loyalty oath or appointment affidavits prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Each person other than a Federal employee who is appointed to serve in a State or local organization for emergency preparedness shall before entering upon duties, take an oath in writing before a person authorized to administer oaths, which oath shall be substantially as follows: “I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter. “And I do further swear (or affirm) that I do not advocate, nor am I a member or an affiliate of any organization, group, or combination of persons that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence; and that during such time as I am a member of ______ (name of emergency preparedness organization), I will not advocate nor become a member or an affiliate of any organization, group, or combination of persons that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence.” After appointment and qualification for office, the director of emergency preparedness of any State, and any subordinate emergency preparedness officer within such State designated by the director in writing, shall be qualified to administer any such oath within such State under such regulations as the director shall prescribe. Any person who shall be found guilty of having falsely taken such oath shall be punished as provided in [section 1621 of title 18](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1621&num=0&edition=prelim).