6 U.S.C. § 748 — Training and exercises

Page 401 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 748a evant public and private sector national vol- untary consensus standards development organi- zations. (Pub. L. 109–295, title VI, § 647, Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1426.) § 748. Training and exercises (a) National training program (1) In general Beginning not later than 180 days after Octo- ber 4, 2006, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agen- cies, the National Council on Disability, and the National Advisory Council, shall carry out a national training program to implement the national preparedness goal, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies. (2) Training partners In developing and implementing the na- tional training program, the Administrator shall— (A) work with government training facili- ties, academic institutions, private organi- zations, and other entities that provide spe- cialized, state-of-the-art training for emer- gency managers or emergency response pro- viders; and (B) utilize, as appropriate, training courses provided by community colleges, State and local public safety academies, State and pri- vate universities, and other facilities. (b) National exercise program (1) In general Beginning not later than 180 days after Octo- ber 4, 2006, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of appropriate Federal agen- cies, the National Council on Disability, and the National Advisory Council, shall carry out a national exercise program to test and evalu- ate the national preparedness goal, National Incident Management System, National Re- sponse Plan, and other related plans and strat- egies. (2) Requirements The national exercise program— (A) shall be— (i) as realistic as practicable, based on current risk assessments, including cred- ible and emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences, and designed to stress the national preparedness system; (ii) designed, as practicable, to simulate the partial or complete incapacitation of a State, local, or tribal government; (iii) carried out, as appropriate, with a minimum degree of notice to involved par- ties regarding the timing and details of such exercises, consistent with safety con- siderations; (iv) designed to provide for the system- atic evaluation of readiness and enhance operational understanding of the incident command system and relevant mutual aid agreements; (v) designed to address the unique re- quirements of populations with special needs, including the elderly; and (vi) designed to promptly develop after- action reports and plans for quickly incor- porating lessons learned into future oper- ations; and (B) shall include a selection of model exer- cises that State, local, and tribal govern- ments can readily adapt for use and provide assistance to State, local, and tribal govern- ments with the design, implementation, and evaluation of exercises (whether a model ex- ercise program or an exercise designed lo- cally) that— (i) conform to the requirements under subparagraph (A); (ii) are consistent with any applicable State, local, or tribal strategy or plan; and (iii) provide for systematic evaluation of readiness. (3) National level exercises The Administrator shall periodically, but not less than biennially, perform national ex- ercises for the following purposes: (A) To test and evaluate the capability of Federal, State, local, and tribal govern- ments to detect, disrupt, and prevent threat- ened or actual catastrophic acts of ter- rorism, especially those involving weapons of mass destruction. (B) To test and evaluate the readiness of Federal, State, local, and tribal govern- ments to respond and recover in a coordi- nated and unified manner to catastrophic in- cidents. (Pub. L. 109–295, title VI, § 648, Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1427; Pub. L. 110–53, title IV, §§ 402, 403, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 302, 303; Pub. L. 116–64, § 3, Oct. 9, 2019, 133 Stat. 1123.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (b)(2)(A)(i). Pub. L. 116–64 inserted ‘‘and emerging’’ after ‘‘credible’’. 2007—Subsec. (b)(2)(A)(iv) to (vi). Pub. L. 110–53, § 402, added cls. (iv) to (vi) and struck out former cls. (iv) and (v) which read as follows: ‘‘(iv) designed to provide for systematic evaluation of readiness; and ‘‘(v) designed to address the unique requirements of populations with special needs; and’’. Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 110–53, § 403, in introductory provisions, substituted ‘‘shall include a selection of model exercises that State, local, and tribal govern- ments can readily adapt for use and provide assistance to State, local, and tribal governments with the design, implementation, and evaluation of exercises (whether a model exercise program or an exercise designed lo- cally)’’ for ‘‘shall provide assistance to State, local, and tribal governments with the design, implementa- tion, and evaluation of exercises’’. § 748a. Prioritization of facilities Not later than 180 days after October 5, 2018, the Administrator shall provide guidance and training on an annual basis to State, local, and Indian tribal governments, first responders, and utility companies on— (1) the need to prioritize assistance to hos- pitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities to ensure that such health care facilities remain functioning or return to