Public Alert and Warning System

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;
    (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, 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.

(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.

    (Presidential Sig.)B

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    June 26, 2006.