National Emergency Management Act (“Act”) defines the term emergency management as the governmental function that coordinates and integrates all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, or mitigate against threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters[i].

Pursuant to the Act, the Administrator of the Agency (“Administrator”) prepares and submits to the appropriate committees of Congress a plan to establish and implement a Surge Capacity Force for deployment of individuals to respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, including catastrophic incidents[ii].

The Act directs the Administrator to coordinate with the heads of other appropriate federal agencies and provide evacuation preparedness technical assistance to state, local, and tribal governments[iii].

The Administrator has to develop an efficient, transparent, and flexible logistics system for procurement and delivery of goods and services necessary for an effective and timely response to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters and for real-time visibility of items at each point throughout the logistics system[iv].

The Administrator also establishes a prepositioned equipment program to preposition standardized emergency equipment in at least eleven locations to sustain and replenish critical assets used by State, local, and tribal governments in response to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters[v].

Further, the Administrator also enters into agreements with organizations to provide funds to emergency response providers to provide education and training in life supporting first aid to children[vi].

The Administrator takes appropriate measures to update and improve the information technology systems of the Federal Emergency Management Agency[vii].

In order to prepare the Nation for all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, the President, consistent with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act[viii] and the Homeland Security Act of 2002[ix] develops a national preparedness goal and a national preparedness system[x].

The Act directs the Administrator to develop, coordinate, and maintain:

• a National Disaster Recovery Strategy to serve as a guide to recovery efforts after major disasters and emergencies[xi],
• a National Disaster Housing Strategy to serve as a guide to short-term and long-term housing needs of individuals and households affected by a major disaster[xii],
• guidelines to accommodate individuals with disabilities[xiii],
• a National Emergency Child Locator Center within the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children[xiv].
• a National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System to help reunify families separated after an emergency or major disaster[xv].

The President, acting through the Administrator, in coordination with State, local, and tribal governments establishes and conducts a pilot program.  The pilot program will be designed to make better use of existing rental housing, located in areas covered by a major disaster declaration, in order to provide timely and cost-effective temporary housing assistance to individuals and households eligible for assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, where alternative housing options are less available or less cost-effective[xvi].

The Administrator also develops and implements a program to provide training on the prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse of Federal disaster relief assistance relating to the response to or recovery from natural disasters and acts of terrorism or other man-made disasters and ways to identify such potential waste, fraud, and abuse[xvii].

[i] 6 USCS § 701.

[ii] 6 USCS § 711.

[iii] 6 USCS § 721.

[iv] 6 USCS § 724.

[v] 6 USCS § 725.

[vi] 6 USCS § 726.

[vii] 6 USCS § 727.

[viii] 42 USCS § 5195.

[ix] 6 USCS § 311.

[x] 6 USCS § 742.

[xi] 6 USCS § 771.

[xii] 6 USCS § 772.

[xiii] 6 USCS § 773.

[xiv] 6 USCS § 774.

[xv] 6 USCS § 775.

[xvi] 6 USCS § 776.

[xvii] 6 USCS § 797.