Sunday, February 1, 2009

H.R. 645 and an obama administration...

yo! okay... the people in the obama administration are starting off right, eh? what happened with katrina was simply preparation for this... the only difference is that faulty FEMA trailers are now going to be on military bases... as is already known, various troops are being trained to prepare for an 'emergency' here in the states... is there a possible connection with the 'day of service' obama has touted, and the military service folks like rohm emmanuel tout? they need enough people to serve both here, and in the middle east... i smell preparation for martial law here, and the privatising of government facilities.

60 DAYS after the date of this being enacted, the camps are going up, in NOT FEWER than 6 places...

so, i'm still waiting for democracy to happen after the 20th of january...? riiiiiight.

stay positive, good people.

peace, much peace.
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http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-645

HR 645 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 645

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2009

Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition
to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned


A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘National Emergency Centers Establishment Act’.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a)
In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6
national emergency centers on military installations.

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure--

(1)
to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to
individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major
disaster;

(2)
to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and
ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;

(3)
to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of
preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private,
and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and

(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a)
In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense, shall designate not fewer than 6 military
installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency
centers.

(b) Minimum Requirements- A site designated as a national emergency center shall be--

(1)
capable of meeting for an extended period of time the housing, health,
transportation, education, public works, humanitarian and other
transition needs of a large number of individuals affected by an
emergency or major disaster;

(2) environmentally safe and shall not pose a health risk to individuals who may use the center;

(3)
capable of being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster
preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures;

(4)
capable of housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet
training and first responders coordination requirements during
nondisaster periods;

(5)
capable of hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to
temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs;

(6)
required to consist of a complete operations command center, including
2 state-of-the art command and control centers that will comprise a
24/7 operations watch center as follows:

(A) one of the command and control centers shall be in full ready mode; and

(B) the other shall be used daily for training; and

(7)
easily accessible at all times and be able to facilitate handicapped
and medical facilities, including during an emergency or major disaster.

(c)
Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not
fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:

(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.

(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.

(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.

(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.

(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.

(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.

(d)
Preference for Designation of Closed Military Installations- Wherever
possible, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense, shall designate a closed military installation as
a site for a national emergency center. If the Secretaries of Homeland
Security and Defense jointly determine that there is not a sufficient
number of closed military installations that meet the requirements of
subsections (b) and (c), the Secretaries shall jointly designate
portions of existing military installations other than closed military
installations as national emergency centers.

(e)
Transfer of Control of Closed Military Installations- If a closed
military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not
later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of
Defense shall transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security
administrative jurisdiction over such closed military installation.

(f)
Cooperative Agreement for Joint Use of Existing Military Installations-
If an existing military installation other than a closed military
installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later
than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Homeland
Security and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a cooperative
agreement to provide for the establishment of the national emergency
center.

(g) Reports-

(1)
PRELIMINARY REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting
jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a
report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an outline of the reasons why the site was selected;

(B) an outline of the need to construct, repair, or update any existing infrastructure at the site;

(C) an outline of the need to conduct any necessary environmental clean-up at the site;

(D)
an outline of preliminary plans for the transfer of control of the site
from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Homeland Security, if
necessary under subsection (e); and

(E)
an outline of preliminary plans for entering into a cooperative
agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the
site, if necessary under subsection (f).

(2)
UPDATE REPORT- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with
the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that
contains for each designated site--

(A) an update on the information contained in the report as required by paragraph (1);

(B) an outline of the progress made toward the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(C)
an outline of the progress made toward entering a cooperative agreement
for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if
necessary under subsection (f); and

(D)
recommendations regarding any authorizations and appropriations that
may be necessary to provide for the establishment of a national
emergency center at the site.

(3)
FINAL REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the
Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains
for each designated site--

(A) finalized information detailing the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(B)
the finalized cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national
emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(C) any additional information pertinent to the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(4)
ADDITIONAL REPORTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly
with the Secretary of Defense, may submit to Congress additional
reports as necessary to provide updates on steps being taken to meet
the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

This Act does not affect--

(1)
the authority of the Federal Government to provide emergency or major
disaster assistance or to implement any disaster mitigation and
response program, including any program authorized by the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); or

(2) the authority of a State or local government to respond to an emergency.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There
is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available
until expended.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following definitions apply:

(1)
CLOSED MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term ‘closed military installation’
means a military installation, or portion thereof, approved for closure
or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of
1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) that meet all, or 2 out of the 3 following requirements:

(A) Is located in close proximity to a transportation corridor.

(B) Is located in a State with a high level or threat of disaster related activities.

(C) Is located near a major metropolitan center.

(2)
EMERGENCY- The term ‘emergency’ has the meaning given such term in
section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(3)
MAJOR DISASTER- The term ‘major disaster’ has the meaning given such
term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(4)
MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term ‘military installation’ has the meaning
given such term in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).