Emergency Response Assistance Program

  • Thread starter Thread starter dZ
  • Start date Start date
D

dZ

New member
Source

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 7, 2000


April 6, 2000

MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
ADMINISTRATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE

SUBJECT: Designation of the Attorney General as the Lead
Official for the Emergency Response Assistance
Program Under Sections 1412 and 1415 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1997 (Public Law 104-201) (the "Act")


Under sections 1412(a) and 1415(a) of the Act, the Secretary of Defense
is responsible for implementing the Emergency Response Assistance
Program, commonly known as the "Domestic Preparedness Program," to
provide civilian personnel of Federal, State, and local agencies with
training and expert advice regarding emergency responses to a use or
threatened use of a weapon of mass destruction or related materials,
and for testing and improving the responses of such agencies to
emergencies involving chemical or biological weapons and related
materials.

Under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of
the United States, including sections 1412(a)(2) and 1415(d)(1) of the
Act, I designate the Attorney General to replace the Secretary of
Defense as the lead Federal official with responsibility for carrying
out these programs.

These designations are effective October 1, 2000, and constitute
designations pursuant to sections 1412(a)(2) and 1415(d)(1) of the Act.

The Attorney General is authorized and directed to publish this
memorandum in the Federal Register.


WILLIAM J. CLINTON

(Edited to fix link) - TBM


[This message has been edited by TheBluesMan (edited April 08, 2000).]
 
Great. Anything that gives "Butch" Reno more power has got to be A Bad Thing.

Off topic, as an aside, does UBB just not like long URL's? The one above didn't work, but I was able to easily find this memo at whitehouse.gov

You've got to wonder what's the reason for changing cabinet secretaries on something like this.
 
OK, I think the link is fixed now.

It does make me wonder why the Attorney General would be in charge of the preparedness of federal, state and local agencies when responding to a disaster related to a weapon of mass destruction.

The Attorney General doesn't even have to be a lawyer, IIRC. Talk about unqualified! Seems to me that the Secretary of Defense would be more knowledgable in these matters.


------------------
RKBA!
"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security"
Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 4 Concealed Carry is illegal in Ohio.
Ohioans for Concealed Carry Website
 
October 1st is the date where nationwide mandatory use of "smart ID" becomes law. This ID will have a bunch of private info in it, and a thumb print as well. Supposedly, no commerce of any kind will be allowed without this card being presented to merchants. No tickets for mass transit may be sold, nor boarding allowed, without a scan of the ID.

This law was passed VERY quietly in 1997.
 
Dennis, I can't find that law in any of my sources. Would you post a link, or a title and chapter? Thanks.

LawDog
 
I work in the consumer trends industry. I have never heard of anything like that. It sounds like the concern over licenses with magnetic strips to me...

[This message has been edited by Erik (edited April 25, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Erik (edited April 25, 2000).]
 
WASHINGTON HEADLINES http://shns.scripps.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=TERRORDRILL-04-24-00&cat=WW
10 days in May; a test about terrorists

By LISA HOFFMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
April 24, 2000

WASHINGTON - In an unprecedented exercise next month, a phalanx of the U.S.
government's top officials will engage in a massive field test of the nation's preparedness
to respond to a terrorist attack within its borders.

Sometime during 10 still-secret days in May, seven Cabinet leaders will receive a chilling,
though mock, alert that unknown terrorists have unleashed chemical or biological weapons
simultaneously on two cities _ Denver and Portsmouth, N.H.

Attorney General Janet Reno; the secretaries of defense, energy, transportation,
agriculture, and health and human services; and the head of the Environmental Protection
Agency will have to drop whatever they are doing and preside over the federal
government's emergency response to such a dreaded mass attack.

Called "Operation TopOff" _ for "top officials" _ the field exercise will involve thousands of
participants including the governors of the two states, the National Guard and hundreds of
state and local emergency and medical personnel. The directors of the FBI and the
Federal Emergency Management Agency also will play a lead role.

A companion drill, possibly involving a pretend attack involving nuclear weapons, will occur
in the Washington, D.C., area.

Until the mock weapons of mass destruction attacks are announced, only a handful of
organizers will know the nature and dimensions of the planned assault. The type of deadly
agent used, where it is released, how many people are felled, who the perpetrators are _
all will remain unknown until the exercise is launched sometime between May 7 to May 29.

"The players know very, very little," Justice Department spokesman Doug Johnson said.

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens said he is completely in the dark. "It could be a scenario of
anything from Denver's water supplies being poisoned to an airborne particulate being
released," Owens said. "We are literally waiting hour by hour for the test."

Mindful that real terrorists _ knowing that the government's attention will be focused
elsewhere _ might view this as a fine time to stage an actual attack, the agencies are
taking special precautions.

"We're aware that could occur and we have taken appropriate measures," Johnson said.

Among the elements to be evaluated in the mock disaster are the time it takes to identify
the agent, ability to limit its spread, efforts to treat the wounded without causing further
contamination, search for the terrorists involved, and coordinate the dozens of agencies
involved.

For several years, the federal government has been training state and local police,
firefighters, hospital personnel and others in managing the aftermath of a deadly terrorist
incident.

Denver and Portsmouth were chosen as sites of the mock attack because they represent a
range of size and preparation. Denver has undergone the training while Portsmouth has
not. Officials in each city also were eager to participate in the May drill.

Planning for the drill, which was ordered by Congress, began about a year ago. It is
expected to cost no more than $3.5 million, the amount Capitol Hill authorized to cover
the expenses involved.

Federal and state officials intend to begin publicizing the upcoming fake attack this week
so citizens will not be blindsided or panicked by the exercise.

"We don't want to scare the public," FEMA spokesman Mark Wilson said.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top