[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 26 (Monday, July 3, 2006)]
[Pages 1226-1228]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13407--Public Alert and Warning System

June 26, 2006

    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

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 (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

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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.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 June 26, 2006.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., June 27, 
2006]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on June 
28.