Presidential Policy Directive (PPD-8)

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

March 30 I

2011

PRESIDENTIAL POLICY DIRECTIVE!PPD-B
SUBJECT ,

National Preparedness

This directive is aimed at strengthening the security and
resilience of the United States through systematic preparation
for the threats that pose the greatest risk to the security
of the Nation, including acts of terrorism, cyber attacks,
pandemics, and catastrophic natural disasters.
Our national
preparedness is the shared responsibility of all levels of
government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and individual
citizens.
Everyone can contribute to safeguarding the Nation
from harm . As such, while this directive is intended to
galvanize action by the Federal Government, it is also aimed at
facilitating an integrated, all-of-Nation, capabilities-based
approach to preparedness .
Therefore, I hereby direct the development of a national
preparedness goal that identifies the core capabilities
necessary for preparedness and a national preparedness system
to guide activities that will enable the Nation to achieve the
goal.
The system will allow the Nation to track the progress
of our ability to build and improve the capabilities necessary
to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to,
and recover from those threats that pose the greatest risk to the
security of the Nation.
The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism shall coordinate the interagency development of
an implementation plan for completing the national preparedness
goal and national preparedness system.
The implementation plan
shall be submitted to me within 60 days from the date of this
directive, and shall assign departmental responsibilities and
delivery timelines for the development of the national planning
frameworks and associated interagency operational plans
described below .
National Preparedness Goal
Within 180 days from the date of this directive, the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall develop and submit the national
preparedness goal to me, through the Assistant to the President

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for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
The Secretary shall
coordinate this effort with other executive departments and
agencies, and consult with State, local, tribal, and territorial
governments, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public .
The national preparedness goal shall be informed by the risk of
specific threats and vulnerabilities - tak i ng into account
regional variations - and include concrete, measurable, and
prioritized objectives to mitig ate that risk . The national
preparedness goal shall define the core capabilities necessary
to prepare for the specific types of incidents that pose
the greatest risk to the security of the Nation, and shall
emphasize actions aimed at achieving an integrated, layered,
and all-of-Nation preparedness approach that optimizes the use
of available resources .
The national preparedness goal shall reflect the policy direction
outlined in the National Security Strategy {May 2010>, applicable
Presidential Policy Directives, Homeland Security Presidential
Directives, National Security Presidential Directives, and
national strategies, as well as guidance from the Interagency
Policy Committee process.
The goal shall be reviewed regularly
to evaluate consistency with these policies, evolving conditions,
and the National Incident Management System.
National Preparedness System
The national preparedness system shall be an integrated set of
guidance, programs, and processes that will enable the Nation to
meet the national preparedness goal.
Within 240 days from the
date of this directive, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
develop and submit a description of the national preparedness
system to me, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland
Security and Counterterrorism.
The Secretary shall coordinate
this effort with other executive departments and agencies, and
consult with State, local, tribal, and territorial governments,
the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public.
The national preparedness system shall be designed to help
guide the domestic efforts of all levels of government, the
private and nonprofit sectors, and the public to build and
sustain the capabilities outlined in the national preparedness
goal. The national preparedness system shall include guidance
for planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercises
to build and maintain domestic capabilities.
It shall provide
an all-of-Nation approach for building and sustaining a cycle
of preparedness activities over time.

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The national preparedness system shall include a series of
i ntegrated national planning frameworks , coveri n g prevention,
protection, mitigation, response, and recovery _ The frameworks
shall be built upon scalable, flexible, and adaptable
coordinating structures to align key roles and responsibilities
to deliver the necessary capabilities . The frameworks shall be
coordinated under a unified system with a common terminology and
approach, built around basic plans t hat support the all - hazards
approach to preparedness and functional or incident annexes
to describe any unique requirements for particular threats or
scenarios, as needed . Each framework shall describe how actions
taken in the framework are coordinated with relevant actions
described in the other frameworks across the preparedness
spectrum .
The national preparedness system shall include an interagency
operational plan to support each na t ional planning framework .
Each interagency operational plan shall include a more detailed
concept of operationsi description of critical tasks and
responsibilities ; detailed resource, personnel, and sourcing
requirements ; and specific provisions for the rapid integration
of resources and personnel .
All executive departments and agencies wit h roles in the national
planning frameworks shall develop department-level operational
plans to support the interagency operational plans, as needed .
Each national planning f ramework shall include guidance to
support corresponding planning for State , local, tribal, and
territorial governments .
The national preparedness system shall include resource
guidance, such as arrangements enabling the ability to share
personnel.
It shall provide equipment guidance aimed at
nationwide interoperabilitYi and shall provide guidance for
national training and exercise programs, to facilitate our
ability to build and sustain the capabilities defined in the
national preparedness goal and evaluate progress toward meeting
t he goal.
The national preparedness system shall include recommendations
and guidance to support preparedness planning for businesses,
communities, families, and individuals .
The national preparedness sys t em shall include a comprehensive
approach to assess national preparedness that uses consistent
methodology to measure the operational readiness of national

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capabilities at the time of assessment , with clear, objective and
quantifiable performance measures, against the target capability
l evels identified in the national preparedness goal .
Building and Sustaining Preparedness
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall coordinate a
comprehensive campaign to build and sustain national
preparedness, including public outreach and community-based
and private-sector programs to enhance national resilience, the
provision of Federal financial assistance, preparedness efforts
by the Federal Government, and national research and development
efforts.
National Preparedness Report
Within 1 year from the date of this directive, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall submit the first national preparedness
report based on the national preparedness goal to me, through
the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism.
The Secretary shall coordinate this effort
with other executive departments and agencies and consult with
State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, the private
and nonprofit sectors, and the public.
The Secretary shall
submit the report annually in sufficient time to allow it to
inform the preparation of my Administration's budget.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism shall periodically review progress toward
achieving the national preparedness goal .
The Secretary of Homeland Security is responsible for
coordinating the domestic all-hazards preparedness efforts of all
executive departments and agencies, in consultation with State,
local, tribal, and territorial governments , nongovernmental
organizations, private-sector partners, and the general publici
and for developing the national preparedness goal.
The heads of all executive departments and agencies with roles
in prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery
are responsible for national preparedness efforts, including
department-specific operational plans, as needed, consistent
with their statutory roles and responsibil i ties .

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Nothing in this directive is intended to alter or impede the
ability to carry out the authorities of executive departments
and agencies to perform their responsibilities under law
and consistent with applicable legal authorities and other
Presidential guidance . This directive shall be implemented
consistent with relevant authorities, including the Post-Katrina
Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 and its assignment of
responsibilities with respect to the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
Nothing in this directive is intended to interfere with the
authority of the Attorney General or Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation with regard to the direction, conduct,
control, planning, organization, equipment, training, exercises,
or other activities concerning domestic counterterrorism,
intelligence, and law enforcement activities .
Nothing in this directive shall limit the authority of the
Secretary of Defense with regard to the command and control,
planning, organization, equipment, training, exercises,
employment, or other activities of Department of Defense
forces, or the allocation of Department of Defense resources.
If resolution on a particular matter called for in this directive
cannot be reached between or among executive departments and
agencies, the matter shall be referred to me through the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism .
This directive replaces Homeland Security Presidential Directive
(HSPD)-8 (National Preparedness), issued December 17, 2003, and
HSPD-8 Annex I (National Planning), issued December 4, 2007,
which are hereby rescinded, except for paragraph 44 of HSPD-S
Annex I .
Individual plans developed under HSPD-S and Annex I
remain in effect until rescinded or otherwise replaced .
Definitions
For the purposes of this directive :
(a) The term "national preparedness" refers to the actions
taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and exercise to build and
sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against,
mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those
threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the
Nation .

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(b) The term "security" refers to the protection of the Nation
and its people, vital interests, and way of life .
(c) The term "resilience" refers to the ability to adapt to
changing conditions and withstand and rapidly recover from
disruption due to emergencies.
(d) The term "prevention" refers to those capabilities
necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual
act of terrorism.
Prevention capabilities include, but are
not limited to, information sharing and warning; domestic
counterterrorism; and preventing the acquisition or use
of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) .
For purposes of the
prevention framework called for in this directive, the term
"prevention" refers to preventing imminent threats.
(e) The term "prot.ection" refers to those capabilities necessary
to secure the homeland against ~cts of terrorism and manmade or
natural disasters.
Protection capabilities include, but are not
limited to, defense against WMD threats; defense of agriculture
and food; critical infrastructure protection; protection of
key leadership and events; border security; maritime security;
transportation security; immigration security; and cybersecurity.
(f) The term "mitigation" refers to those capabilities necessary
to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of
disasters.
Mitigation capabilities include, but are not limited
to, community-wide risk reduction projects; efforts to improve
the resilience of critical infrastructure and key resource
lifelines; risk reduction for specific vulnerabilities from
natural hazards or acts of terrorism; and initiatives to reduce
future risks after a disaster has occurred.
(g) The term "response" refers to those capabilities necessary
to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet
basic human needs after an incident has occurred.
(h) The term "recovery" refers to those capabilities necessary
to assist communities affected by an incident to recover
effectively, including, but not limited to, rebuilding
infrastructure systems; providing adequate in t erim and long-term
housing for survivors; restoring health, social, and community
services; promoting economic development; and restoring natural
and cultural resources.

BARACK OBAMA