(a) Secretary.--
(1) In general.--There is a Secretary of Homeland
Security, appointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) Head of department.--The Secretary is the head
of the Department and shall have direction, authority,
and control over it.
(3) Functions vested in secretary.--All functions
of all officers, employees, and organizational units of
the Department are vested in the Secretary.
(b) Functions.--The Secretary--
(1) except as otherwise provided by this Act, may
delegate any of the Secretary's functions to any
officer, employee, or organizational unit of the
Department;
(2) shall have the authority to make contracts,
grants, and cooperative agreements, and to enter into
agreements with other executive agencies, as may be
necessary and proper to carry out the Secretary's
responsibilities under this Act or otherwise provided
by law; and
(3) shall take reasonable steps to ensure that
information systems and databases of the Department are
compatible with each other and with appropriate
databases of other Departments.
(c) Coordination With Non-Federal Entities.--With respect
to homeland security, the Secretary shall coordinate through
the Office of State and Local Coordination (established under
section 801) (including the provision of training and
equipment) with State and local government personnel, agencies,
and authorities, with the private sector, and with other
entities, including by--
(1) coordinating with State and local government
personnel, agencies, and authorities, and with the
private sector, to ensure adequate planning, equipment,
training, and exercise activities;
(2) coordinating and, as appropriate,
consolidating, the Federal Government's communications
and systems of communications relating to homeland
security with State and local government personnel,
agencies, and authorities, the private sector, other
entities, and the public; and
(3) distributing or, as appropriate, coordinating
the distribution of, warnings and information to State
and local government personnel, agencies, and
authorities and to the public.
(d) Meetings of National Security Council.--The Secretary
may, subject to the direction of the President, attend and
participate in meetings of the National Security Council.
(e) Issuance of Regulations.--The issuance of regulations
by the Secretary shall be governed by the provisions of chapter
5 of title 5, United States Code, except as specifically
provided in this Act, in laws granting regulatory authorities
that are transferred by this Act, and in laws enacted after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(f) Special Assistant to the Secretary.--The Secretary
shall appoint a Special Assistant to the Secretary who shall be
responsible for--
(1) creating and fostering strategic communications
with the private sector to enhance the primary mission
of the Department to protect the American homeland;
(2) advising the Secretary on the impact of the
Department's policies, regulations, processes, and
actions on the private sector;
(3) interfacing with other relevant Federal
agencies with homeland security missions to assess the
impact of these agencies' actions on the private
sector;
(4) creating and managing private sector advisory
councils composed of representatives of industries and
associations designated by the Secretary to--
(A) advise the Secretary on private sector
products, applications, and solutions as they
relate to homeland security challenges;
(B) advise the Secretary on homeland
security policies, regulations, processes, and
actions that affect the participating
industries and associations; and
(C) advise the Secretary on private sector
preparedness issues, including effective
methods for--
(i) promoting voluntary
preparedness standards to the private
sector; and
(ii) assisting the private sector
in adopting voluntary preparedness
standards;
(5) working with Federal laboratories, federally
funded research and development centers, other
federally funded organizations, academia, and the
private sector to develop innovative approaches to
address homeland security challenges to produce and
deploy the best available technologies for homeland
security missions;
(6) promoting existing public-private partnerships
and developing new public-private partnerships to
provide for collaboration and mutual support to address
homeland security challenges;
(7) assisting in the development and promotion of
private sector best practices to secure critical
infrastructure;
(8) providing information to the private sector
regarding voluntary preparedness standards and the
business justification for preparedness and promoting
to the private sector the adoption of voluntary
preparedness standards;
(9) coordinating industry efforts, with respect to
functions of the Department of Homeland Security, to
identify private sector resources and capabilities that
could be effective in supplementing Federal, State, and
local government agency efforts to prevent or respond
to a terrorist attack;
(10) coordinating with the Directorate of Border
and Transportation Security and the Assistant Secretary
for Trade Development of the Department of Commerce on
issues related to the travel and tourism industries;
and
(11) consulting with the Office of State and Local
Government Coordination and Preparedness on all matters
of concern to the private sector, including the tourism
industry.
(g) Standards Policy.--All standards activities of the
Department shall be conducted in accordance with section 12(d)
of the National Technology Transfer Advancement Act of 1995 (15
U.S.C. 272 note) and Office of Management and Budget Circular
A-119.