(a) In General.--There are in the Agency 10 regional
offices, as identified by the Administrator.
(b) Management of Regional Offices.--
(1) Regional administrator.--Each Regional Office
shall be headed by a Regional Administrator who shall
be appointed by the Administrator, after consulting
with State, local, and tribal government officials in
the region. Each Regional Administrator shall report
directly to the Administrator and be in the Senior
Executive Service.
(2) Qualifications.--
(A) In general.--Each Regional
Administrator shall be appointed from among
individuals who have a demonstrated ability in
and knowledge of emergency management and
homeland security.
(B) Considerations.--In selecting a
Regional Administrator for a Regional Office,
the Administrator shall consider the
familiarity of an individual with the
geographical area and demographic
characteristics of the population served by
such Regional Office.
(c) Responsibilities.--
(1) In general.--The Regional Administrator shall
work in partnership with State, local, and tribal
governments, emergency managers, emergency response
providers, medical providers, the private sector,
nongovernmental organizations, multijurisdictional
councils of governments, and regional planning
commissions and organizations in the geographical area
served by the Regional Office to carry out the
responsibilities of a Regional Administrator under this
section.
(2) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of a
Regional Administrator include--
(A) ensuring effective, coordinated, and
integrated regional preparedness, protection,
response, recovery, and mitigation activities
and programs for natural disasters, acts of
terrorism, and other man-made disasters
(including planning, training, exercises, and
professional development);
(B) assisting in the development of
regional capabilities needed for a national
catastrophic response system;
(C) coordinating the establishment of
effective regional operable and interoperable
emergency communications capabilities;
(D) staffing and overseeing 1 or more
strike teams within the region under subsection
(f), to serve as the focal point of the Federal
Government's initial response efforts for
natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other
man-made disasters within that region, and
otherwise building Federal response
capabilities to respond to natural disasters,
acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters
within that region;
(E) designating an individual responsible
for the development of strategic and
operational regional plans in support of the
National Response Plan;
(F) fostering the development of mutual aid
and other cooperative agreements;
(G) identifying critical gaps in regional
capabilities to respond to populations with
special needs;
(H) maintaining and operating a Regional
Response Coordination Center or its successor;
(I) coordinating with the private sector to
help ensure private sector preparedness for
natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other
man-made disasters;
(J) assisting State, local, and tribal
governments, where appropriate, to preidentify
and evaluate suitable sites where a
multijurisdictional incident command system may
quickly be established and operated from, if
the need for such a system arises; and
(K) performing such other duties relating
to such responsibilities as the Administrator
may require.
(3) Training and exercise requirements.--
(A) Training.--The Administrator shall
require each Regional Administrator to undergo
specific training periodically to complement
the qualifications of the Regional
Administrator. Such training, as appropriate,
shall include training with respect to the
National Incident Management System, the
National Response Plan, and such other subjects
as determined by the Administrator.
(B) Exercises.--The Administrator shall
require each Regional Administrator to
participate as appropriate in regional and
national exercises.
(d) Area Offices.--
(1) In general.--There is an Area Office for the
Pacific and an Area Office for the Caribbean, as
components in the appropriate Regional Offices.
(2) Alaska.--The Administrator shall establish an
Area Office in Alaska, as a component in the
appropriate Regional Office.
(e) Regional Advisory Council.--
(1) Establishment.--Each Regional Administrator
shall establish a Regional Advisory Council.
(2) Nominations.--A State, local, or tribal
government located within the geographic area served by
the Regional Office may nominate officials, including
Adjutants General and emergency managers, to serve as
members of the Regional Advisory Council for that
region.
(3) Responsibilities.--Each Regional Advisory
Council shall--
(A) advise the Regional Administrator on
emergency management issues specific to that
region;
(B) identify any geographic, demographic,
or other characteristics peculiar to any State,
local, or tribal government within the region
that might make preparedness, protection,
response, recovery, or mitigation more
complicated or difficult; and
(C) advise the Regional Administrator of
any weaknesses or deficiencies in preparedness,
protection, response, recovery, and mitigation
for any State, local, and tribal government
within the region of which the Regional
Advisory Council is aware.
(f) Regional Office Strike Teams.--
(1) In general.--In coordination with other
relevant Federal agencies, each Regional Administrator
shall oversee multi-agency strike teams authorized
under section 303 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5144)
that shall consist of--
(A) a designated Federal coordinating
officer;
(B) personnel trained in incident
management;
(C) public affairs, response and recovery,
and communications support personnel;
(D) a defense coordinating officer;
(E) liaisons to other Federal agencies;
(F) such other personnel as the
Administrator or Regional Administrator
determines appropriate; and
(G) individuals from the agencies with
primary responsibility for each of the
emergency support functions in the National
Response Plan.
(2) Other duties.--The duties of an individual
assigned to a Regional Office strike team from another
relevant agency when such individual is not functioning
as a member of the strike team shall be consistent with
the emergency preparedness activities of the agency
that employs such individual.
(3) Location of members.--The members of each
Regional Office strike team, including representatives
from agencies other than the Department, shall be based
primarily within the region that corresponds to that
strike team.
(4) Coordination.--Each Regional Office strike team
shall coordinate the training and exercises of that
strike team with the State, local, and tribal
governments and private sector and nongovernmental
entities which the strike team shall support when a
natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made
disaster occurs.
(5) Preparedness.--Each Regional Office strike team
shall be trained as a unit on a regular basis and
equipped and staffed to be well prepared to respond to
natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-
made disasters, including catastrophic incidents.
(6) Authorities.--If the Administrator determines
that statutory authority is inadequate for the
preparedness and deployment of individuals in strike
teams under this subsection, the Administrator shall
report to Congress regarding the additional statutory
authorities that the Administrator determines are
necessary.