Homeland security is an American national security umbrella term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive to the national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism, and minimize the damage from attacks that do occur". According to an official work published by the Congressional Research Service in 2013 the "Homeland security" term's definition has varied over time.
Continuity of Operations (COOP) is a United States federal government initiative, required by U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 40 (PPD-40), to ensure that agencies are able to continue performance of essential functions under a broad range of circumstances. PPD-40 specifies certain requirements for continuity plan development, including the requirement that all federal executive branch departments and agencies develop an integrated, overlapping continuity capability, that supports the eight National Essential Functions (NEFs) described in the document.
A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, natural disaster, or terrorist attack. First responders typically include paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters, rescuers, and other trained members of organisations connected with this type of work. A certified first responder is one who has received certification to provide pre-hospital care in a certain jurisdiction, for example, the Certified First Responder in France. A community first responder is a person dispatched to attend medical emergencies until an ambulance arrives. A wilderness first responder is trained to provide pre-hospital care in remote settings and will therefore have skills in ad hoc patient packaging and transport by non-motorized means.
National security directives are presidential directives issued for the National Security Council (NSC). Starting with Harry Truman, every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directives in one form or another, which have involved foreign, military and domestic policies. National security directives are generally highly classified and are available to the public only after "a great many years" have elapsed. Unlike executive orders, national security directives are usually directed only to the National Security Council and the most senior executive branch officials, and embody foreign and military policy-making guidance rather than specific instructions.
The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. The act passed the U.S. Senate by one vote, with the pivotal vote in a tied Senate being cast by Independent Dean Barkley. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush in November 2002.
FIPS 201 is a United States federal government standard that specifies Personal Identity Verification (PIV) requirements for Federal employees and contractors.
The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) is a document called for by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, which aims to unify Critical Infrastructure and Key Resource (CIKR) protection efforts across the country. The latest version of the plan was produced in 2013 The NIPP's goals are to protect critical infrastructure and key resources and ensure resiliency. It is generally considered unwieldy and not an actual plan to be carried out in an emergency, but it is useful as a mechanism for developing coordination between government and the private sector. The NIPP is based on the model laid out in the 1998 Presidential Decision Directive-63, which identified critical sectors of the economy and tasked relevant government agencies to work with them on sharing information and on strengthening responses to attack.
The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, signed by President of the United States George W. Bush on May 4, 2007, is a Presidential Directive establishing a comprehensive policy on the federal government structures and operations in the event of a "catastrophic emergency". Such an emergency is defined as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."
Disaster medicine is the area of medical specialization serving the dual areas of providing health care to disaster survivors and providing medically related disaster preparation, disaster planning, disaster response and disaster recovery leadership throughout the disaster life cycle. Disaster medicine specialists provide insight, guidance and expertise on the principles and practice of medicine both in the disaster impact area and healthcare evacuation receiving facilities to emergency management professionals, hospitals, healthcare facilities, communities and governments. The disaster medicine specialist is the liaison between and partner to the medical contingency planner, the emergency management professional, the incident command system, government and policy makers.
The United States National Response Framework (NRF) is part of the National Strategy for Homeland Security that presents the guiding principles enabling all levels of domestic response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies. Building on the existing National Incident Management System (NIMS) as well as Incident Command System (ICS) standardization, the NRF's coordinating structures are always in effect for implementation at any level and at any time for local, state, and national emergency or disaster response.
The Office of Global Maritime Situational Awareness (OGMSA) is a United States interagency office with a global reach tasked with enhancing global maritime domain awareness.
HSPD-7 was revoked by the Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21) on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience on February 12, 2013. PPD-21 states that "Plans developed pursuant to HSPD-7 shall remain in effect until specifically revoked or superseded." Multiple changes came out of PPD-21, including a six actions with specific deadlines. One of those actions was to update the National Infrastructure Protection Plan within 240 days.
The Integrated Planning System is a structured planning framework adapted from the US military's Joint Operational Planning and Execution System (JOPES) and was developed and released by the US Department of Homeland Security in January 2009.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-8, National Preparedness, describes the way United States Federal agencies will prepare for an incident. It requires Department of Homeland Security to coordinate with other Federal agencies and with State, local, and Tribal governments to develop a National Preparedness Goal with Emergency management. Congressional laws enacted, following the wake of 9/11, which resulted in new developments in the way security was assessed and addressed in the United States, to prevent and respond to threatened or actual domestic terrorist attacks, disasters, and other emergencies by requiring a national domestic all-hazards preparedness goal. HSPD 5, HSPD-7, HSPD-8, and HSPD-8 Annex 1 are directives that deal with the preparedness goals.
The Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) was established by President George W. Bush in National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 (NSPD-54/HSPD-23) in January 2008. The initiative outlines U.S. cybersecurity goals and spans multiple agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Security Agency.
The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) provides a set of guiding principles for exercise programs, as well as a common approach to exercise program management, design and development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning.
The Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013 is a bill that would require the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to transmit to the Congress a strategic plan for research and development efforts addressing the protection of critical infrastructure and a report on departmental use of public-private consortiums to develop technology to protect such infrastructure. The bill also would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO), within two years of enactment, to evaluate the effectiveness of clearinghouses established by DHS to share technological innovation.
Food defense is the protection of food products from intentional contamination or adulteration by biological, chemical, physical, or radiological agents introduced for the purpose of causing harm. It addresses additional concerns including physical, personnel and operational security.
A Presidential directive, or executive action, is a written or oral instruction or declaration issued by the President of the United States, which may draw upon the powers vested in the president by the U.S. Constitution, statutory law, or, in certain cases, congressional and judicial acquiescence. Such directives, which have been issued since the earliest days of the federal government, have become known by various names, and some have prescribed forms and purposes. Presidential directives remain in effect until they are revoked, which the president is free to do. The classification of presidential directives is not easily done, as the distinction between the types can be quite arbitrary, arising from convenience and bureaucratic evolution, and none are defined in the Constitution. Furthermore, the different types may overlap. As one legal scholar put it: "it is a bit misleading to overclassify presidential directives as comprising separate and distinct 'types' just because they have different headings at the top of the first page". In terms of legal applicability, what matters is the substance of the directive, not the form, unless a certain kind of directive is specifically required by relevant statute.
