The President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) was tasked to examine the nation’s ability to respond to and recover from a catastrophic power outage of a magnitude beyond modern experience, exceeding prior events in severity, scale, duration, and consequence. This report contains recommended solutions that reduce risks and improve security and resilience.
The United States faces a complex array of threats to our national security, including our political, economic, military, and social systems. A House committee report accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 included a provision for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to identify emerging threats of high national security consequence. This report is a public version of a classified report that GAO issued on September 28, 2018.
The Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s updated policy on tribal mitigation planning requirements. The intended use of the guide is to facilitate consistent evaluation and approval of tribal mitigation plans as well as to facilitate compliance with the mitigation planning requirements when developing or updating plans. The Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide went into effect on 5 December 2018.
On 6 November 2018, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested the current Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) might not be contained due to lack of cooperation from local communities and an unstable security situation. Assertions such as these have driven the Global Health Security Alliance, an independent network of internationals experts, to distribute a commentary about the “Ebola Outbreak in the DRC.” Driven by the shared understanding that health and security issues have increasing and interrelated global impacts, the Alliance separates facts from hyperboles in this informative document on this international public health threat.
The 2018 National Preparedness Report provides an overview of key developments in national preparedness – incorporating findings and lessons learned from incidents in 2017 in combination with data and inputs from federal interagency and whole community partners. Focus on emerging and persistent challenges concentrates the discussion on what the whole community – including individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and all levels of government – needs to address to increase the nation’s preparedness.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released an emergency planning and response Safety Digest, which outlines responsibilities of first responders, companies, and communities when preparing for and responding to chemical incidents. This resource stresses the importance of preparation, training, and communication.
The Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration’s (DOE/NNSA) Fiscal Year 2019 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan – Biennial Plan Summary describes DOE/NNSA’s plans to ensure the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and to maintain the scientific and engineering tools, capabilities, and infrastructure that underpin the nuclear security enterprise.
The 2018 Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Capabilities: National Standards for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Public Health recognizes the maturity and experience jurisdictional public health emergency preparedness and response programs have gained since 2011. The document describes the components necessary to advance jurisdictional public health preparedness and response capacity.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office was asked to review the decision to declare a public health emergency for the opioid crisis and what actions have been taken under the declaration. This report describes: (1) the factors HHS indicated as affecting its decision to declare and renew the public health emergency for the opioid crisis, and (2) the public health emergency authorities the federal government has used to address the opioid crisis.
This report highlights 15 technologies or categories of technologies that, with further scientific attention and investment, as well as attention to accompanying legal, regulatory, ethical, policy, and operational issues, could help make the world better prepared and equipped to prevent future infectious disease outbreaks from becoming catastrophic events.
