of the appropriate federal agency/department principals and/or their senior level representatives who can accept or deliver tasks for action.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is an active participant in all of these subgroups, which at its core, operates on the assumption that disaster response is primarily a mission for state and local authorities. As Deputy Secretary of Defense Hamre emphasized during his testimony before the Senate Armed Service Committee on March 9, the role of the Department of Defense is to support other federal, state and local civilian agencies and officials.

Within the DoD, Dr. Hamre issued an internal management plan for implementing its responsibilities as outlined in PDD-62 and to better coordinate DoD-wide WMDP activities. This management plan identified DoD senior management committees and subject matter subgroups that mirror the PDD-62 committee and subgroup structure established by the National Security Council (NSC).

I am responsible, along with a representative of the Secretary of the Army, for coordinating the Department's WMDP efforts involving assistance to state and local authorities, and for representing those activities at the National Security Council's interagency Assistance to State and Local Authorities Subgroup. I also help to coordinate WMDP activities Departmentwide and participate on the NSC's WMDP senior management committee.

PDD-62 and the implementing guidance clearly provided the interagency with a more rigorous management structure for coordinating and promulgating national domestic preparedness programs and policies. As always, however, our efforts are designed to support— not supplant-the efforts of state and local agencies and first responders.

The Role of DoD in consequence management

I'd like to take a minute to discuss the Federal Response Plan and the Department of Defense's role in supporting it. The Federal Response Plan (FRP), published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the federal government's manual for coordinating and employing its emergency management response assets to help support state and local responders in managing the consequences of natural and manmade disasters.

The effects of a truly devastating WMD incident likely will overwhelm even the most well-trained and equipped local and state emergency management assets. When that occurs, the affected state governor(s) will then request federal assistance from the President. This usually results in a Presidential declaration of the incident as a national disaster, which will serve as a triggering mechanism for marshalling needed federal support and assistance to state and local authorities.

Under the FRP, the Attorney General of the U.S. (for crisis management) and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (for consequence management) coordinate the specific federal response assets needed to support a national disaster. The Attorney General, via the FBI, will coordinate federal assets to prevent and deter use of a WMD on United States soil and to apprehend and prosecute terrorists who have

perpetrated a WMD attack within the United States. FEMA will coordinate federal assets needed to support local responders in mitigating the consequences of a WMD attack. Federal agencies and the American Red Cross provide support in 12 different emergency response areas as requested by the lead agencies designated in the FRP. The FRP has been used for over seven years to help coordinate federal support for natural and man-made disasters. It has only recently been updated to include guidance for coordination of federal assets in response to terrorist attacks.

It is important to note that the Department of Defense plays an active, but subordinate supporting role in virtually all disaster response aspects of the FRP. The only Emergency Support Function (ESF) for which DoD has primary responsibility is public works assistance, under the Army Corps of Engineers. It is that subordinate role that influenced the Deputy Secretary of Defense to initiate efforts to transfer lead responsibility for the WMD Domestic Preparedness Program to the federal agency responsible for WMD terrorist matters: the Department of Justice.

The world of domestic preparedness and response is highly dynamic. No single agency acting alone can address the problem in its entirety. As a result, we are in the process of deepening our interagency ties and developing a coordinated approach. We at the Department of Defense realize that this approach is necessary if we are to avoid confusion, both within the federal government and in terms of our ability to communicate effectively with the first responder community. We are working hard to understand the concerns of state and local authorities regarding the federal role in the process. In many respects we share the same concerns, especially regarding the need for a lead federal agency for WMD and the need for the federal government to speak with one voice on this vital issue.

The Department, along with its federal interagency partners are working hard to ensure that we address problems through a coordinated approach. In September 1998, key representatives from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Security Council Director (Mr. Clarke) and the Department of Defense met to discuss how these agencies could best work together to combat domestic terrorism. It was agreed in principle that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should assume leadership for implementing the nation's domestic preparedness program. This agreement would have the added benefit of placing responsibility for federally supported WMD training and equipping in one location, as part of the "one-stop" shop consistently requested by first responders. DoD has worked in concert with the DOJ to develop a formal memorandum of understanding that will transfer most facets of DoD's Domestic Preparedness program to DoJ.

Within that framework, the Attorney General has proposed the establishment of the National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO), which is up and running at FBI headquarters and is even now furthering the integration of our national response efforts. In fact, just last month, the NDPO conducted a three-day training session in Washington, DC for the FBI WMD field coordinators and provided them information on interagency assets and capabilities.

The Domestic Preparedness Program

The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-201) authorized Federal agencies to provide resources, training and technical assistance to state and local emergency management personnel who would respond to a WMD terrorist incident. The Act, sponsored by Senators Nunn, Lugar and Domenici, mandated that the United States enhance its capability to respond to domestic terrorist incidents involving nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological weapons. The legislation designated DoD as the interagency lead to carry out a program to provide civilian personnel from federal, state and local agencies with training and expert advice regarding emergency responses to a use or threatened use of WMD or related materials. This interagency effort resulted in the establishment of the "train the trainer" program we call the Domestic Preparedness Program (DPP). In the planning stages of this program, it was agreed that training priority would be given to the largest population centers of the U.S. This translated into a program plan to provide initial training and preparedness assistance for Domestic WMD response for the 120 largest (according to census data) cities in the U.S.

My office provides policy guidance and oversight of the city training/exercises, equipment loans, and expert assistance program aspects of the Domestic Preparedness Program, while the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict) provides oversight for the annual Federal-State-Local exercise mandated by law for the program. The Secretary of Defense designated the Secretary of the Army as the Executive Agent for implementing the program. The Director of Military Support (DOMS) is the staff action agent and the Commander of the Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) is the Program Director for the Domestic Preparedness Program. In FY97-FY98, the Department spent $79M in support of this domestic preparedness program, in FY99, the Department will spend $50M, and in FY00 we plan to spend $31.4M.

The interagency continues to support our execution of this program. Specifically, they participated with us in the development of our approach for executing this program, which includes initial visits to selected cities, a week of "Train the Trainer" training for local first responder trainers, including hazardous material (HAZMAT), firefighters, law enforcement, and emergency medical service personnel. Tabletop and functional "hands-on" exercises using chemical and biological scenarios further reinforce this training.

A request for training equipment, valued at up to $300,000, is prepared and submitted by each city to meet their specific WMD response training needs. The cities can choose from among three types of equipment needed for training: personnel protection equipment, agent detection equipment, and personnel/equipment decontamination equipment. Course materials and training aids for trainer use are also included as part of this equipment package. City equipment requests are reviewed and approved by the Department. The equipment is then acquired and indefinitely loaned to each city for their subsequent training use. To date, 58 cities have participated in the training and more than 15,700 first responder trainers have been trained.

Additionally, an annual federal, state, and local exercise is held to improve the integration of federal, state, and local response assets during a WMD response. In FY97, the annual exercise was held in conjunction with the "Summit of the Eight" Conference in Denver, CO (May 97). The FY98 exercise was held in September 1998 in Philadelphia, PA. The FY99 exercise, involving a biological scenario, is scheduled for September 1999 in New York City, NY.

Other component elements of the DPP include the Improved Response Program (IRP) and the Expert Assistance Program. The Improved Response Program involves the performance of technical investigations and exercises geared to improve first responder survivability and response to WMD incidents. The IRP has provided practical real world solutions to problems in WMD tactics, procedures and equipment discovered through the DPP training. Testing to validate equipment protection and detection claims is being conducted as part of the Expert Assistance Program. The Expert Assistance Program also provides support for a national Hotline for emergencies, a Helpline for assistance, and web pages that provide technical information needed by first responders.

Development of the joint plan for transitioning overall responsibility for the DPP to DoJ has gone extremely well. We expect the Memorandum of Understanding guiding this transfer to be finalized later this month. DoD will retain responsibility for the city training and equipping program until end of fiscal year 2000, at which time DoJ will honor the commitment to train the remainder of the originally designated 120 cities. During the fiscal year 2000 transition period, DoJ will coordinate with DoD in the city training-planning phases and will begin to provide grant funding for training equipment. The transition will occur in stages to accommodate existing budgets and program plans.

DoD's focus beginning in fiscal year 2001 will be to continue to enhance the readiness of its WMD response units and installation responders. DoJ will focus on the response at the local and state levels. As a result, both agencies will contribute funding to benefit from the lessons learned from the improved response program of the DPP beginning in fiscal year 2001. Joint planning will be conducted through the Multi-Agency Task Force to coordinate both the improvements of state and local response capabilities and DoD's efforts to enhance its response elements.

Beginning in fiscal year 2001, DoJ will assume funding and programmatic responsibility for the Hotline, Helpline and Internet web site, but DoD will retain funding and programmatic responsibility for the chemical-biological database and the equipment testing program, as these program elements are integral to satisfying independent DoD needs. DoJ will coordinate with DoD in joint planning efforts so that the state and local responder communities will continue to benefit from the expert assistance functions. DoD will enhance its domestic chem/bio response capabilities through the Chemical-Biological Rapid Response Team (CB-RRT) by continuing to train, exercise, and maintain this team.

From joint publications to field manuals, from schools to staff colleges, we are working to embed WMD preparedness procedures and training into the way we do business. This effort is particularly pronounced at those schools that produce qualified personnel to perform WMD

functions. The training of the Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection (RAID) teams and other elements will mirror our efforts to work across both Service and interagency lines to develop mutually supportive programs. We are working to ensure that the WMD responders, people at the local, state and federal levels, are prepared to work together to meet the needs of the people affected by a WMD attack. Extensive training will include teaching and course work provided by the Army Chemical School, the Defense Nuclear Weapons School, the Army Medical Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fire Academy, the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, FEMA, and the Department of Justice's Center for Domestic Preparedness.

The Role of the National Guard and Reserve in Domestic Emergency Preparedness

One effective means of channeling federal support to first responders will come through the National Guard and Reserve. For example, over half our total military medical capability is resident in the Reserve components. In the event of a WMD event, casualties may be enormous—and we will need to call on Reserve component medical expertise and equipment. The Reserve components, predominantly the Army Reserve, also have more than sixty percent of our military chemical-biological detection and decontamination assets. They will be essential providers of support to state and local authorities in the event of a WMD incident.

The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 required the Secretary of Defense to "...develop and maintain at least one domestic terrorism rapid response team composed of members of the Armed forces and employees of the Department of Defense who are capable of aiding Federal, State, and local officials in the detection, neutralization, containment, dismantlement, and disposal of weapons of mass destruction containing chemical, biological or related materials."

Consequently, in addition to establishing a single Chemical-Biological Rapid Response Team (CB-RRT), last year President Clinton also announced plans to establish ten Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection (RAID) teams in each of the ten FEMA regions. These RAID teams, comprised of full-time National Guard personnel, are designed to be assets of the Governors as they perform three vital tasks. First, they will deploy rapidly to assess suspected radiological, biological or chemical events—in support of the local incident commander. Second, they will advise civilian first responders regarding appropriate actions. And third, they will facilitate requests for assistance. These ten teams are completing extensive technical training and will begin unit-level training this August. We anticipate that they will be fully missioncapable by January 2000.

Funding to support five additional RAID teams was included in DoD's FY 2000 budget request. Congress must approve additional full-time National Guard positions for these teams. The current Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) mark-up includes authorization to support a total of 27 RAID teams, 17 more than the 10 currently authorized, and 12 more than requested. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is awaiting the Department's request to authorize 110 full-time positions for the new five RAID teams, as required by law. Accordingly, the number of authorized RAID teams for FY 00 awaits conference action.