Charter

Charter: Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction

updated 08/15/02

Official Designation

The panel's official designation is the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Objective and Scope of Activity

The Advisory Panel will assess the capabilities for responding to terrorist incidents in the U.S. Response capabilities at the Federal, State, and local levels will be examined, with a particular emphasis on the latter two. The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has entered into a contract with the National Defense Research Institute (NDRI), a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) at RAND, to establish the Advisory Panel pursuant to Section 1405 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (NDAA for FY1999), Public Law 105-261 (H.R. 3616, 105th Congress, 2nd Session) (October 17, 1998), as amended by Section 1514 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (NDAA for FY2002), Public Law 107-107 (S. 1438, 107th Congress, 1st Session) (December 28, 2001).
Period of Time Required

The Advisory Panel shall terminate on February 17, 2004 (five years after the date of the appointment of the member selected as chairman of the panel).
Official or Sponsoring Proponent to Whom the Panel Reports

The Advisory Panel reports to the President and to the Congress.
Support Agency

The Advisory Panel will receive administrative and related support from NDRI, which will coordinate its efforts with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
Duties and Responsibilities

The Advisory Panel will:
1. Assess Federal agency efforts to enhance domestic preparedness for incidents involving weapons of mass destruction;
2. Assess the progress of Federal training programs for local emergency responses to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction;
3. Assess deficiencies in programs for response to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, including a review of unfunded communications, equipment, and planning requirements, and the needs of maritime regions;
4. Recommend strategies for ensuring effective coordination with respect to Federal agency weapons of mass destruction response efforts, and for ensuring fully effective local response capabilities for weapons of mass destruction incidents;
5. Assess the appropriate roles of State and local government in funding effective local response capabilities.
Estimated Man-Years

For the NDRI FFRDC, the estimated corresponding FTE man-year level of effort for each fiscal year (FY) is as follows:
- FY1999 2.7
  FY2000 3.2
  FY2001 3.6
  FY2002 5.0
  FY2003 5.1
  FY2004 1.5 (October 1, 2003-February 17, 2004)
Federal employees will support the Advisory Panel indirectly on a part-time basis, estimated at 0.1 FTE man-years annually.
Number of Meetings
The Advisory Panel will meet as mutually agreed between the Chairman and NDRI. Four meetings per calendar year are anticipated, at roughly equal intervals.
Termination Date

February 17, 2004
Date Charter Is Filed

Original filing date, April 9: 1999. Amended filing date: April 17, 2002.