President Barack Obama issued an executive order July 6 that called for the creation of an executive committee for national security and emergency preparedness communications, Federal News Radio reports.
The committee will be composed of the heads of eight federal agencies, co-chaired by the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security.
According to the executive order, DoD will develop national security capabilities, while DHS will develop policies for continued government operations during natural disaster and emergency situations.
DHS will also be in charge of prioritizing and restoring communication networks.
Federal News Radio’s Jack Moore reports that the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy will give the President an annual report about the state of NS/EP communications.
Aside from DoD and DHS, other members of the executive committee will hail from:
- State Department
- Justice Department
- Commerce Department
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- General Service Administration
- Federal Communications Commission
The executive order comes one week after severe weather caused widespread power outages and disruptions to wireless and cell phone service in the Washington area.
