Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and consolidated functions from 22 agencies.

The Campus Resilience Program Resource Library aims to provide members of the academic community with access to resources, strategies, guidelines, and templates to address a variety of different vulnerabilities and risks.

The National Emergency Training Center (NETC) Library provides information and resources on fire, emergency management and other all-hazards subjects.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

The primary mission of the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) is to forge partnerships with non-state actors, multilateral organizations, and foreign governments to advance the counterterrorism objectives and national security of the United States. Working with our U.S. Government counterterrorism team, S/CT takes a leading role in developing coordinated strategies to defeat terrorists abroad and in securing the cooperation of international partners.

U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation. This annual report is entitled Country Reports on Terrorism. Beginning with the report for 2004, it replaced the previously published Patterns of Global Terrorism.

The Department of Defense is responsible for providing the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of the United States.

Includes technical reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, congressional budget data, and more.

The National Security Council (NSC) is the President's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. Since its inception under President Truman, the Council's function has been to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies. The Council also serves as the President's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies.

The Committee on Homeland Security was created by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The Committee was first formed as a Select, non-permanent Committee, to provide Congressional oversight over the development of the Department of Homeland Security. The Committee was made permanent when it was designated as a Standing Committee of the House on January 4, 2005, the first day of the 109th Congress.

Over the years, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and its predecessors have dealt with a number of important issues. Most recently, the Committee had primary jurisdiction over the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee for the United States Senate.

Protects the lives and property of Virginia's citizens from emergencies and disasters by coordinating the state's emergency preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery efforts.

The DHS' mission is to effectively respond to any emergency impacting public health through preparation, collaboration, education and rapid intervention. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs involve state, regional and local emergency response partners working together to enhance readiness to respond to bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

Ready Virginia is a statewide public education effort to prepare Virginians for all hazards, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.