Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 23, 2024
Title 44 - Emergency Management and Assistance last revised: Nov 01, 2024
§ 334.1 - Purpose.
(a) Provides policy guidance pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended; section 1-103 of Executive Order 12148, as amended, which includes functions continued from E.O. 11051; section 104(f) of Executive Order 12656; and part 2 of Executive Order 10480.
(b) Establishes a Graduated Mobilization Response (GMR) system for developing and implementing mobilization actions that are responsive to a wide range of national security threats and ambiguous or specific warning indicators. GMR provides for a coherent decision making process with which to proceed with specific responses to an identified crisis or emergency.
(c) Provides guidance to the Federal departments and agencies for developing plans that are responsive to a GMR system and for preparing costed option packages, as appropriate, to implement the plans.
§ 334.2 - Policy.
(a) As established in Executive Order 12656, the policy of the United States is to have sufficient emergency response capabilities at all levels of government to meet essential defense and civilian needs during any national security emergency. Accordingly, each Federal department and agency shall prepare its national security emergency preparedness plans and programs to respond adequately and in a timely manner to all national security emergencies.
(b) As part of emergency response, the GMR system should be incorporated in each department's and agency's emergency preparedness plans and programs to provide appropriate and effective response options for consideration in reacting to ambiguous and specific warnings.
(c) Departments and agencies will be provided early warning information developed by the intelligence community and policy statements of the President.
(d) Emergency resource preparedness planning is essential to ensure that the nation is adequately prepared to respond to potential national emergencies. Such emergency resource preparedness planning requires an exchange of information and planning factors among the various departments and agencies responsible for different resource preparedness actitivities.
(e) To carry out their emergency planning activities, civilian departments and agencies require the Department of Defense's (DOD) assessment of potential military demands that would be made on the economy in a full range of possible national security emergencies. Similarly, DOD planning should be conducted using planning regimes consistent with the policies and plans of the civilian resource departments and agencies.
(f) Under section 104(c) of Executive Order 12656, FEMA is responsible for coordinating the implementation of national emergency preparedness policy with Federal departments and agencies and with state and local governments and, therefore, is responsible for developing a system of planning procedures for integrating the emergency preparedness actions of federal, state and local governments.
(g) Federal departments and agencies shall design their preparedness measures to permit a rapid and effective transition from routine to emergency operations, and to make effective use of the period following initial indication of a probable national security emergency. This will include:
(1) Development of a system of emergency actions that defines alternatives, processes, and issues to be considered during various stages of national security emergencies; and
(2) Identification of actions that could be taken at the Federal and local levels of government in the early stages of a national security emergency or pending national security emergency to mitigate the impact of or reduce significantly the leadtime associated with full emergency action implementation.
§ 334.3 - Background.
(a) The GMR system is designed to take into account the need to mobilize the Nation's resources in response to a wide range of crisis or emergency situations. GMR is a flexible decision making process of preparedness and response actions which are appropriate to warning indicators or an event. Thus, GMR allows the government, as a whole, to take small or large, often reversible, steps to increase its national security emergency preparedness posture.
(b) Crises, especially those resulting in major military activities, always have some political or economic context. As the risks of military action increase, nations undertake more extensive preparations over a longer period of time to increase their military power. Such preparations by potential adversaries shape the nature and gravity of the threat as well as its likelihood and timing of occurrence. These measures permit the development of reliable indicators of threat at an early time in the evolution of a crisis. Depending on the nature of the situation or event and the nation involved, these early warning indicators may emanate from the political, socio-economic and/or industrial sectors.
(c) The GMR system enables the nation to approach mobilization planning and actions as part of the deterrent response capability and to use it to reduce the probability of conflict. Alternatively, if deterrence should fail, the GMR system would enable the nation to undertake a series of phased actions intended to increase its ability to meet defense and essential civilian requirements. The GMR system integrates the potential strength of the national economy into U.S. national security strategy.
§ 334.4 - Definitions.
(a) Graduated Mobilization Response (GMR) is a system for integrating mobilization actions designed to respond to ambiguous and/or specific warnings. These actions are designed to mitigate the impact of an event or crisis and reduce significantly the lead time associated with a full national emergency action implementation.
(b) National security emergency is any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or threatens the national security of the United States.
(c) Mobilization is the process of marshalling resources, both civil and military, to respond to and manage a national security emergency.
(d) GMR Plans are those agency documents that describe, in general, the actions that an agency could take in the early stages of a national security emergency, or upon receipt of warning information about a possible national security emergency. These actions would be designed to mitigate the impact of, or reduce significantly, the lead times associated with full emergency action implementation. Such plans are required by section 201(4)(b) of Executive Order 12656.
(e) A Costed Option Package is a document that describes in detail a particular action that an agency could take in the early stages of a national security emergency. The general content of a GMR costed option package includes alternative response options; the resource implications of each option; shortfalls, costs, timeframes and political feasibility.
§ 334.5 - GMR system description.
The GMR system contains three stages of mobilization activity (additional intermediate GMR stages may be developed). For example, a Federal department or agency might divide “Crisis Management” into two, three, or more levels as suits its needs.
(a) Stage 3, Planning and Preparation. During the planning and preparation stage, Federal departments and agencies develop their GMR plans and maintain capability to carry out their mobilization-related responsibilities in accordance with section 201 of Executive Order 12656. General types of problems likely to arise in a crisis situation are identified along with possible methods for dealing with them. Investment programs can be undertaken to overcome identified problems.
(b) Stage 2, Crisis Management. During the crisis management stage, GMR plans are reviewed and capabilities will be re-examined in light of an actual event or crisis perceived to be emerging.
(1) Federal departments and agencies may need to gather additional data on selected resources or increase their preparedness activities. Costed Option Packages may need to be updated or new ones prepared for the response option measures in each of the department's and agency's area of responsibility. For example, when it appears likely that increased national resources may be required, resource readiness could be improved through the procurement of essential long lead time items, especially those that can be used even if the situation does not escalate. In general, long lead time preparedness actions would be considered for implementation at this time.
(2) Many preparedness actions at this stage would be handled through reprogramming, but the Costed Option Packages may also require new funding.
(3) If the crisis worsens, and prior to the declaration of national emergency, it may be necessary to surge certain production and stockpile items for future use.
(c) Stage 1, National Emergency/War. During a national emergency or declaration of war, mobilization of all national resources escalates and GMR will be subsumed into the overall mobilization effort. As military requirements increase, the national resources would increasingly be focused on the national security emergency. This would involve diverting non-essential demand for scarce resources from peacetime to defense uses, and converting industry from commercial to military production. Both surge production and expansion of the nation's productive capacity may also be necessary. Supplemental appropriations may be required for most Federal departments and agencies having national security emergency responsibilities.
§ 334.6 - Department and agency responsibilities.
(a) During Stage 3, each Federal department and agency with mobilization responsibilities will develop GMR plans as part of its emergency preparedness planning process in order to meet possible future crisis. Costed Option Packages will be developed for actions that may be necessary in the early warning period. Option packages will be reviewed, focused and refined during Stage 2 to meet the particular emergency.
(b) Each department and agency should identify response actions appropriate for the early stage of any crisis or emergency situation, which then will be reviewed, focused and refined in Stage 2 for execution, as appropriate. GMR plans should contain a menu of costed option packages that provide details of alternative measures that may be used in an emergency situation.
(c) FEMA will provide guidance pursuant to Executive Order 12656 and will coordinate GMR plans and option packages of DOD and the civilian departments and agencies to ensure consistency and to identify areas where additional planning or investment is needed.
(d) During State 2, FEMA will coordinate department and agency recommendations for action and forward them to the National Security Advisor to make certain that consistency with the overall national strategy planning is achieved.
(e) Departments and agencies will refine their GMR plans to focus on the specific crisis situation. Costed option packages should be refined to identify the resources necessary for the current crisis, action taken to obtain those resources, and GMR plans implemented consistent with the seriousness of the crisis.
(f) At Stage 1, declaration of national emergency or war, the crisis is under the control of NSC or other central authority, with GMR being integrated into partial, full or total mobilization. At this point the more traditional mechanisms of resource mobilization are pursued, focusing on resource allocation and adjudication with cognizance of the essential civilian demand.
(g) Programs and plans developed by the departments and agencies under this guidance should be shared, as appropriate, with States, local governments and the private sector to provide a baseline for their development of supporting programs and plans.
§ 334.7 - Reporting.
The Administrator of FEMA shall provide the President with periodic assessments of the Federal departments and agencies capabilities to respond to national security emergencies and periodic reports to the National Security Council on the implementation of the national security emergency preparedness policy. Pursuant to section 201(15) of Executive Order 12656, departments and agencies, as appropriate, shall consult and coordinate with the Administrator of FEMA to ensure that their activities and plans are consistent with current National Security Council guidelines and policies. An evaluation of the Federal departments and agencies participation in the graduated mobilization response program may be included in these reports.
source: 55 FR 1821, Jan. 19, 1990, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 44 CFR 334.7