6 U.S.C. § 597

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)

Section 597 - Chief Medical Officer

(a) In general

There is in the Office a Chief Medical Officer, who shall be appointed by the President. The Chief Medical Officer shall report to the Assistant Secretary.

(b) Qualifications

The individual appointed as Chief Medical Officer shall be a licensed physician possessing a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of medicine and public health.

(c) Responsibilities

The Chief Medical Officer shall have the responsibility within the Department for medical issues related to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, including-

(1) serving as the principal advisor on medical and public health issues to the Secretary, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Assistant Secretary, and other Department officials;

(2) providing operational medical support to all components of the Department;

(3) as appropriate, providing medical liaisons to the components of the Department, on a reimbursable basis, to provide subject matter expertise on operational medical issues;

(4) coordinating with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, the medical community, and others within and outside the Department, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the Department of Health and Human Services, with respect to medical and public health matters; and

(5) performing such other duties relating to such responsibilities as the Secretary may require.

6 U.S.C. § 597

Pub. L. 107-296, title XIX, §1931, as added Pub. L. 115-387, §2(c)(2), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5166.

STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES

SIMILAR PROVISIONSProvisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 321e of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115-387, §2(c)(1).

Department: The term "Department" means the Department of Homeland Security.
Secretary: The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Homeland Security.
State: The term "State" means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.
terrorism: The term "terrorism" means any activity that-(A) involves an act that-(i) is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources; and(ii) is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State or other subdivision of the United States; and(B) appears to be intended-(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.
Administrator: the term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Agency;
Agency: the term "Agency" means the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
emergency management: the term "emergency management" means the governmental function that coordinates and integrates all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, or mitigate against threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters;