The Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Operations (OEPPO) provides emergency planning and operational support to the United States House of Representatives.[1] The Office was established by legislation in 2002, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks to ensure continuity of government.[2]

The office is responsible for House mitigation and preparedness operations, crisis management and response, and resource services and recovery operations. The director of OEPPO is jointly appointed by the Speaker and Minority Leader.[3] The Speaker, in consultation with the minority leader, provides the policy direction and oversight of the office and may request a detail of personnel from any federal agency on a reimbursable basis. A director carries out the daily operations of the office under the supervision of the House of Representatives Continuity of Operations Board.[4] Due to the sensitive nature of its mission, some of the agency's operational details are not publicly available.[3]

The Office has conducted training on the use of personal protective equipment and emergency evacuation procedures and developed training plans to the House Staff on evacuation procedures for employees and visitors with disabilities.[5] Following a TOPOFF 3 exercise in 2005, its provisions for evacuating persons with disabilities were questioned during a Congressional hearing.[6][7]

Budget

The Office's budget for salaries and expenses was $3,049,000 during fiscal year 2008.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ U.S. Code collection; TITLE 2 > CHAPTER 4 > § 130i; House of Representatives Office of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations at www.law.cornell.edu
  2. ^ Hearing on security updates since September 11, 2001 : hearing before the Committee on House Administration, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session, hearing held in Washington, DC, September 10, 2002. DIANE Publishing. 2002. ISBN 978-1-4289-3262-3.
  3. ^ a b CRS Report. "Congressional Continuity of Operations (COOP): An Overview of Concepts and Challenges" (PDF). CRS Report republished by the University of Maryland. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  4. ^ Ida A. Brudnick. "Support Offices in the House of Representatives:Roles and Authorities" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  5. ^ "Report on Occupational Safety and Health Inspections" (PDF). OSHA. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  6. ^ "HEARING ON THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OF THE HOUSE AND THE EVACUATION OF MAY 11, 2005" (PDF). United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  7. ^ "A Review of the Top Officials 3 Exercise" (PDF). US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  8. ^ "House Report 110-497 - PROVIDING FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE SENATE AMENDMENT TO THE BILL (H.R. 2764) MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2008, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2009-08-26.[permanent dead link]

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Report on Occupational Safety and Health Inspections (PDF). Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved 2009-08-22. Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Congressional Continuity of Operations (COOP): An Overview of Concepts and Challenges (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Support Offices in the House of Representatives: Roles and Authorities (PDF). Congressional Research Service.


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