12 2 STA T .56 6 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 1 8 1 —J A N .28 , 2008 (7)Apro po sedinv es tm ent p la n and timeline to c orrect s u c h de f iciencies .SEC.28 8 1 . R E PO R T O NF E A S IB I L IT Y OF ESTABLIS H IN G A REGIONAL D ISASTER RESPONSE CENTER AT K ELLY AIR FIELD , SAN ANTONIO, TE X AS. (a) FIND IN GS . —C on g ress ma k es the follo w ing findings
( 1 ) T he Federal response to H urricane K atrina dem - onstrated the need for greater coordination and planning capa- b ilit y at the Federal ,S tate, and local levels of government. ( 2 ) Coordination of State and local assets can be more effectively accomplished if such assets are organi z edona regional basis similar to the manner in which the Federal E mergency M anagement Agency organizes its efforts. ( 3 ) D espite the obvious need for e x perienced and routinely exercised operational head q uarters skilled in disaster response, no such headquarters have been established. ( 4 ) Such a headquarters would be appropriately located on available Federal property in R egion VI of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which includes Texas, L ou- isiana, O klahoma, Arkansas, and N ew Mexico, and is a region sub j ect to forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. (b) R EPORT RE QU IRED.—Not later than March 31, 2 0 0 8 , the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Home- land Security, shall submit to Congress a report on the feasibility of establishing at Kelly Air Field in San Antonio, Texas, a perma- nent, regionally oriented disaster response center responsible for planning, coordinating, and directing the Federal, State, and local response to man-made and natural disasters that occur in Region VI of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (c) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection (b) shall include the following: (1) A determination of how the regional disaster response center, if established at Kelly Air Field, would organize and leverage capabilities of the following currently co-located organizations, facilities, and forces located in San Antonio, Texas: (A) Lackland Air Force B ase. (B) Fort Sam Houston. (C) Brooke Army Medical Center. (D) W ilford Hall Medical Center. (E) City of San Antonio / Bexar County Emergency Oper- ations Center. (F) Audie Murphy Veterans Administration Medical Center. ( G ) 433rd Airlift Wing C –5 Heavy Lift Aircraft. (H) 14 9 Fighter Wing and Texas Air National Guard F–1 6 fighter aircraft. (I) Army Northern Command. ( J ) The three level 1 trauma centers of the National Trauma Institute. (K) Texas Medical Rangers. (L) San Antonio Metro Health Department. (M) The U niversity of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. (N) The Air Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnais- sance Agency at Lackland Air Force Base.
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