6 U.S.C. § 101 — Definitions

For this chapter, these definitions apply: (1) “American homeland” and “homeland” both mean the United States. (2) “Appropriate congressional committee” means any House or Senate committee that has legislative or oversight authority, under that chamber's rules, over the matter involved. (3) “Assets” includes contracts, facilities, property, records, unspent or uncommitted appropriation balances, and other funds or resources — but not personnel. (4) “Critical infrastructure” has the meaning given in section 5195c(e) of title 42. (5) “Department” means the Department of Homeland Security. (6) “Emergency response providers” includes federal, state, and local government and non-government emergency public safety, fire, law enforcement, emergency response, and emergency medical personnel (including hospital emergency staff), plus the related agencies and authorities. (7) “EMP” means an electromagnetic pulse caused by a nuclear or non-nuclear device, including one caused by an act of terrorism. (8) “Executive agency” means an executive agency or military department, as those terms are defined in sections 105 and 102 of title 5. (9) “Functions” includes authorities, powers, rights, privileges, immunities, programs, projects, activities, duties, and responsibilities. (10) “GMD” means a geomagnetic disturbance caused by a solar storm or another natural event. (11) “Intelligence component of the Department” means any part of the Department that collects, gathers, processes, analyzes, produces, or shares intelligence information — including homeland security, terrorism, or weapons-of-mass-destruction information, or national intelligence as defined in section 3003(5) of title 50. Two things are excluded: (A) the United States Secret Service, and (B) the Coast Guard, when it operates directly under the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of the Navy under section 3 of title 14 — though this exclusion doesn't reduce the Commandant of the Coast Guard's authority to command the Coast Guard as an armed force, or reduce the Director of National Intelligence's authority over the Coast Guard as part of the intelligence community. (12) “Key resources” means publicly or privately controlled resources that are essential to keeping the economy and government running at a minimal level. (13) “Local government” means (A) a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (whether or not it's incorporated as a nonprofit under state law), regional or interstate government body, or an agency of a local government; (B) an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or in Alaska a Native village or Alaska Regional Native Corporation; and (C) a rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity. (14) “Major disaster” has the meaning given in section 5122(2) of title 42. (15) “Personnel” means officers and employees. (16) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Homeland Security. (17) “State” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other U.S. possession. (18) “Terrorism” means an activity that (A) involves an act that (i) is dangerous to human life, or could destroy critical infrastructure or key resources, and (ii) breaks federal or state criminal law; and (B) appears meant to (i) intimidate or force a civilian population, (ii) influence government policy by intimidation or coercion, or (iii) affect how a government acts through mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. (19)(A) “United States,” used in a geographic sense, means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, any other U.S. possession, and any waters under U.S. jurisdiction. (19)(B) Nothing in this paragraph, or anywhere else in this chapter, changes how “United States” is defined for the Immigration and Nationality Act or any other immigration or nationality law. (20) “Voluntary preparedness standards” means a shared set of criteria for preparedness, disaster management, emergency management, and business continuity programs — such as the American National Standards Institute's National Fire Protection Association Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (ANSI/NFPA 1600).