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Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§5197a Security regulations

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 68— - DISASTER RELIEF › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV–B— - EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS › Part Part B— - General Provisions › § 5197a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Administrator must set security rules and limits on who can see or use protected information and property. No FEMA employee can access those things until background checks show they are not of questionable loyalty or reliability. If FBI or other agency records raise concerns, the FBI must do a full field investigation and the Administrator must review the report in writing. For jobs the Administrator calls critically important for national security, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management must first complete a full field investigation and the Administrator must review it in writing. If problems appear, the investigation can be stopped, reviewed by the Administrator, and sent to the FBI for further investigation, with the FBI’s results given to the Administrator. Most FEMA federal employees must sign the loyalty oath or appointment forms set by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (except the United Kingdom subjects and Canadian citizens mentioned in section 5197(b)). People who are not federal employees but are appointed to state or local emergency preparedness posts must sign a written oath before an authorized official promising to defend the Constitution and not join or support groups that seek to overthrow the U.S. by force. State emergency preparedness directors and their designated officers may administer that oath. Making a false oath is punishable under section 1621 of title 18.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §5197a

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Administrator shall establish such security requirements and safeguards, including restrictions with respect to access to information and property as the Administrator considers necessary.
(b)No employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall be permitted to have access to information or property with respect to which access restrictions have been established under this section, until it shall have been determined that no information is contained in the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other investigative agency of the Government indicating that such employee is of questionable loyalty or reliability for security purposes, or if any such information is so disclosed, until the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall have conducted a full field investigation concerning such person and a report thereon shall have been evaluated in writing by the Administrator.
(c)No employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall occupy any position determined by the Administrator to be of critical importance from the standpoint of national security until a full field investigation concerning such employee shall have been conducted by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and a report thereon shall have been evaluated in writing by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In the event such full field investigation by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management develops any data reflecting that such applicant for a position of critical importance is of questionable loyalty or reliability for security purposes, or if the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for any other reason considers it to be advisable, such investigation shall be discontinued and a report thereon shall be referred to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for evaluation in writing. Thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may refer the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the conduct of a full field investigation by such Bureau. The result of such latter investigation by such Bureau shall be furnished to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for action.
(d)Each Federal employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency acting under the authority of this subchapter, except the subjects of the United Kingdom and citizens of Canada specified in section 5197(b) of this title, shall execute the loyalty oath or appointment affidavits prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Each person other than a Federal employee who is appointed to serve in a State or local organization for emergency preparedness shall before entering upon duties, take an oath in writing before a person authorized to administer oaths, which oath shall be substantially as follows: “I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter. “And I do further swear (or affirm) that I do not advocate, nor am I a member or an affiliate of any organization, group, or combination of persons that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence; and that during such time as I am a member of ______ (name of emergency preparedness organization), I will not advocate nor become a member or an affiliate of any organization, group, or combination of persons that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence.” After appointment and qualification for office, the director of emergency preparedness of any State, and any subordinate emergency preparedness officer within such State designated by the director in writing, shall be qualified to administer any such oath within such State under such regulations as the director shall prescribe. Any person who shall be found guilty of having falsely taken such oath shall be punished as provided in section 1621 of title 18.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2255 of the former Appendix to Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, § 3412(a).

Amendments

2011—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–351 substituted “Administrator” for “Director” in two places. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–351 substituted “Administrator” for “Director”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 111–351 substituted “determined by the Administrator” for “determined by the Director”, “writing by the Administrator” for “writing by the Director”, “or if the Administrator” for “or if the Director”, “referred to the Administrator” for “referred to the Director”, “Thereafter, the Administrator” for “Thereafter, the Director”, and “furnished to the Administrator” for “furnished to the Director”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1) of Title 6, Domestic Security. For

Transfer of Functions

, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and section 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 5197a

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73