§204a Deployment Readiness

Summary

The Secretary must create training, medical checks, and other rules so members of the Active Duty Regular Corps and the Ready Reserve Corps are ready to respond to urgent or emergency health needs that federal, state, and local systems cannot handle. The Secretary must check each member every year to see if they meet those readiness rules. If a member does not meet the rules or ignores orders to respond, the Secretary may discipline them under procedures the Secretary sets. The Secretary can waive one or more requirements for someone who cannot meet them because of a disability, a temporary medical problem, or another serious limitation, and the Secretary must write rules for how to grant those waivers. A qualifying emergency includes a national emergency declared under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), a presidential emergency or major disaster under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), a public health emergency declared under section 247d, or any other emergency the Secretary decides should use Corps members. The Secretary must group Corps members into units for quick deployment, set command and control rules when the President or Secretary sends them to respond, and make sure members are trained, equipped, and prepared. Deployment planning must consider any exemptions the Secretary may allow based on an agency’s needs and a person’s role, and the type of emergency. If an officer is assigned to a federal agency, their deployment by the Secretary counts as an authorized activity of that agency for pay, allowances, and benefits.