§322 Continuity of the Economy Plan

Summary

The President must create and keep a plan to protect and restore the U.S. economy after a significant event. The plan must follow a free market, obey the law, and respect private property. It must check how goods and services are moved around the country and name the economic activities whose failure would hurt security, economic stability, defense readiness, or public health. It must list and prioritize critical systems such as power grids, financial systems, communications and data services, interstate oil and gas pipelines, and transportation for moving food, medicine, and other supplies. The plan must also point out functions whose loss would cause huge economic damage, destroy public confidence, or threaten many lives; say which functions are needed for response and recovery; identify industrial control networks that would be dangerous if they failed and say how to protect them (for example, backup systems, separate analog options, or strong hardening); and say which sectors need protected, verified data to recover quickly. The plan must name raw materials and industrial goods whose absence would damage recovery, analyze how to diversify their supply, recommend whether to keep strategic reserves and how to track them, describe transport options available as of January 1, 2021 and those that could be developed for fast delivery, give rules for who gets priority for scarce items (including States and Indian Tribes), consider using U.S. credit or other financial support if needed to avoid severe economic damage or aid recovery, say which workers should be prioritized to keep working if travel or remote work is limited (including for defense), identify sectors needed to support defense, and check whether the Department of Homeland Security, the National Guard, and the Secretary of Defense (and other agency leaders) have the authority and ability to help recover. To write the plan, the President must get advice from the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Defense, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Transportation, and Energy, the Small Business Administrator, and any other agency heads needed. The President must also consult critical infrastructure sector groups, State, Tribal, and local governments, and other non‑Federal groups as needed. The plan and any needed changes to law or funding must be sent no later than 2 years after January 1, 2021 and at least every 3 years after that to Congressional leaders and the relevant committees. The President may include funding requests in the regular federal budget. Definitions (one line each): Agency — a federal department or agency; Economic sector — a part of the U.S. economy; Relevant actor — federal, State/local/Tribal government, or private sector; Significant event — a cyber attack or other natural or human-caused event that severely harms the economy; State — any U.S. state, DC, territories, or possession.