The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (National Security Presidential Directive NSPD-51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-20), signed by United States President George W. Bush on May 4, 2007, is a Presidential Directive which specifies the procedures for continuity of the federal government in the event of a "catastrophic emergency." Such an emergency is construed as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."

The unclassified portion of the directive was posted on the White House website on May 9, 2007, without any further announcement or press briefings,[3] although Special Assistant to George W. Bush Gordon Johndroe answered several questions on the matter when asked about it by members of the press in early June 2007.[4]

The directive specifies that, following such an emergency, an "Enduring Constitutional Government," comprising "a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government," coordinated by the President of the United States, will take the place of the nation's regular government, presumably without the oversight of Congress^[1]. Political bloggers have interpreted this as a break from Constitutional law in that the three branches of government are equal, with no single branch coordinating the others [5]^[2].

The signing of this Directive was generally not covered by the mainstream U.S. media or discussed by the U.S. Congress. While similar executive security directives have been issued by previous presidents, they have been kept secret; this is the first to be made public. It is unclear how the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive will reconcile with the National Emergencies Act, a U.S. federal law passed in 1976, which gives Congress oversight over presidential emergency powers during such emergencies. The National Emergencies Act is not mentioned in the text of the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive.

See also

• Continuity of government
• Continuity of Operations Plan
• National Emergencies Act
• National Security Directive
• Posse Comitatus Act
• State of emergency
• United States Department of Homeland Security

External links

• National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, from White House site
• Boston Globe article (June 2, 2007)
• Article about National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive
• Article about National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive by Matthew Rothschild
• Prepare for Martial Law
• Editorial from Continuity Central
• Article about National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive by Kurt Nimmo

References