Section 112 · Secretary; functions

There is a Secretary of Homeland Security, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The Secretary is the head of the Department and shall have direction, authority, and control over it.

All functions of all officers, employees, and organizational units of the Department are vested in the Secretary.

except as otherwise provided by this chapter, may delegate any of the Secretary’s functions to any officer, employee, or organizational unit of the Department;

shall have the authority to make contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, and to enter into agreements with other executive agencies, as may be necessary and proper to carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this chapter or otherwise provided by law; and

shall take reasonable steps to ensure that information systems and databases of the Department are compatible with each other and with appropriate databases of other Departments.

coordinating with State and local government personnel, agencies, and authorities, and with the private sector, to ensure adequate planning, equipment, training, and exercise activities;

coordinating and, as appropriate, consolidating, the Federal Government’s communications and systems of communications relating to homeland security with State and local government personnel, agencies, and authorities, the private sector, other entities, and the public; and

distributing or, as appropriate, coordinating the distribution of, warnings and information to State and local government personnel, agencies, and authorities and to the public.

creating and fostering strategic communications with the private sector to enhance the primary mission of the Department to protect the American homeland;

advising the Secretary on the impact of the Department’s policies, regulations, processes, and actions on the private sector;

interfacing with other relevant Federal agencies with homeland security missions to assess the impact of these agencies’ actions on the private sector;

creating and managing private sector advisory councils composed of representatives of industries and associations designated by the Secretary to—

working with Federal laboratories, federally funded research and development centers, other federally funded organizations, academia, and the private sector to develop innovative approaches to address homeland security challenges to produce and deploy the best available technologies for homeland security missions;

promoting existing public-private partnerships and developing new public-private partnerships to provide for collaboration and mutual support to address homeland security challenges;

assisting in the development and promotion of private sector best practices to secure critical infrastructure;

providing information to the private sector regarding voluntary preparedness standards and the business justification for preparedness and promoting to the private sector the adoption of voluntary preparedness standards;

coordinating industry efforts, with respect to functions of the Department of Homeland Security, to identify private sector resources and capabilities that could be effective in supplementing Federal, State, and local government agency efforts to prevent or respond to a terrorist attack;

coordinating with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Assistant Secretary for Trade Development of the Department of Commerce on issues related to the travel and tourism industries; and

consulting with the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness on all matters of concern to the private sector, including the tourism industry.