U.S. Code > Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare > CHAPTER 6A—PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE > SUBCHAPTER XXVI—NATIONAL ALL-HAZARDS PREPAREDNESS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES > Part A—National All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Planning, Coordinating, and Reporting > § 300hh. Public health and medical preparedness and response functions

§ 300hh. Public health and medical preparedness and response functions

(a) In general
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall lead all Federal public health and medical response to public health emergencies and incidents covered by the National Response Plan developed pursuant to section 314 (6) [1] of title 6, or any successor plan.
(b) Interagency agreement
The Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any other relevant Federal agency, shall establish an interagency agreement, consistent with the National Response Plan or any successor plan, under which agreement the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall assume operational control of emergency public health and medical response assets, as necessary, in the event of a public health emergency, except that members of the armed forces under the authority of the Secretary of Defense shall remain under the command and control of the Secretary of Defense, as shall any associated assets of the Department of Defense.

[1] See References in Text note below.