The Secretary of Defense may operate a Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (in this section referred to as the “Center”).

The Center shall be used to provide and facilitate education, training, interagency coordination, and research on the following additional matters:

(1) The Center shall be used to provide and facilitate education, training, and research in civil-military operations, particularly operations that require international disaster management and humanitarian assistance and operations that require coordination between the Department of Defense and other agencies.

(2) The Center shall be used to make available high-quality disaster management and humanitarian assistance in response to disasters.

The Center shall be used to provide and facilitate education, training, interagency coordination, and research on the following additional matters:

(A) Management of the consequences of nuclear, biological, and chemical events.

(B) Management of the consequences of terrorism.

(C) Appropriate roles for the reserve components in the management of such consequences and in disaster management and humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters.

(D) Meeting requirements for information in connection with regional and global disasters, including the use of advanced communications technology as a virtual library.

(E) Tropical medicine, particularly in relation to the medical readiness requirements of the Department of Defense.

(4) The Center shall develop a repository of disaster risk indicators for the Asia-Pacific region.

(5) The Center shall perform such other missions as the Secretary of Defense may specify.

The Secretary of Defense may enter into an agreement with appropriate officials of an institution of higher education to provide for joint operation of the Center. Any such agreement shall provide for the institution to furnish necessary administrative services for the Center, including administration and allocation of funds.

The Secretary may not accept a donation under paragraph (1) if the acceptance of the donation would compromise or appear to compromise—

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense may accept, on behalf of the Center, donations to be used to defray the costs of the Center or to enhance the operation of the Center. Such donations may be accepted from any agency of the Federal Government, any State or local government, any foreign government, any foundation or other charitable organization (including any that is organized or operates under the laws of a foreign country), or any other private source in the United States or a foreign country.

The Secretary may not accept a donation under paragraph (1) if the acceptance of the donation would compromise or appear to compromise—

(A) the ability of the Department of Defense, any employee of the Department, or members of the armed forces, to carry out any responsibility or duty of the Department in a fair and objective manner; or

(B) the integrity of any program of the Department of Defense or of any person involved in such a program.

(3) The Secretary shall prescribe written guidance setting forth the criteria to be used in determining whether or not the acceptance of a foreign donation would have a result described in paragraph (2).

(4) Funds accepted by the Secretary under paragraph (1) as a donation on behalf of the Center shall be credited to appropriations available to the Department of Defense for the Center. Funds so credited shall be merged with the appropriations to which credited and shall be available for the Center for the same purposes and the same period as the appropriations with which merged.

(Added Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title III, § 382(a)(1), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1709.)