Why It Matters
The federal government is conducting one of its most ambitious disaster preparedness exercises in years, and a new Congressional Research Service report highlights persistent gaps in how Washington captures lessons learned from those drills. The current National Level Exercise, which began in April 2026, is designed to test whether federal, state and private-sector partners can coordinate a response. But according to the CRS analysis, the federal government lacks a formal system to track lessons learned across these exercises, while multiple agencies conduct their own national preparedness drills without coordinating with one another.
The Big Picture
Congress has required federal emergency preparedness exercises for decades, beginning with the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996, which mandated annual exercises. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 strengthened that requirement by directing FEMA to conduct National Level Exercises at least once every two years following the federal government’s widely criticized response to Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 storm that devastated New Orleans and other parts near the Gulf Coast. The law also broadened participation <a href="https://healthylife7.com/beyond-nova-how-to-interpret-the-evidence-on-ultra/” title=”Beyond Nova: how to interpret the evidence on ultra”>beyond senior federal officials to include state, local, tribal and territorial governments, as well as private-sector and nongovernmental partners.
FEMA now conducts National Level Exercises every two years, alternating between adversary and natural disaster scenarios. The current exercise, NLE 2026, began in April 2026 and will conclude in 2027. It focuses on consequence management following damage to critical infrastructure caused by cyberattacks facilitated by a transnational terrorist organization. The exercise is intended to test national preparedness while supporting National Security Presidential Memorandums and administration priorities.
NLE 2026 participants include federal interagency partners, the State of Colorado, FEMA Region 8 and major private-sector organizations. The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities including Dominion Energy, Exelon Corp. and Consolidated Edison, is participating
NLE 2024 tested the nation’s ability to respond to a major hurricane affecting the Hawaiian Islands while concurrent cyberattacks in Guam disrupted supply chains. It was the first National Level Exercise to include a guiding objective focused on climate change. NLE 2022 simulated a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, followed by aftershocks, tsunamis and an oil spill classified as a Spill of National Significance
Political Stakes
The exercise is intended to validate the federal government’s ability to coordinate reions during a major cyber incident. It will also evaluate information sharing and public communications, areas that have drawn scrutiny during previous national emergencies
Although the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act requires these exercises, their results are not publicly released. The CRS report notes that a May 2020 Government Accountability Office review found FEMA lacked a formal mechanism to document and track best practices, lessons learned and corrective actions. DHS agreed with GAO’s recommendation and implemented a Continuous Improvement Program and an Issue Resolution System to prioritize disaster after-action reports and establish completion timeframes. However, CRS notes Congress may wish to examine whether those efforts adequately capture and implement lessons learned from future exercises.
The CRS report also highlights broader coordination challenges. The Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response conduct large-scale preparedness exercises involving federal agencies, state and local governments, private industry and nongovernmental organizations. Those exercises are not required to be coordinated with National Level Exercises, meaning lessons learned may not be shared across agencies or incorporated into a unified preparedness strategy.
The Bottom Line
NLE 2026 is designed to test whether the federal government can coordinate a response to a sophisticated cyberattack targeting critical infrastructure. But the CRS report suggests the long-term value of those exercises will depend not only on performance during the drill, but also on whether federal agencies consistently capture, share and implement the lessons they identify afterward
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