The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) NIPP directs the government to work collaboratively with 18 economic sectors which are designated as critical infrastructure/key resources (CIKR).  These sectors have been identified as those most crucial to the day-to-day functioning of the U.S. economy.  Sectors include energy, food & agriculture, banking, and others.  The trucking industry falls under the Transportation sector, which has organized itself into sub-sectors based upon modes of transport: highway, including trucks, buses, and road/bridge infrastructure operators; rail; pipelines; maritime; and air.

The NIPP designates that federal security policy should be coordinated between all agencies through a Government Coordinating Council (GCC) for each sector.  The Highway Sector's Council is chaired by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and also includes membership from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and various other government agencies with a stake in promoting the security of America's road network.

The NIPP also allows businesses within each sector to organize into Sector Coordinating Councils (SCC).  Each SCC is self-governing and communicates security needs and policy/operational changes that will improve sector security or increase efficiency without compromising security in the sector.  The ATA representative was elected as the first Chairman of the Highway-Motor Carrier SCC and ATA has maintained an active presence on the SCC since passing on the Chairmanship in early 2009.  The Highway SCC is open to all companies with operations in the trucking, bus, infrastructure, or security-related shipping businesses.  Companies interested in joining the Highway SCC can contact ATA staff by clicking here.

The National Response Framework (NRF) lays out the federal government's vision for the responsibilities of different levels of government (local, state, federal, county, etc.), the private sector, non-profits, and others in responding to an emergency event--man-made or a natural disaster.  The NRF was revised in 2008.  In addition to the NRF, incident response responsibilities and actual operational protocols are laid out in the National Incident Management System (NIMS).