Requires Teams to: (1) consist of at least one NIST employee and other experts who are not NIST employees; (2) conduct investigations to establish the likely technical cause(s) of the building failure; (3) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures; (4) recommend specific improvements to building standards, codes, and practices; and (5) recommend research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the structural safety of buildings and evacuation and emergency response procedures.
Requires such a Team to coordinate its investigations with any search and rescue efforts being undertaken at the site of the building failure. Requires the Director to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the head of each Federal agency that may conduct or sponsor an investigation related to a Team's investigation. Grants a Team investigation priority over any other investigation of any other Federal agency, with the exception of related investigations conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board or building failures that may have been caused by criminal acts.
Requires: (1) Teams to issue public reports after completing investigations; and (2) the Director to review such reports, to conduct or encourage appropriate recommended research, to promote adoption of Team recommendations by the Federal Government and encourage adoption by other agencies and organizations, to report to Congress on Team investigations and recommendations and on NIST actions in response, and to establish an advisory committee.