[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3531 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 615
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3531
[Report No. 117-237]
To require the Federal Government to produce a national climate
adaptation and resilience strategy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 20, 2022
Mr. Coons (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Collins, Ms. Rosen, Mr.
Cassidy, Mr. Graham, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Kaine, and Mr.
Padilla) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
December 12, 2022
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Government to produce a national climate
adaptation and resilience strategy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``National Climate Adaptation
and Resilience Strategy Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In this Act:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Adaptation.--The term ``adaptation'' means an
adjustment in a natural or human system in response to a new or
changing environmental condition, including such an adjustment
associated with climate change, that exploits beneficial
opportunities or moderates negative effects.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Adaptive capacity.--The term ``adaptive
capacity'' means the ability of a system--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) to adjust to climate vulnerabilities
to moderate potential damage or harm;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) to take advantage of new, and
potentially beneficial, opportunities; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) to cope with change.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Cascading climate hazards.--The term
``cascading climate hazards'' means a series of successive
environmental hazards triggered by an initial hazard that is
driven or exacerbated by climate change, such that the impacts
to vulnerable systems are amplified.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Chief resilience officer.--The term ``Chief
Resilience Officer'' means the Chief Resilience Officer of the
United States appointed by the President under section
3(a)(1).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Climate change.--The term ``climate change''
means changes in average atmospheric and oceanic conditions
that persist over multiple decades or longer and are natural or
anthropogenic in origin, including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) both increases and decreases in
temperature;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) shifts in precipitation;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) shifts in ecoregion or biome geography
and phenology, as applicable;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) changing risk from certain types of
rapid-onset climate hazards and slow-onset climate
hazards; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) changes to other features of the
climate system.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) Climate information.--The term ``climate
information'' means information, data, or products that enhance
knowledge and understanding of climate science, risk,
conditions, vulnerability, or impact, including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) climate data products;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) historic or future climate projections
or scenarios;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) climate risk or vulnerability
information;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) data or information related to climate
adaptation and mitigation; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) other best available climate
science.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) Compound climate hazards.--The term ``compound
climate hazards'' means 2 or more environmental hazards driven
or exacerbated by climate change that occur simultaneously or
successively, such that the impacts to vulnerable systems are
amplified.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the
Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and Resilience
established by section 4(a).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) Freely associated state.--The term ``Freely
Associated State'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the Federated States of
Micronesia;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) the Republic of the Marshall
Islands;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) the Republic of Palau; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) the United States Virgin
Islands.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) Frontline communities.--The term ``frontline
communities'' means human communities that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) are highly vulnerable to climate
change or exposed to climate risk;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) experience the earliest, most adverse
impacts of climate change; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) may have a reduced ability to adapt to
climate change due to a lack of resources, political
power, or adaptive capacity.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) Implementation plan.--The term
``Implementation Plan'' means the Implementation Plan jointly
developed by the Chief Resilience Officer and the Working
Groups under section 6(b).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (12) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
5304).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (13) National climate assessment.--The term
``National Climate Assessment'' means the assessment delivered
to Congress and the President pursuant to section 106 of the
Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2936).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (14) Natural infrastructure.--The term ``natural
infrastructure'' means infrastructure that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) uses, restores, or emulates natural
ecological, geological, or physical processes;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B)(i) is created through the action of
natural physical, geological, biological, and chemical
processes over time;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) is created by human design,
engineering, and construction to emulate or act in
concert with natural processes; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) involves the use of plants, soils,
and other natural features, including through the
creation, restoration, or preservation of natural areas
using materials appropriate to the region to manage
stormwater and runoff, to attenuate flooding and storm
surges, to manage erosion and saltwater intrusion, and
for other related purposes.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (15) Non-federal partner.--The term ``non-Federal
partner'' means a member of a unit of State, local, or
territorial government, the government of an Indian Tribe, the
government of a Freely Associated State, a private sector
entity, or another individual or organization not affiliated
with the Federal Government.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (16) Operations report.--The term ``Operations
Report'' means the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Operations Report jointly developed by the Chief Resilience
Officer and the Working Groups under section 5.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (17) Rapid-onset climate hazard.--The term
``rapid-onset climate hazard'' means an abrupt environmental
hazard driven or exacerbated by climate change that occurs
quickly or unexpectedly and triggers impacts that materialize
rapidly and interact with conditions of exposure and
vulnerability to result in a disaster.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (18) Represented agency.--The term ``represented
agency'' means each Federal agency from which the Chief
Resilience Officer appoints a member to a Working Group under
section 3(b)(4)(B)(ii).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (19) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means
the capacity of a social, physical, economic, or environmental
system to cope with an environmental hazard event, trend, or
disturbance that is driven or exacerbated by climate change by
responding or reorganizing in ways that maintain, to the
greatest extent practicable, the essential function, identity,
and structure of the system and ensure that, in the event of a
rapid-onset climate hazard or a slow-onset climate hazard,
basic human needs are met, while also maintaining the capacity
for adaptation and transformation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (20) Risk.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--The term ``risk'' means
the potential for consequences in a situation in
which--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) something of value is at
stake; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the outcome is
uncertain.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Inclusion.--The term ``risk'' includes
the potential for consequences described in
subparagraph (A) that is evaluated as the product
obtained by multiplying--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the probability of a hazard
occurring; by</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the consequence that would
result if the hazard occurred.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (21) Slow-onset climate hazard.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--The term ``slow-onset
climate hazard'' means an environmental hazard driven
or exacerbated by climate change that evolves gradually
through time due to incremental change or because of an
increasing frequency or intensity of recurring climate
impacts.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Inclusions.--The term ``slow-onset
climate hazard'' includes hazards such as--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) sea level rise;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) desertification;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) biodiversity loss or the
alteration of or shift in habitat range of
individual species or entire biomes;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) increasing
temperatures;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) ocean acidification;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vi) saltwater
intrusion;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vii) soil salinization;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (viii) drought and water
scarcity;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ix) reduced snow pack;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (x) sea ice retreat;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (xi) glacial ice treat;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (xii) permafrost thaw;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (xiii) coastal and river bank
erosion.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (22) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the
National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy required to
be developed jointly by the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups under section 6(a).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (23) Vulnerability.--The term ``vulnerability''
means the propensity or predisposition of a human individual or
community or physical, biological, or socioeconomic system to
be susceptible to and adversely affected by the impacts of
climate change.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (24) Working group.--The term ``Working Group''
means a National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Working
Group established by the Chief Resilience Officer under section
3(b).</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER AND NATIONAL CLIMATE
ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE WORKING GROUPS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Chief Resilience Officer.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the President shall identify or
appoint a Chief Resilience Officer of the United States to
serve in the Executive Office of the President.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Duties.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) serve the President by directing a
whole-of-government effort to build resilience to
climate change vulnerabilities in the United States (as
described in the National Climate Assessment or other
relevant analyses identified by the Chief Resilience
Officer) in collaboration with existing Federal
initiatives and interagency adaptation efforts;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) establish Working Groups in accordance
with subsection (b) to facilitate interagency
coordination with respect to climate resilience and
adaptation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Working Groups.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Establishment.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph
(B), the Chief Resilience Officer shall establish the
minimum number of National Climate Adaptation and
Resilience Working Groups that is necessary to carry
out the duties and purposes described in paragraph
(3).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Limitation.--The Chief Resilience
Officer shall not establish more than 5 Working
Groups.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Focus.--Each Working Group shall focus on a
topic or series of related topics with respect to climate
adaptation and resilience, as determined by the Chief
Resilience Officer.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Duties and purpose.--Each Working Group shall,
under the leadership of the Chief Resilience Officer, with
respect to the focus of the Working Group--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) coordinate a whole-of-government plan
to build resilience to the applicable climate change
vulnerabilities described in the National Climate
Assessment or other relevant analyses identified by the
Chief Resilience Officer; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) assist in the development of the
applicable portions of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the Operations
Report;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the Strategy; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) the Implementation
Plan.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Structure.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) Chairperson.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) In general.--The Chief
Resilience Officer shall serve as chairperson
of each Working Group.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Temporary chairperson.--The
President or the Chief Resilience Officer may
designate another staff member or member of a
Working Group to act temporarily as the
chairperson of that Working Group in the
absence of the Chief Resilience
Officer.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Membership.--In establishing a Working
Group, the Chief Resilience Officer shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) identify each Federal agency
with operations or organizational units that
are relevant to the focus of the Working Group;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) appoint 1 member of each
Federal agency identified under clause (i) to
represent that Federal agency on the Working
Group.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) Requirement.--In appointing a member
of a Working Group under subparagraph (B)(ii), the
Chief Resilience Officer shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, appoint the head of the portion of the
represented agency that is most relevant to the focus
of the Working Group.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) Duties of members.--Each member of a
Working Group--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) shall attend meetings of the
Working Group; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) work to support the duties of
the Working Group.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Meetings.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--Each Working Group shall
meet not less frequently than once every 180
days.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Quorum.--\3/4\ of the members of a
Working Group shall constitute a quorum of the Working
Group.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) Remote participation.--A member of a
Working Group may participate in a meeting of that
Working Group through teleconference or similar
means.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) Support personnel.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) Executive secretary.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) In general.--The Chief
Resilience Officer shall appoint a permanent
employee of a represented agency to serve as
Executive Secretary of the Working
Groups.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Employment.--The employee
appointed as Executive Secretary under clause
(i) shall remain an employee of the agency,
department, or program from which the employee
was appointed.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Necessary assistance.--To carry out
the purposes of each Working Group, as described in
paragraph (3), each represented agency with a member on
the Working Group shall furnish necessary assistance to
that Working Group, such as--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the detail of employees to the
Working Group to perform such functions,
consistent with the purposes of the Working
Group described in paragraph (3), as the Chief
Resilience Officer may assign, including
support staff for the Executive Secretary
appointed under subparagraph (A)(i);
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) on request of the Chief
Resilience Officer, undertaking special studies
for the Working Group as may be appropriate to
carry out the functions of the Working
Group.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. PARTNERS COUNCIL ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND
RESILIENCE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Establishment.--There is established a council, to be
known as the ``Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and
Resilience''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Mission and Function.--The Council shall work to
improve the climate adaptation and resilience operations of the Federal
Government by providing recommendations through the Chief Resilience
Officer, including those recommendations contained in the report
required under subsection (c), that identify how the Federal Government
can better support non-Federal partners with equitable resources,
technical assistance, improved policies, and other assistance to help
frontline communities build resilience to climate change.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Report.--Not later than 16 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Council,
acting through the Chief Resilience Officer, shall submit to the
President and the Working Groups a report that includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in the
climate resilience operations of the Federal Government that
reduce or fail to increase the capacity of non-Federal partners
to adapt to climate change;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) an identification of the resources, including
Federal funding, necessary for non-Federal partners to
adequately adapt to climate change; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) recommendations with respect to how the
Federal Government could better support efforts by non-Federal
partners to expeditiously address vulnerabilities associated
with climate change and build climate resilience.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Chair and Vice-Chair.--The Chief Resilience Officer
shall serve as chairperson of the Council and shall appoint a vice-
chairperson from among the members of the Council appointed pursuant to
subsection (e).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Membership.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--In addition to the Chief
Resilience Officer, the Council shall consist of 20 non-Federal
partner members appointed by the Chief Resilience
Officer.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Appointment.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--The Chief Resilience
Officer shall appoint members of the Council who can
support the Working Groups by articulating how the
Federal Government can better support State, local, and
territorial governments, the governments of Indian
Tribes, the governments of Freely Associated States,
nonprofit organizations, or private sector entities to
build resilience to climate change.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Requirements.--In appointing members
of the Council, the Chief Resilience Officer shall
appoint--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) 12 members who are employees
of State, local, or territorial governments,
the governments of Indian Tribes, or the
governments of Freely Associated States, of
which--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) not fewer than 2 shall
be employees of a State
government;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) not fewer than 2
shall be employees of a unit of local
government;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) not fewer than 2
shall be employees of the government of
an Indian Tribe; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) not fewer than 2
shall be employees of a territorial
government or the government of a
Freely Associated State; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) 8 members who represent
nongovernmental organizations and the private
sector, of which--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) 3 shall represent
nongovernmental
organizations;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) 3 shall represent the
private sector; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) 2 shall represent
academic institutions.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) Selection.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the Chief Resilience Officer shall seek to
select members of the Council who--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) possess firsthand, lived
experience of climate vulnerability in the
United States, including direct experience
working with, or as members of, frontline
communities; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) represent a diversity of--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I)
perspectives;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II)
demographics;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III)
geographies;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) political
affiliations; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (V) institution sizes,
including representatives of both small
and large units of government and
businesses.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) Term.--Members appointed to the
Council shall serve a single term of not more than 3
years, except that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) of the initial members
appointed to the Council, the Chief Resilience
Officer shall appoint--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) \1/2\ of the members
to serve for a term of 18 months;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) \1/2\ of the members
to serve a term of 3 years;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the Chief Resilience Officer
may extend the term of any member of the
Council by a period of not more than 1 year on
a one-time basis, if the Chief Resilience
Officer determines it necessary to support the
work of the Council.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) Vacancies.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) In general.--A vacancy in the
Council shall be filled in the same manner in
which the original selection was
made.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Appointment of new members.--
After the expiration of the term for which a
member of the Council is appointed, the member
may continue to serve until a successor is
appointed.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Meetings.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--The Council shall meet not less
frequently than once every 180 days.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Quorum.--\3/4\ of the members of the Council
shall constitute a quorum of the Council.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Remote participation.--A member of the Council
may participate in a meeting of the Council through
teleconference or similar means.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (g) Applicability of FACA.--Section 14 of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the
Council.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 5. NATIONAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE OPERATIONS
REPORT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Not later than 16 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Chief Resilience Officer
and the Working Groups shall jointly submit to the President and
Congress a National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Operations Report
that includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) a summary of the existing climate resilience
operations of each represented agency that includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the roles and responsibilities of each
represented agency in building national resilience to
the climate vulnerabilities described in the National
Climate Assessment or other analyses relevant to each
represented agency;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the major findings and conclusions
from climate adaptation plans or risk or vulnerability
assessments prepared by each represented
agency;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) the mechanisms by which each
represented agency supports the resilience efforts of
non-Federal partners, such as by providing funding,
resources, and technical assistance; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) an assessment of how each represented
agency is working to ensure equitable adaptation
outcomes; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) a cross-agency analysis of the resilience
operations identified under paragraph (1) that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) identifies--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the challenges, barriers, or
disincentives for the Federal Government to
build resilience to climate change in the
United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the inconsistencies in goals,
priorities, or strategies underlying climate
resilience operations and policy across
represented agencies that may inhibit effective
interagency coordination to support national
climate resilience, including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) the areas of necessary
differences in those goals, priorities,
or strategies; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) the justifications
for those inconsistencies;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) areas of overlap or
redundant use of resources between or among
represented agencies, including recommendations
to eliminate any unnecessary or unintentional
redundancy;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) gaps or deficiencies in
resilience operations and policy that need to
be addressed in the context of the
Strategy;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) opportunities for greater
collaboration between or among represented
agencies to improve Federal Government
resilience operations and policy; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vi) opportunities for greater
collaboration between the Federal Government
and non-Federal partners to build local-level
adaptive capacity and resilience; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) includes a review and summary of all
available Federal funding from represented agencies
that is specifically allocated for climate adaptation
activities to be undertaken by non-Federal partners,
including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) a summary of Federal funding
available in appropriations accounts and
subaccounts;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) disparities between the
supply and demand for adaptation funding
available to non-Federal partners;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) existing mechanisms to
ensure Federal funding allocations are being
directed to frontline communities with the
greatest level of vulnerability.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 6. NATIONAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE
STRATEGY.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Strategy.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Resilience Officer and
the Working Groups shall jointly submit to the President and
Congress a National Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Strategy.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Updates.--Not later than the date that is 3
years after the date on which the Chief Resilience Officer and
the Working Groups jointly submit the Strategy to the President
and Congress under paragraph (1), and every 3 years thereafter,
the Chief Resilience Officer and the Working Groups shall
jointly submit an updated version of the Strategy to the
President and Congress to account for--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) new science related to climate change,
resilience, and adaptation;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) relevant changes in Federal Government
structure, congressional authorities, or
appropriations; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) any other necessary improvements or
changes identified by the Chief Resilience
Officer.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Purpose and scope.--The Strategy shall
describe strategies for the Federal Government, in partnership
with non-Federal partners, to address the vulnerabilities of
the United States to climate change described in the National
Climate Assessment or other relevant analyses identified by the
Chief Resilience Officer to ensure that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the United States has an overarching
strategic vision to respond to climate change that--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) identifies national climate
resilience goals and guides national climate
adaptation efforts;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) facilitates the incorporation
of the climate resilience goals identified
under clause (i) into relevant national
programs, operations, and strategies;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) develops proactive, long-
term, scenario-based strategies to plan for and
respond to current and future climate impacts
to human communities, natural resources and
public land, and infrastructure and other
physical assets;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) emphasizes forward-thinking
adaptation strategies that seek to overcome
repeated climate impacts to vulnerable systems
and communities;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) prioritizes climate resilience
efforts to support the most vulnerable human
communities and the most urgent national
resilience challenges, as determined by the
Chief Resilience Officer in consultation with
the Working Groups;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vi) avoids unnecessary
redundancies and inefficiencies in the national
planning for and response to climate change;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vii) recognizes the vulnerability
of natural systems to climate change and
underscores the importance of promoting
ecosystem resilience to preserve the intrinsic
value of nature and support ecosystem services
relied on by human beings;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Federal investments in Federal and
non-Federal infrastructure and assets promote climate
resilience to the maximum extent practicable;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) the adaptive capacity and resilience
of State, local, and territorial governments,
governments of Indian Tribes, and governments of Freely
Associated States are maximized to the maximum extent
practicable.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Council recommendations.--In developing the
Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer and Working Groups shall
consider the recommendations of the Council.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Inclusions.--In addition to the overarching
strategies developed in accordance with paragraph (3), the
Strategy shall include the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) Direct federal government response to
climate change.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) Strategies to address the
limitations, redundancies, and opportunities
for improved resilience operations of the
Federal Government that are identified in the
Operations Report.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Strategies to better prepare
the United States for the adverse impacts
experienced or anticipated to be experienced as
a result of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) rapid-onset climate
hazards;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) slow-onset climate
hazards;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) compound climate
hazards; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) cascading climate
hazards.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) 1 or more strategies to
educate, engage, or develop the skills of the
workforce of the represented agencies with
respect to topics related to climate change
vulnerability and resilience to promote
effective Federal resilience
operations.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) An identification of
opportunities and appropriate circumstances for
represented agencies to better utilize natural
infrastructure as an adaptation
strategy.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Support of non-federal partners'
response to climate change.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) 1 or more strategies for
represented agencies to better collaborate and
work directly with non-Federal partners to
increase the resilience and adaptive capacity
of State, local, and territorial governments,
the governments of Indian Tribes, the
governments of Freely Associated States, and
other non-Federal partners.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) 1 or more strategies to
educate non-Federal partners about the
availability of Federal funding opportunities
identified in the Operations Report under
section 5(2)(B), including the development of a
centralized, cross-agency portal that allows
non-Federal partners to easily identify and
apply for appropriate Federal funding
opportunities for the specific resilience needs
of those non-Federal partners.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) 1 or more strategies to
clarify, simplify, and harmonize the planning
requirements and application processes for
State, local, and territorial governments, the
governments of Indian Tribes, and the
governments of Freely Associated States to
access Federal funds for climate adaptation and
resilience efforts across represented
agencies.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) 1 or more strategies to
identify under-resourced communities and
communities with low adaptive capacity and
resilience and to directly support those
communities in applying for Federal funds for
climate adaptation and resilience
efforts.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) 1 or more strategies to
support the retreat or relocation of human
communities in areas that are at increasing
risk from climate change, in particular from
slow-onset climate hazards, including
strategies to better manage equitable property
buyouts, managed retreat, or relocation options
for communities in those areas.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) Climate information.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) 1 or more strategies to
increase the accessibility and utility of
climate information that is produced,
published, or hosted by the Federal Government,
including strategies to better collaborate
across the represented agencies and work with
non-Federal partners--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) to provide the high-
quality, locally relevant climate
information and, where practicable and
useful, transparent and replicable
downscaled climate projections that are
necessary to support local-level
adaptation efforts;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) to establish improved
methods of communicating climate risk
and other relevant climate
information;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) to better educate
non-Federal partners about the
available resources for climate
information; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) to assist non-Federal
partners in selecting and using
appropriate climate information or
related tools.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Standardized procedures to
synthesize, align, and update climate
information produced, published, or hosted by
the Federal Government to create arrays of
standardized national, regional, and, where
applicable, local climate information for
adaptation planning.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) An assessment of the
necessity and utility of developing or
improving a centralized clearinghouse and
dedicated Federal program for climate
information to better provide climate
information to end users.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) 1 or more strategies to
develop the centralized clearinghouse or
dedicated Federal program described in clause
(iii), if such an effort is determined to be
necessary by the Chief Resilience
Officer.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) Resilience metrics and indicators.--At
the discretion of the Chief Resilience Officer, 1 or
more strategies to develop or improve resilience
metrics and indicators to assist the Federal Government
and non-Federal partners--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) to the maximum extent
practicable, to consistently measure the
resilience of human communities, natural
systems, and physical assets to climate
change;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) to set baselines and targets
to measurably increase climate resilience over
time; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) to better monitor and assess
the effectiveness of various resilience-
building activities after
implementation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) Funding climate adaptation.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) 1 or more strategies to help
prioritize Federal funding expenditures for
adaptation and resilience in consideration of
the greatest vulnerabilities.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) 1 or more strategies to
create financial incentives for adaptation and
resilience efforts.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) A review of the cost-benefit
analysis methodologies and discount rates used
by represented agencies for all Federal
investments, including a review of the
implications of those methodologies and
discount rates for climate adaptation and
resilience.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) Recommendations to improve
the methodologies described in clause (iii) to
reflect--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) the added value of
resilience planning and construction
methodologies over the lifetime of a
project or unit of
infrastructure;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) the benefits of
natural infrastructure
investments;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) the potential value
of retreat and relocation as adaptation
solutions; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) to what extent
existing cost-benefit analysis
methodologies lead to inequitable
outcomes or outcomes that increase
climate vulnerability.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) Social equity.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) Strategies to ensure that the
costs, benefits, and risks resulting from
climate resilience efforts, including funding
allocations, the methodologies for determining
funding allocations, and existing and future
policies, are equitably distributed among
sectors of society, types of communities, and
geographies.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Strategies to ensure that
federally supported climate resilience efforts
are--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) designed in
consultation with the communities that
will be affected by those efforts;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) centered on the needs
of those communities.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) To the greatest extent
practicable, 1 or more strategies to integrate
social equity considerations across all aspects
of the Strategy.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Implementation Plan.--Concurrently with the Strategy
and each update of the Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups shall jointly submit to the President and Congress an
Implementation Plan that describes how represented agencies intend to
carry out the Strategy, which shall include--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) a description of the roles and
responsibilities of each represented agency in carrying out
each element of the Strategy described in subsection
(a);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) a plan to enter into such interagency
agreements between and among represented agencies, partnerships
with non-Federal entities, and other agreements for
coordination between and among the Federal Government and non-
Federal partners as may be necessary to facilitate a unified
national plan to build resilience to climate change;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) the use of any relevant metrics and indicators
described in subsection (a)(5)(D).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years following the
completion of each Strategy under subsection (a)(1) and each
Implementation Plan, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to the President and Congress a report that assesses--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) the extent to which the Strategy and
Implementation Plan have been carried out by the Federal
Government, which shall be judged, as appropriate, based on any
metrics and indicators developed to track progress in
increasing resilience under subsection (a)(5)(D);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) the effectiveness of the actions taken under
the Strategy and Implementation Plan and the resulting outcomes
of those actions in building national resilience to climate
change; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) the progress made towards the development of
an effective whole-of-government effort to build resilience to
the climate vulnerabilities described in the National Climate
Assessment or other relevant analyses identified by the Chief
Resilience Officer, including recommendations for additional
steps necessary to reach this goal.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Public Comment.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) publish draft and final versions of the
Strategy and Implementation Plan, and each update to the
Strategy and Implementation Plan; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) through publication in the Federal Register,
solicit comments from the public on the draft versions of the
documents published under paragraph (1) for a period of 60
days, which the Chief Resilience Officer and the Working Groups
shall consider before submitting final versions of the Strategy
and Implementation Plan, and updates to the Strategy and
Implementation Plan, to the President and Congress.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Sunset.--This Act ceases to be effective on the date
that is the earlier of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) the date on which the Comptroller General of
the United States submits to the President and Congress the
third assessment report under section 6(c); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) the date that is the last day of fiscal year
2032.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Executive Office of the President to carry
out this Act $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through the
fiscal year in which this Act ceases to be effective under subsection
(a).</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Climate Adaptation and
Resilience Strategy Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE STRATEGY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Adaptation.--The term ``adaptation'' means an
adjustment in a natural or human system in response to a new or
changing environmental condition, including such an adjustment
associated with climate change, that exploits beneficial
opportunities or moderates negative effects.
(2) Adaptive capacity.--The term ``adaptive capacity''
means the ability of a system--
(A) to adjust to climate vulnerabilities to
moderate potential damage or harm;
(B) to take advantage of new, and potentially
beneficial, opportunities; or
(C) to cope with change.
(3) Cascading climate hazards.--The term ``cascading
climate hazards'' means a series of successive environmental
hazards triggered by an initial hazard that is driven or
exacerbated by climate change, such that the impacts to
vulnerable systems are amplified.
(4) Chief resilience officer.--The term ``Chief Resilience
Officer'' means the Chief Resilience Officer of the United
States appointed by the President under subsection (b)(1)(A).
(5) Climate change.--The term ``climate change'' means
changes in average atmospheric and oceanic conditions that
persist over multiple decades or longer and are natural or
anthropogenic in origin, including--
(A) both increases and decreases in temperature;
(B) shifts in precipitation;
(C) shifts in ecoregion or biome geography and
phenology, as applicable;
(D) changing risk from certain types of rapid-onset
climate hazards and slow-onset climate hazards; and
(E) changes to other features of the climate
system.
(6) Climate information.--The term ``climate information''
means information, data, or products that enhance knowledge and
understanding of climate science, risk, conditions,
vulnerability, or impact, including--
(A) climate data products;
(B) historic or future climate projections or
scenarios;
(C) climate risk or vulnerability information;
(D) data or information related to climate
adaptation and mitigation; and
(E) other best available climate science.
(7) Compound climate hazards.--The term ``compound climate
hazards'' means 2 or more environmental hazards driven or
exacerbated by climate change that occur simultaneously or
successively, such that the impacts to vulnerable systems are
amplified.
(8) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Partners
Council on Climate Adaptation and Resilience established by
subsection (c)(1).
(9) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``Executive agency'' in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code.
(10) Freely associated state.--The term ``Freely Associated
State'' means--
(A) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(B) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; and
(C) the Republic of Palau.
(11) Frontline communities.--The term ``frontline
communities'' means human communities that--
(A) are highly vulnerable to climate change or
exposed to climate risk;
(B) experience the earliest, most adverse impacts
of climate change; and
(C) may have a reduced ability to adapt to climate
change due to a lack of resources, political power, or
adaptive capacity.
(12) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan''
means the Implementation Plan jointly developed by the Chief
Resilience Officer and the Working Groups under subsection
(e)(2).
(13) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(14) National climate assessment.--The term ``National
Climate Assessment'' means the assessment delivered to Congress
and the President pursuant to section 106 of the Global Change
Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2936).
(15) Natural infrastructure.--The term ``natural
infrastructure'' means infrastructure that--
(A) uses, restores, or emulates natural ecological,
geological, or physical processes; and
(B)(i) is created through the action of natural
physical, geological, biological, and chemical
processes over time;
(ii) is created by human design, engineering, and
construction to emulate or act in concert with natural
processes; or
(iii) involves the use of plants, soils, and other
natural features, including through the creation,
restoration, or preservation of natural areas using
materials appropriate to the region to manage
stormwater and runoff, to attenuate flooding and storm
surges, to manage erosion and saltwater intrusion, and
for other related purposes.
(16) Non-federal partner.--The term ``non-Federal partner''
means a member of a unit of State, local, or territorial
government, the government of an Indian Tribe, the government
of a Freely Associated State, a private sector entity, or
another individual or organization not affiliated with the
Federal Government.
(17) Operations report.--The term ``Operations Report''
means the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Operations
Report jointly developed by the Chief Resilience Officer and
the Working Groups under subsection (d).
(18) Rapid-onset climate hazard.--The term ``rapid-onset
climate hazard'' means an abrupt environmental hazard driven or
exacerbated by climate change that occurs quickly or
unexpectedly and triggers impacts that materialize rapidly and
interact with conditions of exposure and vulnerability to
result in a disaster.
(19) Represented agency.--The term ``represented agency''
means each Federal agency from which the Chief Resilience
Officer appoints a member to a Working Group under subsection
(b)(2)(D)(ii)(II).
(20) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means the
capacity of a social, physical, economic, or environmental
system to cope with an environmental hazard event, trend, or
disturbance that is driven or exacerbated by climate change by
responding or reorganizing in ways that maintain, to the
greatest extent practicable, the essential function, identity,
and structure of the system and ensure that, in the event of a
rapid-onset climate hazard or a slow-onset climate hazard,
basic human needs are met, while also maintaining the capacity
for adaptation and transformation.
(21) Risk.--
(A) In general.--The term ``risk'' means the
potential for consequences in a situation in which--
(i) something of value is at stake; and
(ii) the outcome is uncertain.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``risk'' includes the
potential for consequences described in subparagraph
(A) that is evaluated as the product obtained by
multiplying--
(i) the probability of a hazard occurring;
by
(ii) the consequence that would result if
the hazard occurred.
(22) Slow-onset climate hazard.--
(A) In general.--The term ``slow-onset climate
hazard'' means an environmental hazard driven or
exacerbated by climate change that evolves gradually
through time due to incremental change or because of an
increasing frequency or intensity of recurring climate
impacts.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``slow-onset climate
hazard'' includes hazards such as--
(i) sea level rise;
(ii) desertification;
(iii) biodiversity loss or the alteration
of or shift in habitat range of individual
species or entire biomes;
(iv) increasing temperatures;
(v) ocean acidification;
(vi) saltwater intrusion;
(vii) soil salinization;
(viii) drought and water scarcity;
(ix) reduced snow pack;
(x) sea ice retreat;
(xi) glacial ice retreat;
(xii) permafrost thaw; and
(xiii) coastal and river bank erosion.
(23) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the National
Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy required to be
developed jointly by the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups under subsection (e)(1).
(24) Territorial government.--The term ``territorial
government'' means the government of a territory (as defined in
section 602(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 802(g))).
(25) Vulnerability.--The term ``vulnerability'' means the
propensity or predisposition of a human individual or community
or physical, biological, or socioeconomic system to be
susceptible to and adversely affected by the impacts of climate
change.
(26) Working group.--The term ``Working Group'' means a
National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Working Group
established by the Chief Resilience Officer under subsection
(b)(2).
(b) Chief Resilience Officer and National Climate Adaptation and
Resilience Working Groups.--
(1) Chief resilience officer.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the President shall
identify or appoint a Chief Resilience Officer of the
United States to serve in the Executive Office of the
President.
(B) Duties.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
(i) serve the President by directing a
whole-of-government effort to build resilience
to climate change vulnerabilities in the United
States (as described in the National Climate
Assessment or other relevant analyses
identified by the Chief Resilience Officer) in
collaboration with existing Federal initiatives
and interagency adaptation efforts;
(ii) establish Working Groups in accordance
with paragraph (2) to facilitate interagency
coordination with respect to climate resilience
and adaptation; and
(iii) at the end of a presidential
administration, delegate the duties of the
Chief Resilience Officer to the Executive
Secretary of the Working Groups designated
under paragraph (2)(F)(i)(I) until a new Chief
Resilience Officer is appointed.
(C) Compensation.--The Chief Resilience Officer
shall be compensated by the Federal Government at level
III of the Executive Schedule in subchapter II of
chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Working groups.--
(A) Establishment.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii),
the Chief Resilience Officer shall establish
the minimum number of National Climate
Adaptation and Resilience Working Groups that
is necessary to carry out the duties and
purposes described in subparagraph (C).
(ii) Limitation.--The Chief Resilience
Officer shall not establish more than 5 Working
Groups.
(B) Focus.--Each Working Group shall focus on a
topic or series of related topics with respect to
climate adaptation and resilience, as determined by the
Chief Resilience Officer.
(C) Duties and purpose.--Each Working Group shall,
under the leadership of the Chief Resilience Officer,
with respect to the focus of the Working Group--
(i) coordinate a whole-of-government plan
to build resilience to the applicable climate
change vulnerabilities described in the
National Climate Assessment or other relevant
analyses identified by the Chief Resilience
Officer;
(ii) assist in the development of the
applicable portions of--
(I) the Operations Report;
(II) the Strategy; and
(III) the Implementation Plan; and
(iii) assist in the standardization across
represented agencies of, with respect to
climate change, the term ``resilience'' to
promote greater consistency in Federal
resilience leadership.
(D) Structure.--
(i) Chairperson.--
(I) In general.--Subject to a
designation under subclause (III), the
Chief Resilience Officer shall serve as
chairperson of each Working Group.
(II) Temporary chairperson.--The
President or the Chief Resilience
Officer may designate another staff
member or member of a Working Group to
act temporarily as the chairperson of
that Working Group in the absence of
the Chief Resilience Officer.
(III) Designated agency
chairperson.--The Chief Resilience
Officer may designate as chairperson of
a Working Group the head of a
represented agency that serves on that
Working Group.
(ii) Membership.--In establishing a Working
Group, the Chief Resilience Officer shall--
(I) identify each Federal agency
with operations or organizational units
that are relevant to the focus of the
Working Group; and
(II) appoint 1 member of each
Federal agency identified under
subclause (I) to represent that Federal
agency on the Working Group.
(iii) Requirement.--In appointing a member
of a Working Group under clause (ii)(II), the
Chief Resilience Officer shall, to the maximum
extent practicable, appoint the head of the
portion of the represented agency that is most
relevant to the focus of the Working Group.
(iv) Duties of members.--Each member of a
Working Group--
(I) shall attend meetings of the
Working Group; and
(II) work to support the duties of
the Working Group.
(E) Meetings.--
(i) In general.--Each Working Group shall
meet not less frequently than once every 180
days.
(ii) Quorum.--\3/4\ of the members of a
Working Group shall constitute a quorum of the
Working Group.
(iii) Remote participation.--A member of a
Working Group may participate in a meeting of
that Working Group through teleconference or
similar means.
(F) Support personnel.--
(i) Executive secretary.--
(I) In general.--The Chief
Resilience Officer shall designate a
permanent employee of a represented
agency to serve as Executive Secretary
of the Working Groups.
(II) Employment.--The employee
designated as Executive Secretary under
subclause (I) shall remain an employee
of the agency, department, or program
from which the employee was appointed.
(ii) Necessary assistance.--To carry out
the purposes of each Working Group, as
described in subparagraph (C), each represented
agency with a member on the Working Group shall
furnish necessary assistance to that Working
Group, such as--
(I) a detail of employees to the
Working Group to perform such
functions, consistent with the purposes
of the Working Group described in
subparagraph (C), as the Chief
Resilience Officer may assign,
including support staff for the
Executive Secretary appointed under
clause (i)(I); and
(II) on request of the Chief
Resilience Officer, undertaking special
studies for the Working Group as may be
appropriate to carry out the functions
of the Working Group.
(c) Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and Resilience.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established a council, to be
known as the ``Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and
Resilience''.
(2) Mission and function.--The Council shall work to
improve the climate adaptation and resilience operations of the
Federal Government by providing recommendations through the
Chief Resilience Officer, including those recommendations
contained in the report required under paragraph (3), that
identify how the Federal Government can better support non-
Federal partners with equitable resources, technical
assistance, improved policies, and other assistance to help
frontline communities build resilience to climate change.
(3) Report.--Not later than 16 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the
Council, acting through the Chief Resilience Officer, shall
submit to the President and the Working Groups a report that
includes--
(A) an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in the
climate resilience operations of the Federal Government
that reduce or fail to increase the capacity of non-
Federal partners to adapt to climate change;
(B) an identification of the resources, including
Federal funding, necessary for non-Federal partners to
adequately adapt to climate change; and
(C) recommendations with respect to how the Federal
Government could better support efforts by non-Federal
partners to expeditiously address vulnerabilities
associated with climate change and build climate
resilience.
(4) Chair and vice-chair.--The Chief Resilience Officer
shall serve as chairperson of the Council and shall appoint a
vice-chairperson from among the members of the Council
appointed pursuant to paragraph (5).
(5) Membership.--
(A) In general.--In addition to the Chief
Resilience Officer, the Council shall consist of not
more than 23 members appointed by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
(B) Appointment.--
(i) In general.--The Chief Resilience
Officer shall appoint members of the Council
who can support the Working Groups by
articulating how the Federal Government can
better support State governments, local
governments, territorial governments, the
governments of Indian Tribes, the governments
of Freely Associated States, nonprofit
organizations, or private sector entities to
build resilience to climate change.
(ii) Non-federal partner members.--The
Chief Resilience Officer shall appoint 20 non-
Federal partner members of the Council as
follows:
(I) 12 members who are employees of
State governments, local governments,
territorial governments, the
governments of Indian Tribes, or the
governments of Freely Associated
States, of which--
(aa) not fewer than 2 shall
be employees of a State
government;
(bb) not fewer than 2 shall
be employees of a unit of local
government;
(cc) not fewer than 2 shall
be employees of the government
of an Indian Tribe; and
(dd) not fewer than 2 shall
be employees of a territorial
government or the government of
a Freely Associated State; and
(II) 8 members who represent
nongovernmental organizations and the
private sector, of which--
(aa) 3 shall represent
nongovernmental organizations;
(bb) 3 shall represent the
private sector; and
(cc) 2 shall represent
academic institutions.
(iii) Represented agency members.--The
Chief Resilience Officer may, with the consent
of those representatives, appoint not more than
3 representatives of represented agencies to
the Council that the Chief Resilience Officer
determines would promote dialogue useful for
implementation of the duties of the Council
while keeping the size of the Council
manageable.
(iv) Selection.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the Chief Resilience Officer shall
seek to select members of the Council who--
(I) possess first-hand, lived
experience of climate vulnerability in
the United States, including direct
experience working with, or as members
of, frontline communities; and
(II) represent a diversity of--
(aa) perspectives;
(bb) demographics;
(cc) geographies;
(dd) political
affiliations; and
(ee) institution sizes,
including representatives of
both small and large units of
government and businesses.
(v) Term.--Members appointed to the Council
shall serve a single term of not more than 3
years, except that--
(I) of the initial members
appointed to the Council, the Chief
Resilience Officer shall appoint--
(aa) \1/2\ of the members
to serve for a term of 18
months; and
(bb) \1/2\ of the members
to serve a term of 3 years; and
(II) the Chief Resilience Officer
may extend the term of any member of
the Council by a period of not more
than 1 year on a one-time basis, if the
Chief Resilience Officer determines it
necessary to support the work of the
Council.
(vi) Vacancies.--
(I) In general.--A vacancy in the
Council shall be filled in the same
manner in which the original selection
was made.
(II) Appointment of new members.--
After the expiration of the term for
which a member of the Council is
appointed, the member may continue to
serve until a successor is appointed.
(6) Meetings.--
(A) In general.--The Council shall meet not less
frequently than once every 180 days.
(B) Quorum.--\3/4\ of the members of the Council
shall constitute a quorum of the Council.
(C) Remote participation.--A member of the Council
may participate in a meeting of the Council through
teleconference or similar means.
(7) Applicability of faca.--Section 14 of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the
Council.
(d) National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Operations Report.--
Not later than 16 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and
every 3 years thereafter, the Chief Resilience Officer and the Working
Groups shall jointly and simultaneously submit to the President and
Congress a National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Operations Report
that includes--
(1) a summary of the existing climate resilience operations
of each represented agency that includes--
(A) the roles and responsibilities of each
represented agency in building national resilience to
the climate vulnerabilities described in the National
Climate Assessment or other analyses relevant to each
represented agency;
(B) the major findings and conclusions from climate
adaptation plans or risk or vulnerability assessments
prepared by each represented agency;
(C) the mechanisms by which each represented agency
supports the resilience efforts of non-Federal
partners, such as by providing funding, resources, and
technical assistance; and
(D) an assessment of how each represented agency is
working to ensure equitable adaptation outcomes; and
(2) a cross-agency analysis of the resilience operations
identified under paragraph (1) that--
(A) identifies--
(i) the challenges, barriers, or
disincentives for the Federal Government to
build resilience to climate change in the
United States;
(ii) the inconsistencies in goals,
priorities, or strategies underlying climate
resilience operations and policy across
represented agencies that may inhibit effective
interagency coordination to support national
climate resilience, including--
(I) the areas of necessary
differences in those goals, priorities,
or strategies; and
(II) the justifications for those
inconsistencies;
(iii) areas of overlap or redundant use of
resources between or among represented
agencies, including recommendations to
eliminate any unnecessary or unintentional
redundancy;
(iv) gaps or deficiencies in resilience
operations and policy that need to be addressed
in the context of the Strategy;
(v) opportunities for greater collaboration
between or among represented agencies to
improve Federal Government resilience
operations and policy; and
(vi) opportunities for greater
collaboration between the Federal Government
and non-Federal partners to build local-level
adaptive capacity and resilience; and
(B) includes a review and summary of all available
Federal funding from represented agencies that is
specifically allocated for climate adaptation
activities to be undertaken by non-Federal partners,
including--
(i) a summary of Federal funding available
in appropriations accounts and subaccounts;
(ii) disparities between the supply and
demand for adaptation funding available to non-
Federal partners; and
(iii) existing mechanisms to ensure Federal
funding allocations are being directed to
frontline communities with the greatest level
of vulnerability.
(e) National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy.--
(1) Strategy.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Resilience
Officer and the Working Groups shall jointly submit and
simultaneously to the President and Congress a National
Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy.
(B) Updates.--Not later than the date that is 3
years after the date on which the Chief Resilience
Officer and the Working Groups jointly and
simultaneously submit the Strategy to the President and
Congress under subparagraph (A), and every 3 years
thereafter, the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups shall jointly submit an updated version
of the Strategy to the President and Congress to
account for--
(i) new science related to climate change,
resilience, and adaptation;
(ii) relevant changes in Federal Government
structure, congressional authorities, or
appropriations; and
(iii) any other necessary improvements or
changes identified by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
(C) Purpose and scope.--The Strategy shall describe
strategies for the Federal Government, in partnership
with non-Federal partners, to address the
vulnerabilities of the United States to climate change
described in the National Climate Assessment or other
relevant analyses identified by the Chief Resilience
Officer to ensure that--
(i) the United States has an overarching
strategic vision to respond to climate change
that--
(I) identifies national climate
resilience goals and guides national
climate adaptation efforts;
(II) facilitates the incorporation
of the climate resilience goals
identified under subclause (I) into
relevant national programs, operations,
and strategies;
(III) develops proactive, long-
term, scenario-based strategies to plan
for and respond to current and future
climate impacts to human communities,
natural resources and public land, and
infrastructure and other physical
assets;
(IV) emphasizes forward-thinking
adaptation strategies, including
predisaster mitigation, that seek to
overcome repeated climate impacts to
vulnerable systems and communities;
(V) prioritizes climate resilience
efforts to support the most vulnerable
human communities and the most urgent
national resilience challenges, as
determined by the Chief Resilience
Officer in consultation with the
Working Groups;
(VI) avoids unnecessary
redundancies and inefficiencies in the
national planning for and response to
climate change; and
(VII) recognizes the vulnerability
of natural systems to climate change
and underscores the importance of
promoting ecosystem resilience to
preserve the intrinsic value of nature
and support ecosystem services relied
on by human beings;
(ii) Federal investments in Federal and
non-Federal infrastructure and assets promote
climate resilience to the maximum extent
practicable; and
(iii) the adaptive capacity and resilience
of State governments, local governments,
territorial governments, the governments of
Indian Tribes, and governments of Freely
Associated States are maximized to the maximum
extent practicable.
(D) Council recommendations.--In developing the
Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer and Working
Groups shall consider the recommendations of the
Council.
(E) Inclusions.--In addition to the overarching
strategies developed in accordance with subparagraph
(C), the Strategy shall include information with
respect to the following:
(i) Direct federal government response to
climate change.--
(I) Addressing the limitations,
redundancies, and opportunities for
improved resilience operations of the
Federal Government that are identified
in the Operations Report.
(II) Better preparing the United
States for the adverse impacts
experienced or anticipated to be
experienced as a result of--
(aa) rapid-onset climate
hazards;
(bb) slow-onset climate
hazards;
(cc) compound climate
hazards; and
(dd) cascading climate
hazards.
(III) Educating, engaging, or
developing the skills of the workforce
of the represented agencies with
respect to topics related to climate
change vulnerability and resilience to
promote effective Federal resilience
operations.
(IV) An identification of
opportunities and appropriate
circumstances for represented agencies
to better utilize natural
infrastructure as an adaptation
strategy.
(ii) Support of non-federal partners'
response to climate change.--
(I) Methods for represented
agencies to better collaborate and work
directly with non-Federal partners to
increase the resilience and adaptive
capacity of State governments, local
governments, territorial governments,
the governments of Indian Tribes, the
governments of Freely Associated
States, and other non-Federal partners.
(II) Educating non-Federal partners
about the availability of Federal
funding opportunities identified in the
Operations Report under subsection
(d)(2)(B), including the development of
a centralized, cross-agency portal that
allows non-Federal partners to easily
identify and apply for appropriate
Federal funding opportunities for the
specific resilience needs of those non-
Federal partners.
(III) Clarifying, simplifying, and
harmonizing the planning requirements
and application processes for State
governments, local governments,
territorial governments, the
governments of Indian Tribes, and the
governments of Freely Associated States
to access Federal funds for climate
adaptation and resilience efforts
across represented agencies.
(IV) Identifying under-resourced
communities and communities with low
adaptive capacity and resilience and to
directly support those communities in
applying for Federal funds for climate
adaptation and resilience efforts.
(V) Supporting the retreat or
relocation of human communities in
areas that are at increasing risk from
climate change, in particular from
slow-onset climate hazards, including
strategies to better manage equitable
property buyouts, managed retreat, or
relocation options for communities in
those areas.
(iii) Climate information.--
(I) Increasing the accessibility
and utility of climate information that
is produced, published, or hosted by
the Federal Government, including
strategies to better collaborate across
the represented agencies and work with
non-Federal partners--
(aa) to provide the high-
quality, locally relevant
climate information and, where
practicable and useful,
transparent and replicable
downscaled climate projections
that are necessary to support
local-level adaptation efforts;
(bb) to establish improved
methods of communicating
climate risk and other relevant
climate information;
(cc) to better educate non-
Federal partners about the
available resources for climate
information; and
(dd) to assist non-Federal
partners in selecting and using
appropriate climate information
or related tools.
(II) Standardized procedures to
synthesize, align, and update climate
information produced, published, or
hosted by the Federal Government to
create arrays of standardized national,
regional, and, where applicable, local
climate information for adaptation
planning.
(III) An assessment of the
necessity and utility of developing or
improving a centralized clearinghouse
and dedicated Federal program for
climate information to better provide
climate information to end users.
(IV) Developing the centralized
clearinghouse or dedicated Federal
program described in subclause (III),
if such an effort is determined to be
necessary by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
(iv) Resilience metrics and indicators.--At
the discretion of the Chief Resilience Officer,
developing or improving resilience metrics and
indicators to assist the Federal Government and
non-Federal partners--
(I) to the maximum extent
practicable, to consistently measure
the resilience of human communities,
natural systems, and physical assets to
climate change;
(II) to set baselines and targets
to measurably increase climate
resilience over time; and
(III) to better monitor and assess
the effectiveness of various
resilience-building activities after
implementation.
(v) Funding climate adaptation.--
(I) Helping to prioritize Federal
funding expenditures for adaptation and
resilience in consideration of the
greatest vulnerabilities.
(II) Creating financial incentives
for adaptation and resilience efforts.
(III) A review of the cost-benefit
analysis methodologies and discount
rates used by represented agencies for
all Federal investments, including a
review of the implications of those
methodologies and discount rates for
climate adaptation and resilience.
(IV) Recommendations to improve the
methodologies described in subclause
(III) to reflect--
(aa) the added value of
resilience planning and
construction methodologies over
the lifetime of a project or
unit of infrastructure;
(bb) the benefits of
natural infrastructure
investments;
(cc) the potential value of
retreat and relocation as
adaptation solutions; and
(dd) to what extent
existing cost-benefit analysis
methodologies lead to
inequitable outcomes or
outcomes that increase climate
vulnerability.
(vi) Social equity.--
(I) Ensuring that the costs,
benefits, and risks resulting from
climate resilience efforts, including
funding allocations, the methodologies
for determining funding allocations,
and existing and future policies, are
equitably distributed among sectors of
society, types of communities, and
geographies.
(II) Ensuring that federally
supported climate resilience efforts
are--
(aa) designed in
consultation with the
communities that will be
affected by those efforts; and
(bb) centered on the needs
of those communities.
(III) To the greatest extent
practicable, integrating social equity
considerations across all aspects of
the Strategy.
(2) Implementation plan.--Concurrently with the Strategy
and each update of the Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer
and the Working Groups shall jointly and simultaneously submit
to the President and Congress an Implementation Plan that
describes how represented agencies intend to carry out the
Strategy, which shall include--
(A) a description of the roles and responsibilities
of each represented agency in carrying out each element
of the Strategy described in paragraph (1);
(B) a plan to enter into such interagency
agreements between and among represented agencies,
partnerships with non-Federal entities, and other
agreements for coordination between and among the
Federal Government and non-Federal partners as may be
necessary to facilitate a unified national plan to
build resilience to climate change; and
(C) the use of any relevant metrics and indicators
described in paragraph (1)(E)(iv).
(3) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years following the
completion of each Strategy under paragraph (1)(A) and each
Implementation Plan, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall simultaneously submit to the President and
Congress a report that assesses--
(A) the extent to which the Strategy and
Implementation Plan have been carried out by the
Federal Government, which shall be judged, as
appropriate, based on any metrics and indicators
developed to track progress in increasing resilience
under paragraph (1)(E)(iv);
(B) the effectiveness of the actions taken under
the Strategy and Implementation Plan and the resulting
outcomes of those actions in building national
resilience to climate change; and
(C) the progress made towards the development of an
effective whole-of-government effort to build
resilience to the climate vulnerabilities described in
the National Climate Assessment or other relevant
analyses identified by the Chief Resilience Officer,
including recommendations for additional steps
necessary to reach this goal.
(4) Public comment.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
(A) publish draft and final versions of the
Strategy and Implementation Plan, and each update to
the Strategy and Implementation Plan; and
(B) through publication in the Federal Register,
solicit comments from the public on the draft versions
of the documents published under subparagraph (A) for a
period of 60 days, which the Chief Resilience Officer
and the Working Groups shall consider before submitting
final versions of the Strategy and Implementation Plan,
and updates to the Strategy and Implementation Plan, to
the President and Congress.
(f) Sunset.--This section ceases to be effective on the date that
is the earlier of--
(1) the date on which the Comptroller General of the United
States submits to the President and Congress the third
assessment report under subsection (e)(3); and
(2) the date that is the last day of fiscal year 2033.
Calendar No. 615
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3531
[Report No. 117-237]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Government to produce a national climate
adaptation and resilience strategy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 12, 2022
Reported with an amendment