[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4521 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4521
To require the President to develop a strategy to ensure the health,
safety, and general welfare of the civilian population of the United
States in case of catastrophic incidents disabling 1 or more critical
infrastructure sectors or significantly disrupting the critical
functions of modern society, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 13, 2022
Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the President to develop a strategy to ensure the health,
safety, and general welfare of the civilian population of the United
States in case of catastrophic incidents disabling 1 or more critical
infrastructure sectors or significantly disrupting the critical
functions of modern society, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Everyone Safe and Securing
Lives by Emergency Readiness Act'' or the ``KESSLER Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the integration of connected technologies has become
essential to the operation of modern critical infrastructure;
(2) reliance on connected technologies and interoperability
across critical infrastructure sectors create new
vulnerabilities that may be used against the United States;
(3) adversaries of the United States have targeted critical
infrastructure and are likely to increase attacks on essential
services in the United States should global conflicts escalate;
(4) while strong defenses and mitigation measures are
essential to the safety of the United States, no strategy can
stop all catastrophic events;
(5) the Federal Government must prepare Federal, State, and
local governments, along with the people of the United States,
to promote the general welfare of the civilian population of
the United States even if most or all critical infrastructure
sectors are impacted by catastrophic events; and
(6) such preparations must include coordination with State,
local, and Tribal governments, private sector entities, and
individual citizens.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Basic need.--The term ``basic need''--
(A) means any good, service, or activity necessary
to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of
the civilian population of the United States; and
(B) includes--
(i) food;
(ii) water;
(iii) shelter;
(iv) reliable energy;
(v) basic communication services; and
(vi) public safety.
(2) Catastrophic incident.--The term ``catastrophic
incident'' means an incident, whether caused by human or
natural events, in which multiple levels of United States
critical infrastructure are destroyed, damaged, or interrupted
in sufficient magnitude to threaten the health, safety, or
general welfare of the civilian population of the United
States.
(3) Critical infrastructure.--The term ``critical
infrastructure'' has the meaning given the term in section
1016(e) of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2001
(42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)).
(4) National exercise.--The term ``national exercise''
means a national exercise described in section 648(b) of the
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C.
748(b)).
(5) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government''
means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska
Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community,
component band, or component reservation, that is individually
identified (including parenthetically) in the most recent list
published pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized
Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO ENSURE THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND GENERAL WELFARE OF
THE CIVILIAN POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the President shall develop and submit to Congress a
strategy to--
(1) provide for the basic needs of the civilian population
of the United States that is impacted by catastrophic incidents
in the United States;
(2) coordinate response efforts with State and local
governments, the private sector, and nonprofit relief
organizations;
(3) promote personal and local readiness and non-reliance
on government relief during periods of heightened tension or
after catastrophic incidents; and
(4) develop international partnerships with allied nations
for the provision of relief services and goods.
(b) Elements of the Strategy.--The strategy developed under
subsection (a) shall include a description of--
(1) actions the President will take to ensure the basic
needs of the civilian population of the United States in a
catastrophic incident are met;
(2) how the President will coordinate and facilitate
agreements with non-Federal entities to multiply resources and
enhance relief capabilities, including--
(A) State and local governments;
(B) Tribal governments;
(C) State disaster relief agencies;
(D) State and local disaster relief managers;
(E) State National Guards;
(F) law enforcement and first response entities;
and
(G) nonprofit relief services;
(3) actions the President will take to enhance individual
resiliency to the effects of a catastrophic incident, which
actions shall include--
(A) readiness alerts to the public during periods
of elevated threat;
(B) efforts to enhance domestic supply and
availability of critical goods and basic necessities;
and
(C) information campaigns to ensure the public is
aware of response plans and services that will be
activated when necessary;
(4) efforts the President will undertake and agreements the
President will seek with international allies to enhance the
readiness of the United States to provide for the general
welfare;
(5) how the strategic plan will be implemented should
multiple levels of critical infrastructure be destroyed or
taken offline entirely for an extended period of time;
(6) how the strategic plan will be made operational within
the larger response strategy of the United States; and
(7) the authorities the President would implicate in
responding to a catastrophic incident.
(c) Assumptions.--In designing the strategy under subsection (a),
the President shall account for certain factors to make the strategy
operationally viable, including the assumption that--
(1) multiple levels of critical infrastructure have been
taken offline or destroyed by catastrophic incidents or the
effects of catastrophic incidents;
(2) impacted sectors may include--
(A) the transportation sector;
(B) the communication sector;
(C) the energy sector;
(D) the healthcare and public health sector;
(E) the water and wastewater sector; and
(F) the financial sector;
(3) State and local governments have been equally affected
or made largely inoperable by catastrophic incidents or the
effects of catastrophic incidents;
(4) the emergency has exceeded the response capabilities of
State and local governments under the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et
seq.) and other relevant disaster response laws; and
(5) the United States military is sufficiently engaged in
armed or cyber conflict with State or non-State adversaries, or
is otherwise unable to augment domestic response capabilities
in a significant manner due to a catastrophic incident.
(d) Existing Plans.--The President may incorporate existing
contingency plans in the strategy developed under subsection (a) so
long as those contingency plans are amended to be operational in
accordance with the requirements under this section.
(e) Availability.--The strategy developed under subsection (a)--
(1) shall be made available to Congress and appropriate
government entities; and
(2) may include a classified, or other restricted, annex.
(f) Delegation.--The President may delegate all or some of the
authority under this section to the Secretary of Homeland Security or a
designee thereof.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
Not later than 90 days after the issuance of the strategy required
under section 4, the President shall issue a plan to implement and
operationalize the strategy, which shall include--
(1) steps the President will take to prepare implicated
entities for mobilization under the strategy; and
(2) specific actions the President will take to--
(A) ensure the continued readiness of the United
States to implement the strategy;
(B) educate the public and non-Federal entities on
the strategy and the role individual citizens should
play to ensure the objectives of the strategy are met;
(C) ensure the objectives of the strategy are met;
and
(D) ensure foreign adversaries are not able to
undermine the operationalization of the strategy.
SEC. 6. NATIONAL RESPONSE EXERCISE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the issuance of the
implementation plan required under section 5, the Department of
Homeland Security shall lead a national exercise, in coordination with
the appropriate government agencies, to test and enhance the
operationalization of the implementation plan.
(b) Requirements.--A national exercise conducted under this section
shall include participation from most or all entities implicated by the
strategy required under section 4, including--
(1) State, local, and Tribal governments;
(2) information sharing and analysis centers; and
(3) owners and operators of critical infrastructure.
SEC. 7. RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) In General.--The President shall provide recommendations to
Congress for--
(1) actions that should be taken to prepare the United
States to implement the strategy required under section 4,
increase readiness, and address preparedness gaps for
responding to the impacts and effects of catastrophic incidents
on citizens of the United States; and
(2) additional authorities that should be considered for
Federal agencies and the President to more effectively
implement the strategy required under section 4.
(b) Inclusion in Reports.--The President may include the
recommendations required under subsection (a) in a report submitted
under section 8.
SEC. 8. REPORT ON STRATEGY, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, AND NATIONAL EXERCISE.
Not later than 1 year after the date on which Department of
Homeland Security leads the national exercise under section 6, the
President shall submit to Congress a report that includes--
(1) a description of the efforts of the President to
develop and update the strategy required under section 4;
(2) a description of the efforts of the President to
develop and update the implementation plan required under
section 5; and
(3) an analysis of the effectiveness and benefit of the
national exercise conducted under section 6.
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