[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3261 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3261
To require the Federal Government to produce a national adaptation and
resilience strategy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 8, 2023
Mr. Coons (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Reed, Mr.
Graham, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Bennet) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Government to produce a national 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,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Coordination on Adaptation
and Resilience for Security Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL 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) 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) 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.
(3) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Partners
Council on Adaptation and Resilience established under
subsection (c)(1).
(4) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``Executive agency'' in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code.
(5) 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.
(6) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan''
means the Implementation Plan jointly developed by the Chief
Resilience Officer and the working groups under subsection
(d)(2).
(7) 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).
(8) 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).
(9) Represented agency.--The term ``represented agency''
means each Federal agency from which the Chief Resilience
Officer appoints a member to a working group.
(10) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' has the meaning
given the term ``climate resilience'' in section 101 of title
10, United States Code.
(11) 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--
(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.
(12) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the National
Adaptation and Resilience Strategy required to be developed
jointly by the Chief Resilience Officer and the working groups
under subsection (d)(1).
(13) 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))).
(14) Working group.--The term ``working group'' means a
working group established under subsection (b)(2)(B).
(b) Chief Resilience Officer and National Adaptation and Resilience
Working Groups.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint a Chief
Resilience Officer of the United States to serve in the
Executive Office of the President.
(2) Duties.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
(A) serve the President by directing a whole-of-
government effort to build resilience to environmental
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;
(B) establish any necessary interagency working
groups to facilitate coordination with respect to
resilience and adaptation and the development of the
Strategy; and
(C) 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 (5)(A) until a new Chief
Resilience Officer is appointed.
(3) Compensation.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall be
paid at the rate of basic pay for level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
(4) Necessary assistance.--To carry out the development of
the Strategy and efforts of working groups, each represented
agency shall furnish necessary assistance to that working
group, such as--
(A) a detail of employees to the working group to
perform such functions as the Chief Resilience Officer
may assign, including support staff for the Executive
Secretary designated under paragraph (5)(A); and
(B) 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.
(5) Executive secretary.--
(A) In general.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall
designate a permanent employee of a represented agency
to serve as Executive Secretary of the Working Groups.
(B) Employment.--The employee designated as
Executive Secretary under subparagraph (A) shall remain
an employee of the agency, department, or program from
which the employee was appointed.
(c) Partners Council on Adaptation and Resilience.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established a council, to be
known as the ``Partners Council on Adaptation and Resilience''.
(2) Mission and function.--The Council shall work to
improve the 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 communities build
resilience to changing environmental conditions.
(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 a report that includes--
(A) an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in the
resilience operations of the Federal Government that
reduce or fail to increase the capacity of non-Federal
partners to adapt to changing environmental conditions;
(B) an identification of the resources, including
Federal funding, necessary for non-Federal partners to
adequately adapt to changing environmental conditions;
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 resilience.
(4) Chair and vice-chair.--The Chief Resilience Officer
shall--
(A) serve as chairperson of the Council; and
(B) 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
with relevant experiences to inform 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 changing
environmental conditions.
(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 environmental
vulnerability in the United States,
including direct experience working
with, or as members of, communities
that are highly vulnerable to changing
environmental conditions; 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) Applicability of faca.--Section 1013 of title 5, United
States Code, shall not apply to the Council.
(d) National 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 shall submit to the President and Congress a
National Adaptation and Resilience Strategy.
(B) Updates.--Not later than the date that is 3
years after the date on which the Chief Resilience
Officer submits the Strategy to the President and
Congress under subparagraph (A), and every 3 years
thereafter, the Chief Resilience Officer shall submit
an updated version of the Strategy to the President and
Congress to account for--
(i) evolving 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 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 resilience
goals and guides national adaptation
efforts;
(II) facilitates the incorporation
of the 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
disasters or environmental condition
changes 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 impacts to vulnerable
systems and communities;
(V) prioritizes 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
national adaptation and resilience
planning and response; and
(VII) recognizes the vulnerability
of natural systems to changing
environmental conditions 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
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.--The Strategy shall include the
following:
(i) Information with respect to direct
Federal Government adaptation and resilience
response, including--
(I) information on better preparing
the United States for the adverse
impacts experienced or anticipated to
be experienced as a result of near-term
and long-term climate hazards,
including slow-onset hazards;
(II) information on educating,
engaging, or developing the skills of
the workforce of the represented
agencies with respect to topics related
to environmental vulnerability and
resilience to promote effective Federal
resilience operations; and
(III) an identification of
opportunities and appropriate
circumstances for represented agencies
to better use natural infrastructure as
an adaptation strategy.
(ii) Information relating to the support of
the adaptation of non-Federal partners and
resilience groups, including--
(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) 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 adaptation
and resilience efforts across
represented agencies;
(III) identifying under-resourced
communities and communities with low
adaptive capacity and resilience and to
directly support those communities in
applying for Federal funds for
adaptation and resilience efforts; and
(IV) 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) At the discretion of the Chief
Resilience Officer, information relating to
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 resilience over
time and measure progress towards goals
outlined in the Strategy; and
(III) to better monitor and assess
the effectiveness of various
resilience-building activities after
implementation.
(iv) Information relating to funding
adaptation, including--
(I) strategies for--
(aa) helping to prioritize
Federal funding expenditures
for adaptation and resilience
in consideration of the
greatest vulnerabilities; and
(bb) creating financial
incentives for adaptation and
resilience efforts;
(II) 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
adaptation and resilience; and
(III) recommendations to improve
the methodologies described in
subclause (II) to reflect--
(aa) the added value of
pre-disaster mitigation,
resilience planning, and
construction methodologies over
the lifetime of a project or
unit of infrastructure;
(bb) the benefits of
natural infrastructure
investments and nature-based
solutions;
(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.
(v) Information relating to community
considerations, including strategies for--
(I) ensuring that the costs,
benefits, and risks resulting from
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 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; and
(III) to the greatest extent
practicable, integrating 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
shall 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;
(C) the use of any relevant metrics and indicators
described in paragraph (1)(E)(iii); and
(D) recommendations on leveraging or developing a
national web-based approached to share resilience,
adaptation, pre-disaster mitigation best practices,
experiences, projects, technologies, and approaches.
(3) National adaptation and resilience operations.--The
Chief Resilience Officer shall include in the Strategy--
(A) a summary of the existing resilience operations
of each represented agency that includes--
(i) the roles and responsibilities of each
represented agency in building national
resilience to the vulnerabilities described in
the National Climate Assessment or other
analyses relevant to each represented agency;
(ii) the major findings and conclusions
from adaptation plans or risk or vulnerability
assessments prepared by each represented
agency;
(iii) 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
(iv) an assessment of how each represented
agency is working to ensure equitable
adaptation outcomes; and
(B) a cross-agency analysis of the resilience
operations identified under subparagraph (A) that--
(i) identifies--
(I) the challenges, barriers, or
disincentives for the Federal
Government to build resilience in the
United States;
(II) the inconsistencies in goals,
priorities, or strategies underlying
resilience operations and policy across
represented agencies that may inhibit
effective interagency coordination to
support national resilience,
including--
(aa) the areas of necessary
differences in those goals,
priorities, or strategies; and
(bb) 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
(ii) a review and summary of all available
Federal funding from represented agencies that
is specifically allocated for 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 communities with the
greatest level of vulnerability.
(4) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years after the
completion of each Strategy and each Implementation Plan, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall 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)(iii);
(B) the effectiveness of the actions taken under
the Strategy and Implementation Plan and the resulting
outcomes of those actions in building national
adaptation and resilience planning and response; and
(C) the progress made towards the development of an
effective whole-of-government effort to build
resilience to the 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.
(5) 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
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.
(e) Adaptation and Resilience Clearinghouse.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Resilience Officer
shall establish an adaptation and resilience clearinghouse that--
(1) increases the accessibility and utility of adaptation
and resilience data and information produced, published, or
hosted by the Federal Government; and
(2) increases technical assistance to non-Federal partners
on adaptation and resilience planning and response, including
strategies to better collaborate across the represented
agencies and work with non-Federal partners to--
(A) provide locally relevant resilience and
adaptation information and, where practicable and
useful, downscaled climate projections that are
necessary to support local-level adaptation efforts;
(B) establish improved methods of communicating
resilience and adaptation risk and other information;
(C) better educate non-Federal partners about the
available resources;
(D) streamline information about Federal adaptation
and resilience resources in a single centralized
location if determined necessary by the Chief
Resilience Officer;
(E) assist non-Federal partners in selecting and
using appropriate information or related tools;
(F) work with non-Federal partners to access
existing Federal grant programs related to resilience
and adaptation; and
(G) standardize procedures to synthesize, align,
and update adaptation and resilience information
produced, published, or hosted by the Federal
Government to create standardized national, regional,
and, where applicable, local climate information for
adaptation planning.
(f) Sunset.--This section shall cease 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 (d)(4); and
(2) September 30, 2033.
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