I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 744 To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to revise the policy of the Agency to address the threats of climate change, to include considerations of climate change in the strategic plan of the Agency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COHEN, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WELCH, Mr. TONKO, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. JONES, Mr. KILMER, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. PORTER, Mr. SIRES, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. DINGELL, and Ms. JAYAPAL) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency to revise the policy of the Agency to address the threats of climate change, to include consid- erations of climate change in the strategic plan of the Agency, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 744 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FEMA Climate 2 Change Preparedness Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Under the previous Administration, the 6 term ‘‘climate change’’ was intentionally stripped 7 from the Agency’s 2018–2022 Strategic Plan, de- 8 spite the mounting threat posed by climate change 9 as a source of changing and increasing national dis- 10 aster risks. 11 (2) It is the general consensus of the global sci- 12 entific community that— 13 (A) the evidence of climate change is un- 14 equivocal; 15 (B) anthropogenic greenhouse gas emis- 16 sions are the primary cause of climate change; 17 and 18 (C) as a direct result of climate change, 19 sea levels are rising and extreme weather events 20 are becoming more commonplace and severe. 21 (3) The last 7 years have been the warmest 22 years on record since the National Oceanic and At- 23 mospheric Administration began recording global air 24 temperatures in 1895. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 744 IH (4) In 2020, there were a record total of 22 cli- 1 mate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion 2 each to affect the United States—amounting to 5 3 more disasters of such magnitude than each of the 4 previous record years of 2011 and 2017. 5 (5) It is the mission of FEMA to reduce the 6 loss of life and property and protect our institutions 7 from all hazards by leading and supporting the Na- 8 tion in a comprehensive, risk-based emergency man- 9 agement program of mitigation, preparedness, re- 10 sponse, and recovery. 11 (6) It is detrimental to the mission of FEMA, 12 and the Agency’s ability to follow its mandate, to ex- 13 plicitly or implicitly deny or ignore the existence of 14 climate change or the implications of such on na- 15 tional security and national emergency management. 16 (7) To fully and effectively carry out its man- 17 date, FEMA must comprehensively assess and incor- 18 porate the current and future natural disaster risks 19 and impacts posed by climate change throughout the 20 Agency’s policies, plans, programs, strategies, and 21 operations. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 744 IH SEC. 3. STATEMENTS OF INTENT AND POLICY. 1 Section 101 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 2 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121) is 3 amended— 4 (1) in subsection (b)— 5 (A) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 6 the end; 7 (B) in paragraph (6) by striking the period 8 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(7) integrating, to the greatest extent prac- 11 ticable, climate change adaptation planning and ac- 12 tions into the programs, policies, and operations of 13 the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and 14 ‘‘(8) assisting State, local, volunteer, and pri- 15 vate partners in preparing for and mitigating the 16 risks posed by climate change as listed in subsection 17 (c)(2), as well as any other climate change risks.’’; 18 and 19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(c) CLIMATE CHANGE.—It is the policy of the Fed- 21 eral Emergency Management Agency to recognize that— 22 ‘‘(1) climate change is— 23 ‘‘(A) an irrefutable, multidimensional, and 24 significant near and long-term threat to United 25 States— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 744 IH ‘‘(i) homeland security; 1 ‘‘(ii) national security; and 2 ‘‘(iii) national disaster risk; and 3 ‘‘(B) primarily caused by anthropogenic 4 greenhouse gas emissions; and 5 ‘‘(2) as a direct result of climate change, the 6 United States faces the increased threat of— 7 ‘‘(A) changing, more frequent, and more 8 severe extreme weather events; 9 ‘‘(B) rising natural hazard risk; 10 ‘‘(C) disruptions to or failure of critical in- 11 frastructure; 12 ‘‘(D) sea-level rise; 13 ‘‘(E) internal population displacement; 14 ‘‘(F) the spread of life-threatening dis- 15 eases; 16 ‘‘(G) rising annual disaster costs; and 17 ‘‘(H) disproportionately high risks and im- 18 pacts to low-income communities, communities 19 of color, Tribal communities, and other front- 20 line communities.’’. 21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 22 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 23 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is 24 amended by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 744 IH ‘‘(13) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘climate 1 change’ means the long-term shifts in global and re- 2 gional climate patterns, and associated phenomena, 3 that are occurring primarily as a result of anthropo- 4 genic greenhouse gas emissions. 5 ‘‘(14) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘sea-level 6 rise’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 7 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 8 as a direct result of climate change and additional 9 local factors such as land subsidence. 10 ‘‘(15) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 11 ‘extreme weather events’ means historically rare or 12 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 13 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 14 ‘‘(16) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 15 ‘frontline community’ means a low-income commu- 16 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 17 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli- 18 mate change and associated phenomena.’’. 19 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN STRATEGIC 20 PLAN. 21 (a) CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than 180 22 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis- 23 trator shall revise the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 744 IH (1) ensure the text of such plan explicitly men- 1 tions climate change, in accordance with the policy 2 of FEMA in section 101 of the Robert T. Stafford 3 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 4 U.S.C. 5121), as amended by section 3; and 5 (2) address the implications of climate change 6 on homeland security and near- and long-term na- 7 tional disaster risk, including emergency prepared- 8 ness, response, recovery, and mitigation. 9 (b) FUTURE STRATEGIC PLANS.—Any strategic plan 10 subsequent to the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan developed by 11 FEMA shall— 12 (1) explicitly mention climate change, in accord- 13 ance with the policy of FEMA under section 101 of 14 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 15 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121), as amended 16 by section 3; and 17 (2) address the implications of climate change 18 on homeland security and near- and long-term na- 19 tional disaster risk, including emergency prepared- 20 ness, response, recovery, and mitigation, drawing 21 upon findings and recommendations, once available, 22 from the Climate Change Subcommittee described in 23 section 6 and the assessment of climate change risks 24 and preparedness described in section 7. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 744 IH SEC. 6. NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL CLIMATE CHANGE 1 SUBCOMMITTEE. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home- 4 land Security shall establish, as a subcommittee of the Na- 5 tional Advisory Council, the Climate Change Sub- 6 committee (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sub- 7 committee’’). 8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 10 provision of law, the Subcommittee shall consist of— 11 (A) the Administrator of FEMA; 12 (B) the Director of the United States Geo- 13 logical Survey of the Department of the Inte- 14 rior; 15 (C) the Director of the Bureau of Safety 16 and Environmental Enforcement of the Depart- 17 ment of the Interior; 18 (D) the Under Secretary of Commerce for 19 Oceans and Atmosphere; 20 (E) the Commanding Officer of the United 21 States Army Corps of Engineers; 22 (F) the Director of the Office of Homeland 23 Security and Emergency Coordination of the 24 Department of Agriculture; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 744 IH (G) the Executive Director of the Federal 1 Highway Administration of the Department of 2 Transportation; 3 (H) the Executive Director of the Federal 4 Transit Administration of the Department of 5 Transportation; 6 (I) the Under Secretary of Energy of the 7 Department of Energy; 8 (J) the Commissioner of the Federal Hous- 9 ing Administration of the Department of Hous- 10 ing and Urban Development; 11 (K) the Assistant Administrator of the Of- 12 fice of Land and Emergency Management of 13 the Environmental Protection Agency; 14 (L) the Acting Director of the Center for 15 Preparedness and Response of the Department 16 of Health and Human Services; 17 (M) the National Climate Advisor of the 18 Office of Domestic Climate Policy of the Execu- 19 tive Office of the President; 20 (N) the Chair of the Environmental Jus- 21 tice Interagency Council of the Executive Office 22 of the President; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 744 IH (O) such other qualified individuals as the 1 Administrator shall appoint as soon as prac- 2 ticable from among the following— 3 (i) members of the National Advisory 4 Council that have the requisite technical 5 knowledge and expertise to address climate 6 change threats to homeland security, in- 7 cluding— 8 (I) emergency management and 9 emergency response providers; 10 (II) State, local, and Tribal gov- 11 ernment officials; 12 (III) climate scientists and ex- 13 perts in natural disaster risk assess- 14 ment; and 15 (IV) experts in climate change 16 adaption, mitigation, and resilience; 17 and 18 (ii) individuals who have the requisite 19 technical knowledge and expertise to serve 20 on the Climate Change Subcommittee, in- 21 cluding at least 1 representative from each 22 of— 23 (I) an environmental justice or- 24 ganization representing low-income 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 744 IH communities and communities of color 1 that are disproportionately impacted 2 by climate change; 3 (II) a Tribal community that is 4 disproportionately impacted by climate 5 change or environmental pollution; 6 (III) an organized labor group 7 within the resilient infrastructure sec- 8 tor; 9 (IV) a private-sector company 10 that designs, develops, or constructs 11 resilient infrastructure, or an organi- 12 zation that represents such compa- 13 nies; 14 (V) a city or county that is di- 15 rectly impacted by coastal sea-level 16 rise; 17 (VI) a State that is directly im- 18 pacted by coastal sea-level rise; 19 (VII) a city or county that is 20 highly impacted by wildfires or 21 droughts; 22 (VIII) a State that is highly im- 23 pacted by wildfires or droughts; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 744 IH (IX) scientists with expertise in 1 climate science and natural disaster 2 risk assessment who are faculty mem- 3 bers at an accredited university; and 4 (X) experts in homeland security 5 threat assessment and intelligence 6 analysis, especially as it concerns nat- 7 ural disasters; and 8 (P) representatives of such other stake- 9 holders and interested and affected parties as 10 the Administrator determines appropriate. 11 (2) REPRESENTATION.—The Administrator 12 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that members 13 of the Subcommittee represent a geographic (includ- 14 ing urban, rural, and coastal) and substantive diver- 15 sity of State, local, and Tribal government officials, 16 emergency managers, and emergency response pro- 17 viders, scientific and technical experts, private-sector 18 companies, and nongovernmental organizations. 19 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Subcommittee shall ad- 20 vise the Administrator on how to best incorporate climate 21 change, including risk assessments and strategies for ad- 22 aptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA’s 23 policies, plans, programs, and operations, including 24 through the performance of the following duties: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H744.IH H744 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 744 IH (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 18 months 1 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sub- 2 committee shall develop and submit to the Adminis- 3 trator and Congress, and make available to the pub- 4 lic, an asse [Text truncated for display. 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