II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 280 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 8, 2021 Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FEMA Climate 4 Change Preparedness Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 280 IS (1) Under the previous Administration, the 1 term ‘‘climate change’’ was intentionally stripped 2 from the Agency’s 2018–2022 Strategic Plan, de- 3 spite the mounting threat posed by climate change 4 as a source of changing and increasing national dis- 5 aster risks. 6 (2) It is the general consensus of the global sci- 7 entific community that— 8 (A) the evidence of climate change is un- 9 equivocal; 10 (B) anthropogenic greenhouse gas emis- 11 sions are the primary cause of climate change; 12 and 13 (C) as a direct result of climate change, 14 sea levels are rising and extreme weather events 15 are becoming more commonplace and severe. 16 (3) The last 7 years have been the warmest 17 years on record since the National Oceanic and At- 18 mospheric Administration began recording global air 19 temperatures in 1895. 20 (4) In 2020, there were a record total of 22 cli- 21 mate disaster events with losses exceeding 22 $1,000,000,000 in each to affect the United States, 23 amounting to 5 more disasters of such magnitude 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 280 IS than each of the previous record years of 2011 and 1 2017. 2 (5) It is the mission of FEMA to reduce the 3 loss of life and property and protect our institutions 4 from all hazards by leading and supporting the 5 United States in a comprehensive, risk-based emer- 6 gency management program of mitigation, prepared- 7 ness, response, and recovery. 8 (6) It is detrimental to the mission of FEMA, 9 and the Agency’s ability to follow its mandate, to ex- 10 plicitly or implicitly deny or ignore the existence of 11 climate change or the implications of such on na- 12 tional security and national emergency management. 13 (7) To fully and effectively carry out its man- 14 date, FEMA must comprehensively assess and incor- 15 porate the current and future natural disaster risks 16 and impacts posed by climate change throughout the 17 Agency’s policies, plans, programs, strategies, and 18 operations. 19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 20 In this Act: 21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 22 trator’’ means the Administrator of FEMA. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 280 IS (2) AGENCY; FEMA.—The terms ‘‘Agency’’and 1 ‘‘FEMA’’ mean the Federal Emergency Manage- 2 ment Agency. 3 (3) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 4 change’’ means the long-term shifts in global and re- 5 gional climate patterns, and associated phenomena, 6 that are occurring primarily as a result of anthropo- 7 genic greenhouse gas emissions. 8 (4) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 9 ‘‘extreme weather events’’ means historically rare or 10 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 11 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 12 (5) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 13 ‘‘frontline community’’ means a low-income commu- 14 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 15 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli- 16 mate change and associated phenomena. 17 (6) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘‘sea-level 18 rise’’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 19 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 20 as a direct result of climate change and additional 21 local factors such as land subsidence. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 280 IS SEC. 4. 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 adding a semi- 8 colon at the end; 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 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 280 IS ‘‘(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. 5. DEFINITIONS IN THE STAFFORD ACT. 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 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 280 IS ‘‘(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) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 6 ‘extreme weather events ’means historically rare or 7 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 8 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 9 ‘‘(15) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 10 ‘frontline community’ means a low-income commu- 11 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 12 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli- 13 mate change and associated phenomena. 14 ‘‘(16) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘sea-level 15 rise’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 16 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 17 as a direct result of climate change and additional 18 local factors such as land subsidence.’’. 19 SEC. 6. 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 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 280 IS (1) ensure that the text of the plan explicitly 1 mentions climate change, in accordance with the pol- 2 icy of FEMA in section 101 of the Robert T. Staf- 3 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 4 (42 U.S.C. 5121), as amended by section 4; 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 4; 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 7 and the assessment of climate change risks 24 and preparedness described in section 8. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 280 IS SEC. 7. 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 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 280 IS (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 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 280 IS (O) such other qualified individuals as the 1 Administrator shall appoint as soon as prac- 2 ticable from among— 3 (i) members of the National Advisory 4 Council who 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 Subcommittee, including not less 21 than 1 representative from each of— 22 (I) an environmental justice or- 23 ganization representing low-income 24 communities and communities of color 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 280 IS that are disproportionately impacted 1 by climate change; 2 (II) a Tribal community that is 3 disproportionately impacted by climate 4 change or environmental pollution; 5 (III) an organized labor group 6 within the resilient infrastructure sec- 7 tor; 8 (IV) a private-sector company 9 that designs, develops, or constructs 10 resilient infrastructure, or an organi- 11 zation that represents those compa- 12 nies; 13 (V) a city or county that is di- 14 rectly impacted by coastal sea-level 15 rise; 16 (VI) a State that is directly im- 17 pacted by coastal sea-level rise; 18 (VII) a city or county that is 19 highly impacted by wildfires or 20 droughts; 21 (VIII) a State that is highly im- 22 pacted by wildfires or droughts; 23 (IX) scientists with expertise in 24 climate science and natural disaster 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 280 IS risk assessment who are faculty mem- 1 bers at an accredited university; and 2 (X) experts in homeland security 3 threat assessment and intelligence 4 analysis, especially as it concerns nat- 5 ural disasters; and 6 (P) representatives of such other stake- 7 holders and interested and affected parties as 8 the Administrator determines appropriate. 9 (2) REPRESENTATION.—The Administrator 10 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that members 11 of the Subcommittee represent a geographic (includ- 12 ing urban, rural, and coastal) and substantive diver- 13 sity of State, local, and Tribal government officials, 14 emergency managers, and [Text truncated for display. 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