PREPARE Act of 2019

IB Union Calendar No. 546 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 4347 [Report No. 116–662, Part I] To enhance the Federal Government’s planning and preparation for extreme weather and the Federal Government’s dissemination of best practices to respond to extreme weather, thereby increasing resilience, improving regional coordination, and mitigating the financial risk to the Federal Government from such extreme weather, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. LAMALFA, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned DECEMBER 17, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. HICE of Georgia, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. KIND, Mr. COLE, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Mr. NEGUSE DECEMBER 17, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure DECEMBER 17, 2020 Referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology for a period ending not later than December 17, 2020, for consideration of such provi- sions of the bill as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(p) of rule X DECEMBER 17, 2020 Committees on Oversight and Reform and Science, Space, and Technology dis- VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4347 RH charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed A BILL To enhance the Federal Government’s planning and prepara- tion for extreme weather and the Federal Government’s dissemination of best practices to respond to extreme weather, thereby increasing resilience, improving regional coordination, and mitigating the financial risk to the Federal Government from such extreme weather, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4347 RH 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Preparedness and Risk Management for Extreme Weath- 5 er Patterns Assuring Resilience and Effectiveness Act of 6 2019’’ or the ‘‘PREPARE Act of 2019’’. 7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 8 this Act is as follows: 9 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Interagency Council on Extreme Weather Resilience, Preparedness, and Risk Identification and Management. Sec. 3. Agency planning for extreme weather-related risks. Sec. 4. Website. Sec. 5. Providing adequate resources and support. Sec. 6. Inventory. Sec. 7. Meetings. Sec. 8. Progress updates. Sec. 9. Definitions. Sec. 10. Requirement to include agency extreme weather plan in agency per- formance plan. SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON EXTREME WEATHER 10 RESILIENCE, PREPAREDNESS, AND RISK 11 IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 13 council to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Council on Ex- 14 treme Weather Resilience, Preparedness, and Risk Identi- 15 fication and Management’’. 16 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Council shall be 17 composed of the following: 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4347 RH (1) Senior Federal officials, to be appointed by 1 the President, including representation from the fol- 2 lowing: 3 (A) The Council on Environmental Qual- 4 ity. 5 (B) The Office of Science and Technology 6 Policy. 7 (C) The National Security Council. 8 (D) The Office of Management and Budg- 9 et. 10 (E) The Department of Transportation. 11 (F) The Environmental Protection Agency. 12 (G) The National Institute of Standards 13 and Technology. 14 (H) The National Oceanic and Atmos- 15 pheric Administration. 16 (I) The Department of Energy. 17 (J) The Department of Homeland Secu- 18 rity. 19 (K) The Federal Emergency Management 20 Agency. 21 (L) The Department of Defense. 22 (M) The National Aeronautics and Space 23 Administration. 24 (N) The Department of Agriculture. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4347 RH (O) The Department of Housing and 1 Urban Development. 2 (P) The Department of Justice. 3 (2) Senior Federal officials, to be appointed by 4 the President, who have relevant policy expertise and 5 policy responsibilities, including in the following 6 areas: 7 (A) Economic policy and risk analysis. 8 (B) Foreign affairs. 9 (C) Defense and intelligence. 10 (D) Homeland security. 11 (E) Energy. 12 (F) Environmental protection. 13 (G) Natural and cultural resources. 14 (H) Coasts, oceans, rivers, wetlands, and 15 floodplains. 16 (I) Agriculture. 17 (J) Health and social services. 18 (K) Transportation and infrastructure. 19 (L) Housing. 20 (M) Education. 21 (N) Extreme weather data analysis or me- 22 teorological science. 23 (O) Social science. 24 (P) Strategic planning. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4347 RH (Q) Urban and land use planning. 1 (R) Infrastructure systems. 2 (S) Civil rights. 3 (T) Other areas the President determines 4 appropriate. 5 (c) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Council 7 shall be co-chaired by the Administrator of the Fed- 8 eral Emergency Management Agency and the Dep- 9 uty Director of the Office of Management and Budg- 10 et. The President may appoint one or more addi- 11 tional members as co-chairs, as appropriate. 12 (2) DUTIES.—The co-chairpersons shall— 13 (A) oversee the Interagency Council’s re- 14 sponse to the Government Accountability Of- 15 fice’s recommendations under subsection (f)(5); 16 (B) use the evaluation framework and per- 17 formance metrics developed pursuant to sub- 18 section (f)(6) to evaluate agency progress in 19 meeting the goals and implementing the prior- 20 ities described in subsection (f)(1)(A); and 21 (C) work to ensure that sufficient re- 22 sources are available for agencies to— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4347 RH (i) meet the goals and implement the 1 priorities described in subsection (f)(1)(A); 2 and 3 (ii) implement the recommendations 4 developed under subsection (f)(2). 5 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—The co-chairpersons of the 6 Interagency Council (or staff designated by the co-chair- 7 persons) shall provide administrative support and addi- 8 tional resources, as appropriate, to the Interagency Coun- 9 cil to the extent permitted by law and within existing ap- 10 propriations. The Interagency Council co-chairpersons 11 shall determine the amount of funding and personnel nec- 12 essary for the Interagency Council to carry out its duties 13 and the amount of funding and personnel each agency rep- 14 resented on the Interagency Council should contribute in 15 order for the Interagency Council to carry out such duties. 16 Agencies shall, upon the request of the co-chairpersons of 17 the Interagency Council, make available personnel, admin- 18 istrative support services, and information to the Inter- 19 agency Council. 20 (e) STRUCTURE.— 21 (1) STEERING COMMITTEE.—The co-chair- 22 persons of the Interagency Council shall designate a 23 subset of members of the Interagency Council to 24 serve on a steering committee. Such steering com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4347 RH mittee shall assist the Interagency Council in deter- 1 mining its priorities and its strategic direction. 2 (2) WORKING GROUPS.—The co-chairpersons of 3 the Interagency Council and its steering committee 4 may establish working groups as needed. 5 (f) DUTIES OF THE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL.— 6 (1) GOALS AND PRIORITIES.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coun- 8 cil shall establish Governmentwide goals and 9 priorities for addressing extreme weather resil- 10 ience, preparedness, and risk identification and 11 management, taking into account regional, eco- 12 nomic, cultural, and ecological variations, and 13 the disparate impact of extreme weather. In es- 14 tablishing such goals and priorities, the Inter- 15 agency Council shall consider the National Oil 16 and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contin- 17 gency Plan, agency continuity of operations 18 plans, the National Preparedness Goal, the Na- 19 tional Preparedness Report, the National Global 20 Change Research Plan, plans for the develop- 21 ment and implementation of the Building Resil- 22 ient Infrastructure and Communities program, 23 the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group’s 24 National Mitigation Investment Strategy (if 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4347 RH available), State and local mitigation plans, and 1 all relevant findings described in the Govern- 2 ment Accountability Office’s High-Risk Series. 3 (B) COORDINATION.—In executing the du- 4 ties pursuant to this subsection, the Inter- 5 agency Council shall coordinate with other enti- 6 ties in the Federal Government focused on ex- 7 treme weather mitigation and recovery (includ- 8 ing the Mitigation Framework Leadership 9 Group, the Recovery Support Functions Lead- 10 ers Group, and the Emergency Support Func- 11 tions Leaders Group), to facilitate communica- 12 tion and collaboration among Federal activities. 13 (C) INCORPORATION INTO AGENCY ACTIVI- 14 TIES.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the 15 Interagency Council shall, in order to ensure 16 that information relating to extreme weather re- 17 silience, preparedness, and risk identification 18 and management is incorporated into everyday 19 agency activities— 20 (i) work with agencies to assist such 21 agencies in considering the goals and prior- 22 ities described in subparagraph (A) in 23 agency strategic, programmatic, and budg- 24 et planning; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4347 RH (ii) identify details to be included in 1 agency extreme weather plans; and 2 (iii) work to identify and communicate 3 localized extreme weather and natural haz- 4 ard risk to the extent possible using the 5 best available information regarding risk, 6 and encourage the development of thor- 7 ough, updated maps, models, and tools to 8 measure and evaluate risk. 9 (2) PRIORITY INTERAGENCY FEDERAL AC- 10 TIONS.—The Interagency Council shall develop, rec- 11 ommend, coordinate, and track implementation of 12 priority interagency Federal Government actions re- 13 lated to addressing extreme weather resilience, pre- 14 paredness, and risk identification and management. 15 (3) SUPPORT REGIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL 16 ACTIONS.—The Interagency Council shall support 17 regional, State, and local action to assess extreme 18 weather-related vulnerabilities and cost effectively in- 19 crease extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and 20 risk identification and management of communities, 21 critical economic sectors, natural and built infra- 22 structure, and natural resources, including by— 23 (A) conducting inventories under section 6; 24 (B) convening meetings under section 7; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4347 RH (C) providing guidance to agencies to 1 produce tools and products that enhance ex- 2 treme weather resilience planning, risk knowl- 3 edge, and actions for use in all levels of govern- 4 ment, including guidance on cost-effectiveness 5 as it pertains to extreme weather and on how 6 to prioritize funding in order to produce such 7 tools and products; and 8 (D) reviewing State and local mitigation 9 plans. 10 (4) METEOROLOGICAL AND EXTREME WEATHER 11 SCIENCE.—The Interagency Council shall facilitate 12 the integration of meteorological and extreme weath- 13 er science, in addition to other scientific disciplines 14 such as physical, natural, and social science that the 15 Council determines to be appropriate, in the policies, 16 risk evaluation and communication, and planning of 17 agencies and the private sector, including by— 18 (A) promoting the development of innova- 19 tive, actionable, and accessible Federal extreme 20 weather resilience, preparedness, and risk iden- 21 tification and management-related information, 22 data, tools, and examples of successful actions 23 at appropriate scales for decisionmakers; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4347.RH H4347 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4347 RH (B) providing such information, data, 1 tools, and examples to the agency or agencies 2 designated under section 4 to include on the 3 website established and maintained or des- 4 ignated pursuant to such section. 5 (5) HIGH-RISK REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.— 6 The Interagency Council shall assess the specific 7 recommendations relating to extreme weather de- 8 scribed in the Government Accountability Office’s 9 High-Risk Series, identify the feasibility of revising 10 Federal programs to implement such recommenda- 11 tions, and develop a plan to address such rec- 12 ommendations when feasible that does not duplicate 13 the National Preparedness Goal. 14 (6) FRAMEWORK AND PERFORMANCE 15 METRICS.—The Interagency Council shall use exist- 16 ing and emerging science to develop or adopt— 17 (A) a framework for evaluating the 18 progress and success of extreme weather resil- 19 ience, preparedness, and risk identification and 20 management-related efforts that is complemen- 21 tary to and not duplicative of any local or na- 22 tional indicator system developed as part of the 23 National Preparedness Goal; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 20 [Text truncated for display. 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