II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3204 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 JANUARY 16, 2020 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 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3204 IS (1) Under the previous administration, FEMA’s 1 2014–2018 Strategic Plan explicitly mentioned and 2 referenced climate change as a source of changing 3 and increasing national disaster risks, in the near 4 and long term, that— 5 (A) must be effectively integrated into the 6 Agency’s risk assessment resources and proc- 7 esses; and 8 (B) the entire emergency management 9 community will need to adapt appropriately to 10 as they strengthen their risk management pro- 11 grams. 12 (2) In FEMA’s 2018–2022 Strategic Plan, de- 13 spite the mounting threat posed by climate change, 14 the term ‘‘climate change’’ is entirely absent from 15 the text. 16 (3) It is the general consensus of the global sci- 17 entific community that— 18 (A) the evidence of climate change is un- 19 equivocal; 20 (B) anthropogenic greenhouse gas emis- 21 sions are the primary cause of climate change; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3204 IS (C) as a direct result of climate change, 1 sea levels are rising and extreme weather events 2 are becoming more commonplace and severe. 3 (4) The last 5 years have been the warmest 4 years on record since the National Oceanic and At- 5 mospheric Administration began recording global air 6 temperatures in 1895. 7 (5) 2017, one of the three warmest years on 8 record, was also the most expensive year on record 9 for emergency disaster costs in the United States 10 due to 16 weather and climate disasters. 11 (6) It is the mission of FEMA to reduce the 12 loss of life and property and protect our institutions 13 from all hazards by leading and supporting the Na- 14 tion in a comprehensive, risk-based emergency man- 15 agement program of mitigation, preparedness, re- 16 sponse, and recovery. 17 (7) It is detrimental to the mission of FEMA, 18 and the Agency’s ability to follow its mandate, to ex- 19 plicitly or implicitly deny or ignore the existence of 20 climate change or the implications of such on na- 21 tional security and national emergency management. 22 (8) To fully and effectively carry out its man- 23 date, FEMA must comprehensively assess and incor- 24 porate the current and future natural disaster risks 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3204 IS and impacts posed by climate change throughout the 1 Agency’s policies, plans, programs, strategies, and 2 operations. 3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 6 trator’’ means the Administrator of FEMA. 7 (2) AGENCY; FEMA.—The terms ‘‘Agency’’ and 8 ‘‘FEMA’’ mean the Federal Emergency Manage- 9 ment Agency. 10 (3) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 11 change’’ means the long-term shifts in global and re- 12 gional climate patterns, and associated phenomena, 13 that are occurring primarily as a result of anthropo- 14 genic greenhouse gas emissions. 15 (4) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 16 ‘‘extreme weather events’’ means historically rare or 17 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 18 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 19 (5) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 20 ‘‘frontline community’’ means a low-income commu- 21 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 22 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli- 23 mate change and associated phenomena. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3204 IS (6) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘‘sea-level 1 rise’’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 2 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 3 as a direct result of climate change and additional 4 local factors such as land subsidence. 5 SEC. 4. STATEMENTS OF INTENT AND POLICY. 6 Section 101 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121) is 8 amended— 9 (1) in subsection (b)— 10 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 11 the end; 12 (B) in paragraph (6), by adding a semi- 13 colon at the end; and 14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(7) integrating, to the greatest extent prac- 16 ticable, climate change adaptation planning and ac- 17 tions into the programs, policies, and operations of 18 the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and 19 ‘‘(8) assisting State, local, volunteer, and pri- 20 vate partners in preparing for and mitigating the 21 risks posed by climate change as listed in subsection 22 (c)(2), as well as any other climate change risks.’’; 23 and 24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3204 IS ‘‘(c) CLIMATE CHANGE.—It is the policy of the Fed- 1 eral Emergency Management Agency to recognize that— 2 ‘‘(1) climate change is— 3 ‘‘(A) an irrefutable, multidimensional, and 4 significant near and long-term threat to United 5 States— 6 ‘‘(i) homeland security; 7 ‘‘(ii) national security; and 8 ‘‘(iii) national disaster risk; and 9 ‘‘(B) primarily caused by anthropogenic 10 greenhouse gas emissions; and 11 ‘‘(2) as a direct result of climate change, the 12 United States faces the increased threat of— 13 ‘‘(A) changing, more frequent, and more 14 severe extreme weather events; 15 ‘‘(B) rising natural hazard risk; 16 ‘‘(C) disruptions to or failure of critical in- 17 frastructure; 18 ‘‘(D) sea-level rise; 19 ‘‘(E) internal population displacement; 20 ‘‘(F) the spread of life-threatening dis- 21 eases; 22 ‘‘(G) rising annual disaster costs; and 23 ‘‘(H) disproportionately high risks and im- 24 pacts to low-income communities, communities 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3204 IS of color, Tribal communities, and other front- 1 line communities.’’. 2 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS IN THE STAFFORD ACT. 3 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 4 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(13) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘climate 7 change’ means the long-term shifts in global and re- 8 gional climate patterns, and associated phenomena, 9 that are occurring primarily as a result of anthropo- 10 genic greenhouse gas emissions. 11 ‘‘(14) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 12 ‘extreme weather events’ means historically rare or 13 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 14 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 15 ‘‘(15) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 16 ‘frontline community’ means a low-income commu- 17 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 18 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli- 19 mate change and associated phenomena. 20 ‘‘(16) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘sea-level 21 rise’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 22 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 23 as a direct result of climate change and additional 24 local factors such as land subsidence.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3204 IS SEC. 6. INCLUSION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN STRATEGIC 1 PLAN. 2 (a) CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis- 5 trator shall revise the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan 6 to— 7 (A) ensure that the text of the plan explic- 8 itly mentions climate change, in accordance 9 with the policy of FEMA in section 101 of the 10 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 11 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121), as 12 amended by section 4; and 13 (B) address the implications of climate 14 change on homeland security and near- and 15 long-term national disaster risk, including 16 emergency preparedness, response, recovery, 17 and mitigation. 18 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 19 the date of enactment of this Act, appropriate per- 20 sonnel of FEMA shall— 21 (A) brief the Committee on Homeland Se- 22 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 23 and the Committee on Homeland Security of 24 the House of Representatives on the process 25 and rationale that resulted in the exclusion of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3204 IS references to climate change from the originally 1 published 2018–2022 Strategic Plan; and 2 (B) if requested by the Chair of the Com- 3 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- 4 mental Affairs of the Senate or the Committee 5 on Homeland Security of the House of Rep- 6 resentatives, provide to that committee a writ- 7 ten report describing that process and rationale. 8 (b) FUTURE STRATEGIC PLANS.—Any strategic plan 9 subsequent to the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan developed by 10 FEMA shall— 11 (1) explicitly mention climate change, in accord- 12 ance with the policy of FEMA under section 101 of 13 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 14 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121), as amended 15 by section 4; and 16 (2) address the implications of climate change 17 on homeland security and near- and long-term na- 18 tional disaster risk, including emergency prepared- 19 ness, response, recovery, and mitigation, drawing 20 upon findings and recommendations, once available, 21 from the Climate Change Subcommittee described in 22 section 7 and the assessment of climate change risks 23 and preparedness described in section 8. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3204 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 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3204 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) such other qualified individuals as the 18 Administrator shall appoint as soon as prac- 19 ticable from among— 20 (i) members of the National Advisory 21 Council who have the requisite technical 22 knowledge and expertise to address climate 23 change threats to homeland security, in- 24 cluding— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3204 IS (I) emergency management and 1 emergency response providers; 2 (II) State, local, and Tribal gov- 3 ernment officials; 4 (III) climate scientists and ex- 5 perts in natural disaster risk assess- 6 ment; and 7 (IV) experts in climate change 8 adaption, mitigation, and resilience; 9 and 10 (ii) individuals who have the requisite 11 technical knowledge and expertise to serve 12 on the Subcommittee, including not less 13 than 1 representative from each of— 14 (I) an environmental justice or- 15 ganization representing low-income 16 communities and communities of color 17 that are disproportionately impacted 18 by climate change; 19 (II) a Tribal community that is 20 disproportionately impacted by climate 21 change or environmental pollution; 22 (III) an organized labor group 23 within the resilient infrastructure sec- 24 tor; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3204.IS S3204 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3204 IS (IV) a private-sector company 1 that designs, develops, or constructs 2 resilient infrastructure, or an organi- 3 zation that represents those compa- 4 nies; 5 (V) a city or county that is di- 6 rectly impacted by coastal sea-level 7 rise; 8 (VI) a State that is directly im- 9 pacted by coastal sea-level rise; 10 (VII) a city or county [Text truncated for display. 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