Continuity of the Economy Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3928 To require the President to develop a plan for the continuity of the economy in response to a significant event, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 10, 2020 Mr. PETERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require the President to develop a plan for the continuity of the economy in response to a significant event, 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 ‘‘Continuity of the 4 Economy Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONTINUITY OF THE ECONOMY PLAN. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) The term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 8 the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 9 Code. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3928 IS (2) The term ‘‘economic sector’’ means a sector 1 of the economy of the United States. 2 (3) The term ‘‘relevant actor’’ means— 3 (A) the Federal Government; 4 (B) a State, local, or Tribal government; 5 or 6 (C) the private sector. 7 (4) The term ‘‘significant event’’ means an 8 event that causes severe degradation to economic ac- 9 tivity in the United States due to— 10 (A) a cyber attack; or 11 (B) another significant event that is nat- 12 ural or human-caused. 13 (5) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 14 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 15 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 16 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 17 Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the 18 United States. 19 (b) REQUIREMENT.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall develop 21 and maintain a plan to maintain and restore the 22 economy of the United States in response to a sig- 23 nificant event. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3928 IS (2) PRINCIPLES.—The plan required under 1 paragraph (1) shall— 2 (A) be consistent with— 3 (i) a free market economy; and 4 (ii) the rule of law; and 5 (B) respect private property rights. 6 (3) CONTENTS.—The plan required under para- 7 graph (1) shall— 8 (A) examine the distribution of goods and 9 services across the United States necessary for 10 the reliable functioning of the United States 11 during a significant event; 12 (B) identify the economic functions of rel- 13 evant actors, the disruption, corruption, or dys- 14 function of which would have a debilitating ef- 15 fect in the United States on— 16 (i) security; 17 (ii) economic security; 18 (iii) defense readiness; or 19 (iv) public health or safety; 20 (C) identify the critical distribution mecha- 21 nisms for each economic sector that should be 22 prioritized for operation during a significant 23 event, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3928 IS (i) bulk power and electric trans- 1 mission systems; 2 (ii) national and international finan- 3 cial systems, including wholesale payments, 4 stocks, and currency exchanges; 5 (iii) national and international com- 6 munications networks, data-hosting serv- 7 ices, and cloud services; 8 (iv) interstate oil and natural gas 9 pipelines; and 10 (v) mechanisms for the interstate and 11 international trade and distribution of ma- 12 terials, food, and medical supplies, includ- 13 ing road, rail, air, and maritime shipping; 14 (D) identify economic functions of relevant 15 actors, the disruption, corruption, or dysfunc- 16 tion of which would cause— 17 (i) catastrophic economic loss; 18 (ii) the loss of public confidence; or 19 (iii) the widespread imperilment of 20 human life; 21 (E) identify the economic functions of rel- 22 evant actors that are so vital to the economy of 23 the United States that the disruption, corrup- 24 tion, or dysfunction of those economic functions 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3928 IS would undermine response, recovery, or mobili- 1 zation efforts during a significant event; 2 (F) incorporate, to the greatest extent 3 practicable, the principles and practices con- 4 tained within Federal plans for the continuity 5 of Government and continuity of operations; 6 (G) identify— 7 (i) industrial control networks on 8 which the interests of national security 9 outweigh the benefits of dependence on 10 internet connectivity, including networks 11 that are required to maintain defense read- 12 iness; and 13 (ii) for each industrial control network 14 described in clause (i), the most feasible 15 and optimal locations for the installation 16 of— 17 (I) parallel services; 18 (II) stand-alone analog services; 19 and 20 (III) services that are otherwise 21 hardened against failure; 22 (H) identify critical economic sectors for 23 which the preservation of data in a protected, 24 verified, and uncorrupted status would be re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3928 IS quired for the quick recovery of the economy of 1 the United States in the face of a significant 2 disruption following a significant event; 3 (I) include a list of raw materials, indus- 4 trial goods, and other items, the absence of 5 which would significantly undermine the ability 6 of the United States to sustain the functions 7 described in subparagraphs (B), (D), and (E); 8 (J) provide an analysis of supply chain di- 9 versification for the items described in subpara- 10 graph (I) in the event of a disruption caused by 11 a significant event; 12 (K) include— 13 (i) a recommendation as to whether 14 the United States should maintain a stra- 15 tegic reserve of one or more of the items 16 described in subparagraph (I); and 17 (ii) for each item described in sub- 18 paragraph (I) for which the President rec- 19 ommends maintaining a strategic reserve 20 under clause (i), an identification of mech- 21 anisms for tracking inventory and avail- 22 ability of the item in the strategic reserve; 23 (L) identify mechanisms in existence on 24 the date of enactment of this Act and mecha- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3928 IS nisms that can be developed to ensure that the 1 swift transport and delivery of the items de- 2 scribed in subparagraph (I) is feasible in the 3 event of a distribution network disturbance or 4 degradation, including a distribution network 5 disturbance or degradation caused by a signifi- 6 cant event; 7 (M) include guidance for determining the 8 prioritization for the distribution of the items 9 described in subparagraph (I), including dis- 10 tribution to States and Indian Tribes; 11 (N) consider the advisability and feasibility 12 of mechanisms for extending the credit of the 13 United States or providing other financial sup- 14 port authorized by law to key participants in 15 the economy of the United States if the exten- 16 sion or provision of other financial support— 17 (i) is necessary to avoid severe eco- 18 nomic degradation; or 19 (ii) allows for the recovery from a sig- 20 nificant event; 21 (O) include guidance for determining cat- 22 egories of employees that should be prioritized 23 to continue to work in order to sustain the 24 functions described in subparagraphs (B), (D), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3928 IS and (E) in the event that there are limitations 1 on the ability of individuals to travel to work- 2 places or to work remotely, including consider- 3 ations for defense readiness; 4 (P) identify critical economic sectors nec- 5 essary to provide material and operational sup- 6 port to the defense of the United States; 7 (Q) determine whether the Secretary of 8 Homeland Security, the National Guard, and 9 the Secretary of Defense have adequate author- 10 ity to assist the United States in a recovery 11 from a severe economic degradation caused by 12 a significant event; 13 (R) review and assess the authority and 14 capability of heads of other agencies that the 15 President determines necessary to assist the 16 United States in a recovery from a severe eco- 17 nomic degradation caused by a significant 18 event; and 19 (S) consider any other matter that would 20 aid in protecting and increasing the resilience of 21 the economy of the United States from a sig- 22 nificant event. 23 (c) COORDINATION.—In developing the plan required 24 under subsection (b)(1), the President shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3928 IS (1) receive advice from— 1 (A) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 2 (B) the Secretary of Defense; and 3 (C) the head of any other agency that the 4 President determines necessary to complete the 5 plan; 6 (2) consult with economic sectors relating to 7 critical infrastructure through sector-coordinated 8 councils, as appropriate; 9 (3) consult with relevant State, Tribal, and 10 local governments and organizations that represent 11 those governments; and 12 (4) consult with any other non-Federal entity 13 that the President determines necessary to complete 14 the plan. 15 (d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 17 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre- 18 quently than every 3 years thereafter, the President 19 shall submit the plan required under subsection 20 (b)(1) and the information described in paragraph 21 (2) to— 22 (A) the majority and minority leaders of 23 the Senate; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3928 IS (B) the Speaker and the minority leader of 1 the House of Representatives; 2 (C) the Committee on Armed Services of 3 the Senate; 4 (D) the Committee on Armed Services of 5 the House of Representatives; 6 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 7 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 8 (F) Committee on Homeland Security of 9 the House of Representatives; and 10 (G) any other committee of the Senate or 11 the House of Representatives that has jurisdic- 12 tion over the subject of the plan. 13 (2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The informa- 14 tion described in this paragraph is— 15 (A) any change to Federal law that would 16 be necessary to carry out the plan required 17 under subsection (b)(1); and 18 (B) any proposed changes to the funding 19 levels provided in appropriation Acts for the 20 most recent fiscal year that can be implemented 21 in future appropriation Acts or additional re- 22 sources necessary to— 23 (i) implement the plan required under 24 subsection (b)(1); or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3928 IS (ii) maintain any program offices and 1 personnel necessary to— 2 (I) maintain the plan required 3 under subsection (a)(1) and the plans 4 described in subsection (b)(3)(F); and 5 (II) conduct exercises, assess- 6 ments, and updates to the plans de- 7 scribed in subclause (I) over time. 8 (3) BUDGET OF THE PRESIDENT.—The Presi- 9 dent may include the information described in para- 10 graph (2)(B) in the budget required to be submitted 11 by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, 12 United States Code. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3928.IS S3928 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS