[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 762 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 762

    Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding 
          community-based civil defense and power generation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2012

  Mr. Bartlett (for himself, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Ms. Clarke of New 
 York, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding 
          community-based civil defense and power generation.

Whereas the United States has become increasingly more dependent on electronic 
        delivery systems to power daily needs and provide for the common 
        defense;
Whereas these systems would be rendered useless or their functions significantly 
        reduced in the event of a ``high impact low-frequency'' event such as a 
        cyber attack, coordinated physical attack on electric grid and 
        communications assets, or the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects of 
        either a 100-year solar storm or high-altitude nuclear burst;
Whereas the 2010 North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) report, 
        ``High-Impact Low-Frequency Vulnerabilities to the Bulk American Power 
        System'', discusses the wide range of threats that could disrupt, 
        damage, or destroy sufficient amounts of the power grids to cause 
        widespread death and economic disruption;
Whereas the January 2010 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report, 
        ``Electromagnetic Pulse: Effects on the U.S. Power Grid'', provides 
        detail into the vulnerability of power grids from the electromagnetic 
        pulse (EMP) effects of extreme space weather and high-altitude nuclear 
        effects and intentional electromagnetic interference;
Whereas the Congressional EMP Commission reports of 2004 and 2008 outline the 
        interdependent nature of all critical infrastructure, especially to 
        power and telecommunications and their vulnerability to the EMP effects 
        of extreme space weather and high-altitude nuclear bursts;
Whereas the National Defense University hosted a series of workshops and an 
        energy security exercise in October 2011 with broad participation of 
        Federal, State, local government, and the private sector highlighting 
        the need for greater local sustainability in light of a prolonged 
        nationwide power loss;
Whereas the Hoover-Brookings joint report on distributed power shows that the 
        value of local power generation for security applications is either cost 
        competitive or approaching competitiveness as new innovations come to 
        market;
Whereas, on March 30, 2012, the United States Department of Homeland Security 
        published the ``National Preparedness Report'' (Report) seeking to 
        create ``an all-of-nation'' approach to preparedness;
Whereas the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was assigned as the 
        National Preparedness Report Coordinator, ``Efforts to improve national 
        preparedness have incorporated the whole community, which includes 
        individuals, communities, the private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based 
        organizations, and Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial 
        governments.'';
Whereas the ``National Preparedness Report'' focuses on a catastrophic planning 
        framework known as ``Maximums of Maximums'', which centers on 
        collaborative, whole community planning for worst-case scenarios that 
        exceed government capabilities and therefore focus on more local and 
        individual efforts for survival and recovery;
Whereas these high-impact, low-frequency events would cause regional or 
        nationwide collapse of critical infrastructure that could last months or 
        longer, it is incumbent on the Federal Government to reassess its 
        civilian civil defense strategies to include local governments and 
        individual citizens; and
Whereas it is in the interest of national security and local community viability 
        that every community and institution begin to reestablish its ability to 
        generate at least 20 percent of its own power for its critical 
        infrastructure and services in order to provide its citizens with food 
        and water: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) encourages every community to develop its own ``civil 
        defense program'' working with citizens, leaders, and 
        institutions ranging from local fire halls, schools, and faith-
        based organizations, to create sustainable local infrastructure 
        and planning capacity so that it might mitigate high-impact 
        scenarios and be better prepared to survive and recover from 
        these worst-case disaster scenarios and be better able to 
        affordably and sustainably meet the needs of the community in 
        times of peace and tranquility;
            (2) encourages every citizen to develop an individual 
        emergency plan to prepare for the absence of government 
        assistance for extended periods;
            (3) encourages each local community to foster the 
        capability of providing at least 20 percent of its own critical 
        needs such as local power generation, food, and water, while 
        protecting local infrastructure whenever possible from the 
        threats that threaten centralized infrastructure, and do so 
        with the urgency and importance inherent in an all-of-nation 
        civil defense program developed by citizens and their local 
        communities; and
            (4) encourages State governments and Federal agencies to 
        support the ability of local communities to become stronger, 
        self-reliant, and better able to assist neighboring communities 
        in times of great need.
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