[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 855 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 855

  To minimize the economic and social costs resulting from losses of 
  life, property, well-being, business activity, and economic growth 
  associated with extreme weather events by ensuring that the United 
 States is more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events in 
           the short- and long-term, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2019

  Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Tonko, Ms. 
  Stefanik, and Mr. Quigley) introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To minimize the economic and social costs resulting from losses of 
  life, property, well-being, business activity, and economic growth 
  associated with extreme weather events by ensuring that the United 
 States is more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events in 
           the short- and long-term, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening The Resiliency of Our 
Nation on the Ground Act'' or the ``STRONG Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Extreme weather has serious economic costs for 
        Americans, American businesses, and State and local 
        governments. Hurricanes, droughts, floods, tornadoes, extreme 
        heat, and extreme cold cause death, result in loss of property 
        and well-being, especially among the most vulnerable 
        populations, and negatively impact business activity and 
        economic growth.
            (2) In the past 10 years, there have been more than 109 
        weather-related disasters in the United States, generating 
        $715.8 billion in total losses.
            (3) According to NOAA, in 2018 there were 11 weather and 
        climate disaster events that each caused $1 billion in damage 
        across the United States.
            (4) These events and natural disaster trends, when combined 
        with the volatility of weather, ongoing demographic changes, 
        and development in high risk areas, indicate that the negative 
        impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters have 
        the potential to increase over time. The fact that a 
        significant number of people and assets continue to be located 
        in areas prone to volatile and extreme weather indicates that 
        these events will continue to be expensive and deadly if the 
        United States fails to enhance its resiliency to such events. 
        Recent studies show that the intensity and frequency of some 
        types of, but not all, extreme weather events will likely 
        increase in the future.
            (5) Economic savings can be achieved by considering the 
        impacts of extreme weather over the short- and long-term in the 
        planning process. For example, a 2017 review of the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency's hazard mitigation programs, 
        conducted by the National Institute of Building Sciences' 
        Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council, found that on average, society 
        saves $6 for every $1 spent on mitigation projects, such as 
        elevating floodprone buildings, improving stormwater management 
        systems, following practices to reduce fire hazards, and 
        building earthquake-resistant structures.
            (6) There are several efforts currently underway at the 
        Federal, regional, tribal, State, and local levels that have 
        helped lay the foundation for a federally coordinated effort to 
        increase the Nation's resiliency to extreme weather events, 
        such as the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, the 
        Presidential Policy Directive on National Preparedness 
        (referred to in this Act as ``PPD-8''), the National 
        Preparedness System, the whole community approach led by the 
        Department of Homeland Security, and the Silver Jackets Program 
        by the Army Corps of Engineers. Other recent reports on this 
        subject include the National Academies of Sciences' reports 
        ``Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative'' and ``Building 
        Community Disaster Resilience through Public-Private 
        Collaboration''.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to minimize the economic 
and social costs and future losses of life, property, well-being, 
business activity, and economic growth by making the United States more 
resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events over the short- and 
long-term, thereby creating business and job growth opportunities by--
            (1) ensuring that the Federal Government is optimizing its 
        use of existing resources and funding to support State and 
        local officials, businesses, tribal nations, and the public to 
        become more resilient, including--
                    (A) encouraging the consideration of, and ways to 
                incorporate, extreme weather resilience across Federal 
                operations, programs, policies, and initiatives;
                    (B) promoting improved coordination of existing and 
                planned Federal extreme weather resilience and 
                adaptation efforts that impact extreme weather 
                resilience and ensuring their coordination with, and 
                support of, State, local, regional, and tribal efforts;
                    (C) minimizing Federal policies that may 
                unintentionally hinder or reduce resilience, such as 
                damaging wetlands or other critical green 
                infrastructure, or lead Federal agencies to operate at 
                cross-purposes in achieving extreme weather resilience; 
                and
                    (D) building upon existing related efforts, such as 
                the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, the PPD-8, 
                the National Preparedness System, and the whole 
                community approach;
            (2) communicating the latest understanding and likely 
        short- and long-term human and economic impacts and risks of 
        extreme weather to businesses and the public;
            (3) supporting decisionmaking that improves resilience by 
        providing forecasts and projections, data decision-support 
        tools, and other information and mechanisms; and
            (4) establishing a consistent vision and strategic plan for 
        extreme weather resilience across the Federal Government.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
            (2) Extreme weather.--The term ``extreme weather'' includes 
        severe and unseasonable weather, heavy precipitation, 
        hurricanes, storm surges, tornadoes, other windstorms 
        (including derechos), extreme heat, extreme cold, and other 
        qualifying weather events as determined by the interagency 
        group established under section 4(a)(1).
            (3) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means the ability 
        to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more 
        successfully adapt to adverse events in a timely manner.

SEC. 4. EXTREME WEATHER RESILIENCE GAP AND OVERLAP ANALYSIS.

    (a) Interagency Working Group.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Establishment.--The Director, with input from 
                the Department of Homeland Security, shall establish 
                and chair an interagency working group with Cabinet-
                level representation from all relevant Federal 
                agencies.
                    (B) Duties.--The working group shall--
                            (i) come together to provide a strategic 
                        vision of extreme weather resilience;
                            (ii) conduct a gap and overlap analysis of 
                        Federal agencies' current and planned 
                        activities related to achieving short- and 
                        long-term resilience to extreme weather and its 
                        impacts on the Nation, such as storm surge, 
                        flooding, drought, and wildfires; and
                            (iii) develop a National Extreme Weather 
                        Resilience Plan in accordance with section 
                        5(a).
            (2) Additional representation from executive office of the 
        president.--The interagency working group established under 
        paragraph (1) shall include representatives of the relevant 
        offices and councils within the Executive Office of the 
        President, including--
                    (A) the Office of Management and Budget;
                    (B) the National Security Staff;
                    (C) the Council of Economic Advisors;
                    (D) the Council on Environmental Quality; and
                    (E) the Domestic Policy Council.
            (3) Consultation with tribal, state, and local 
        representatives.--
                    (A) In general.--The Federal interagency working 
                group established under paragraph (1) shall work 
                closely with an advisory group to take into account the 
                needs of State and local entities across all regions of 
                the United States. The advisory group shall consist 
                of--
                            (i) 1 representative from the National 
                        Emergency Management Association;
                            (ii) 7 representatives from States and 
                        State associations; and
                            (iii) 8 representatives from local entities 
                        and associations, including representation from 
                        a tribal nation and at least 1 major 
                        metropolitan area.
                    (B) Key sectors.--The representatives described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall, in the aggregate, represent all 
                of the key sectors set forth in subsection (b)(1).
                    (C) Meetings.--The Director shall meet with the 
                representatives described in subparagraph (A) not fewer 
                than 9 times during the development of--
                            (i) the gap and overlap analysis under this 
                        section; and
                            (ii) the National Extreme Weather 
                        Resilience Action Plan under section 5.
            (4) Cooperation by federal agencies.--In carrying out the 
        activities described in subsection (b), Federal agency 
        representatives participating in the working group shall be 
        forthright and shall fully cooperate with the Office of Science 
        and Technology Policy.
            (5) Detailees.--Upon the request of the Director, each 
        agency or entity referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide the 
        working group with a detailee, without reimbursement from the 
        working group, to support the activities described in 
        subsection (b), section 5, and section 7(a). Such detailee 
        shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of his or her 
        regular employment without interruption.
            (6) Volunteer services.--Notwithstanding section 1342 of 
        title 31, United States Code, the working group may investigate 
        and use such voluntary services as the working group determines 
        to be necessary.
    (b) Gap and Overlap Analysis.--In conducting the gap and overlap 
analysis required under subsection (a)(1), Federal agency 
representatives shall--
            (1) develop a Federal Government-wide working vision for 
        resilience to the impacts of extreme weather events in the 
        short- and long-term, in accordance with the purpose set forth 
        in section 2(b), through an effort led by the Director and the 
        interagency working group, which includes goals and objectives 
        for key sectors. Key sectors shall include--
                    (A) agriculture;
                    (B) forestry and natural resources management;
                    (C) water management, including supply and 
                treatment;
                    (D) energy supply and transmission;
                    (E) infrastructure, including natural and built 
                forms of water and wastewater, transportation, coastal 
                infrastructure, and other landscapes and ecosystems 
                services;
                    (F) public health and healthcare delivery, 
                including mental health and hazardous materials 
                management;
                    (G) communications, including wireless 
                communications;
                    (H) housing and other buildings;
                    (I) national security;
                    (J) emergency preparedness;
                    (K) insurance; and
                    (L) other sectors that the Director considers 
                appropriate;
            (2) consider and identify the interdependencies among the 
        key sectors when developing the vision referred to in paragraph 
        (1);
            (3) create summaries of the existing and planned efforts 
        and programmatic work underway or relevant to supporting State 
        and local stakeholders in achieving greater extreme weather 
        resilience in the short- and long-term for each sector 
        identified under paragraph (1) and across the sectors, 
        specifically including summaries of--
                    (A) individual Federal agency programs, policies, 
                regulations, and initiatives, and research and data 
                collection and dissemination efforts;
                    (B) areas of collaboration and coordination across 
                Federal agencies; and
                    (C) areas of coordination with State and local 
                agencies, private entities, and regional cooperation;
            (4) identify specific Federal programs, statutes, 
        regulations, policies, and initiatives which may 
        unintentionally hinder resilience efforts, including an 
        analysis of disincentives, barriers, and incompatible programs, 
        policies, or initiatives across agencies and sectors;
            (5) examine how the severity and frequency of extreme 
        weather events at the local and regional level may change in 
        the future and communicate these potential risks to 
        stakeholders;
            (6) work together to identify and evaluate existing Federal 
        tools and data to describe, analyze, forecast, and model the 
        potential impacts identified under paragraph (5) and develop 
        recommendations to strengthen their ability to provide reliable 
        and accurate forecasts at the national, regional, State, and 
        local levels;
            (7) identify gaps and overlaps in Federal agency work, 
        resources, and authorities that impair the ability of the 
        United States to meet the vision for short- and long-term 
        extreme weather resilience, by comparing the goals and 
        objectives identified for each sector and across sectors with 
        the summaries identified in paragraph (3), specifically 
        identifying gaps relating to--
                    (A) individual Federal agency programs, policies, 
                and initiatives, and research data collection and 
                dissemination efforts;
                    (B) areas of collaboration and coordination across 
                Federal agencies; and
                    (C) areas of coordination with State and local 
                agencies and private entities, and regional 
                cooperation;
            (8) determine potential measures to address the issues 
        referred to in paragraph (4) and to address the gaps and 
        overlaps referred to in paragraph (7) by--
                    (A) designating individual or multiple Federal 
                agencies to address these gaps;
                    (B) building upon existing delivery mechanisms;
                    (C) evaluating options for programs, policies, and 
                initiatives that may particularly benefit extreme 
                weather resilience efforts, including the role of 
                ecosystem-based approaches;
                    (D) recommending modifications to existing Federal 
                agency programs, statutes, regulations, policies, and 
                initiatives to better support extreme weather 
                resiliency;
                    (E) requesting new authorities and resource 
                requirements, if needed; and
                    (F) identifying existing Federal Government 
                processes that can be built upon to address the purpose 
                of this Act; and
            (9) establish, with the assistance of the General Services 
        Administration or such other Federal agency as the Director may 
        designate, a Federal advisory working group to provide ongoing 
        collective input to the process.
    (c) Working Group.--The Federal advisory working group established 
pursuant to subsection (b)(9) shall consist of relevant private sector, 
academic, State and local government, tribal nation, regional 
organization, vulnerable population, and nongovernmental 
representatives, with representation from each sector described in 
paragraph (1). The Director may designate an existing Federal advisory 
committee under which the working group would operate independently, 
with the same rights and privileges held by members of the advisory 
committee. The members of the working group established pursuant to 
subsection (b)(9) may not simultaneously serve as members of the 
advisory committee designated pursuant to this subsection. The 
activities of the working group should complement and not duplicate the 
stakeholder process conducted under PPD-8.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL EXTREME WEATHER RESILIENCE ACTION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Based on the results of the gap and overlap 
analysis conducted under section 4, the Director, working with the 
interagency working group established under such section, and 
considering the efforts described in section 2(a)(9), shall develop a 
National Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan (referred to in this 
section as the ``Plan'')--
            (1) to build upon existing Federal Government processes 
        referred to in section 4(b)(8)(F)--
                    (A) to address the results of the gap and overlap 
                analysis under section 4; and
                    (B) to incorporate the activities required under 
                subsection (c);
            (2) to best utilize existing resources and programs through 
        improved interagency coordination and collaboration;
            (3) to improve Federal coordination with existing regional 
        entities, State and local governments, networks, and private 
        stakeholders;
            (4) to make data and tools accessible and understandable 
        and to help facilitate information exchange for tribal, State, 
        and local officials, businesses, and other stakeholders in a 
        manner that addresses the needs expressed by these 
        stakeholders;
            (5) to facilitate public-private partnerships;
            (6) to improve Federal agencies' economic analytical 
        capacity to assess--
                    (A) the likelihood and potential costs of extreme 
                weather impacts by region and nationally; and
                    (B) the relative benefits of potential resilience 
                measures to multiple stakeholders;
            (7) to provide tools to stakeholders--
                    (A) to conduct analyses similar to those described 
                in paragraph (6); and
                    (B) to support decisionmaking;
            (8) to support resiliency plans developed by State and 
        local governments, regional entities, and tribal nations, to 
        the extent possible; and
            (9) to request further resources, if necessary, to fill in 
        gaps to enable national resilience to extreme weather, 
        including resilience of tribal nations, and particularly 
        vulnerable populations, and the use of green infrastructure and 
        ecosystem-based solutions.
    (b) Cooperation.--Any Federal agency representative contacted by 
the Director, in the course of developing the Plan, shall be forthright 
and shall fully cooperate with the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, as requested.
    (c) Required Activities.--
            (1) Responsibilities.--The Plan shall include specific 
        Federal agency and interagency responsibilities, identify 
        potential new authorities, if necessary, and employ risk 
        analysis--
                    (A) to address the gaps identified through the gap 
                and overlap analysis; and
                    (B) to improve Federal interagency coordination and 
                Federal coordination with State, regional, local, and 
                tribal partners.
            (2) Available funding opportunities.--
                    (A) Identification.--The Director shall identify--
                            (i) existing Federal grant programs and 
                        other funding opportunities available to 
                        support State and local government extreme 
                        weather resiliency planning efforts; or
                            (ii) projects to advance extreme weather 
                        resiliency.
                    (B) Publication.--The Director shall publish the 
                information described in subparagraph (A) in the 
                information portal identified in paragraph (3).
                    (C) Responsibilities.--Each participating agency 
                shall--
                            (i) consider incorporating criteria or 
                        guidance into existing relevant Federal grant 
                        and other funding opportunities to better 
                        support State and local efforts to improve 
                        extreme weather resiliency; and
                            (ii) evaluate and modify existing Federal 
                        funding opportunities, as appropriate, to 
                        maximize the return on investment for pre-
                        disaster mitigation activities.
            (3) Information portal.--
                    (A) In general.--The Plan shall--
                            (i) include the establishment of an online, 
                        publicly available information portal for use 
                        by Federal agencies, their partners, and 
                        stakeholders, that directs users to key data 
                        and tools to inform resilience-enhancing 
                        efforts; and
                            (ii) build off and be complementary to 
                        existing Federal efforts, including data.gov.
                    (B) Maintenance.--The coordinating entity 
                identified under paragraph (4) shall be responsible for 
                establishing and maintaining the information portal.
                    (C) Information supplied.--Information shall be 
                supplied as requested by Federal agencies, their 
                partners, academia, and private stakeholders, in 
                coordination with regional, State, local, and tribal 
                agencies.
                    (D) Contents.--The information portal established 
                under this paragraph shall direct users to coordinated 
                and systematic information on--
                            (i) best or model practices;
                            (ii) data;
                            (iii) case studies;
                            (iv) indicators;
                            (v) scientific reports;
                            (vi) resilience and vulnerability 
                        assessments;
                            (vii) guidance documents and design 
                        standards;
                            (viii) incentives;
                            (ix) education and communication 
                        initiatives;
                            (x) decision support tools, including risk 
                        management, short- and long-term economic 
                        analysis, and predictive models;
                            (xi) planning tools;
                            (xii) public and private sources of 
                        assistance; and
                            (xiii) such other information as the 
                        coordinating entity considers appropriate.
            (4) Coordinating entity.--The Plan shall include the 
        identification of a Federal agency, interagency council, 
        office, or program, which participated in the gap and overlap 
        analysis and Plan development. Such entity shall--
                    (A) coordinate the implementation of the Plan;
                    (B) track the progress of such implementation; and
                    (C) transfer responsibilities to another Federal 
                agency, interagency council, office, or program to 
                serve as the coordinating entity if the entities 
                participating in the working group agree that 
                circumstances necessitate such a change.
            (5) Resiliency officer.--Each Federal agency that assists 
        with the gap and overlap analysis required under section 4 
        shall designate, from among the agency's senior management, a 
        Senior Resiliency Officer, who shall--
                    (A) facilitate the implementation of the agency's 
                responsibilities under paragraph (1);
                    (B) monitor the agency's progress and performance 
                in implementing its responsibilities under paragraph 
                (1);
                    (C) report the agency's progress and performance to 
                the head of the agency and the coordinating entity 
                identified under paragraph (4); and
                    (D) serve as the agency lead in ongoing 
                coordination efforts within the Federal agency and 
                between the coordinating entity, other Federal 
                agencies, public and private partners, and 
                stakeholders.
    (d) Publication.--
            (1) Draft plan.--Not later than 420 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Director shall publish a draft 
        of the Plan developed under this section in the Federal 
        Register.
            (2) Public comment period.--During the 60-day period 
        beginning on the date on which the draft Plan is published 
        under paragraph (1), the Director shall--
                    (A) solicit comment from the public; and
                    (B) conduct a briefing for Congress to explain the 
                provisions contained in the draft Plan.
            (3) Final plan.--Not later than 120 days after the end of 
        the public comment period described in paragraph (2), the 
        Director shall publish the final Plan in the Federal Register.
    (e) Implementation.--Not later than 630 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall begin implementing the final 
Plan published under subsection (d)(3).
    (f) Financing.--To the extent possible--
            (1) Federal funding should be used to leverage private 
        sector financing for resilience building activities, consistent 
        with the implementation of the Plan, through public-private 
        partnerships; and
            (2) Federal grant and loan programs of the Federal agencies 
        participating in the interagency working group for this effort 
        shall consider extreme weather resilience as a key factor when 
        awarding funding, including the projected extreme weather risk 
        to a project over the course of its expected life.
    (g) Tribal, State, and Local Responsibilities.--The Plan may not 
place new unfunded requirements on State or local governments.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF OTHER ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Federal agencies are authorized to develop tools 
and disseminate information to improve extreme weather resilience in 
the key sectors set forth in section 4(b)(1).
    (b) Office of Science and Technology Policy.--In conducting the gap 
and overlap analysis under section 4 and developing the National 
Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan under section 5, the Director 
may carry out additional activities in support of the purpose of this 
Act.

SEC. 7. REPORTS.

    (a) Government Accountability Office Report.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit a report to Congress that--
            (1) identifies existing Federal Government programs and 
        policies related to disaster relief, response, and recovery 
        that impede improving short- and long-term extreme weather 
        resilience; and
            (2) make recommendations for how the programs or policies 
        could be structured differently to better support short- and 
        long-term resilience after an extreme weather event.
    (b) Initial Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to Congress 
that contains--
            (1) the results of the gap and overlap analysis;
            (2) the final National Extreme Weather Resilience Action 
        Plan;
            (3) an update on the implementation of the plan; and
            (4) available resources for the sustained implementation of 
        the plan.
    (c) Triennial Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the submission 
of the report under subsection (a), and every 3 years thereafter, the 
coordinating entity identified under section 5(c)(4), in cooperation 
with the interagency working group established under section 4(a), 
shall submit a report to Congress that--
            (1) contains an update of the National Extreme Weather 
        Resilience Action Plan;
            (2) describes the progress of the plan's implementation;
            (3) improves upon the original analysis as more information 
        and understanding about extreme weather events becomes 
        available;
            (4) establishes criteria for prioritization of activities 
        described in the plan;
            (5) reconsiders and makes changes to the plan based on the 
        availability of new information described in paragraph (3); and
            (6) identifies cost-effective changes to laws, policies, or 
        regulations that could advance the purpose of this Act.
    (d) FEMA Reports on Funding.--
            (1) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
                    (A) The Federal Emergency Management Agency grant 
                programs are a key vehicle that exists to fund 
                activities related to resiliency planning and projects.
                    (B) In order to ensure that the United States 
                becomes more resilient to extreme weather, it is 
                important to ensure that sufficient resources are 
                available to support resiliency activities.
            (2) Reports.--At the end of each fiscal year, the 
        Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (in 
        this paragraph referred to as ``FEMA'') shall submit a report 
        to Congress that--
                    (A) identifies the amounts that were made available 
                to FEMA during such fiscal year for State and local 
                entities to use for activities that support the 
                purposes of this Act;
                    (B) identifies the amounts disbursed by FEMA to 
                State and local entities during such fiscal year for 
                such activities;
                    (C) describes the resources requested by State and 
                local entities for activities that support the purposes 
                of this Act; and
                    (D) identifies the difference between the amounts 
                disbursed by FEMA and the amounts requested from FEMA 
                by State and local entities.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Amounts for Analysis, Plan Development and Implementation, and 
Reports.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 2020 through 2022--
            (1) to conduct the gap and overlap analysis required under 
        section 4;
            (2) to conduct the activities required under section 5, 
        including the creation and maintenance of the information 
        portal; and
            (3) to prepare the reports to Congress required under 
        subsections (b) and (c) of section 7.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall remain available for the purposes set forth in 
such subsection through December 31, 2022.
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