[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9760 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9760
To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Federal
Government to produce a national resilience strategy, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2026
Mr. Peters (for himself and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition
to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence (Permanent
Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Federal
Government to produce a national resilience strategy, 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 ``National Coordination on Adaptation
and Resilience for Security Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. COORDINATION ON RESILIENCE.
(a) Interagency Coordination.--The National Security Act of 1947
(50 U.S.C. 3021) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 101A as section 101B (and
conforming the table of contents at the beginning of such Act
accordingly); and
(2) by inserting after section 101 the following new
section 101A (and conforming the table of contents at the
beginning of such Act accordingly):
``SEC. 101A. NATIONAL RESILIENCE COORDINATION.
``(a) Chief Resilience Officer.--The President shall designate an
employee of the National Security Council to serve as the Chief
Resilience Officer who is responsible for the coordination of the
interagency process regarding the resilience of the United States.
``(b) Duties.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall coordinate with
the departments and agencies of the Federal Government to--
``(1) build resilience to natural hazards in the United
States based on the best available science, in collaboration
with existing Federal initiatives and interagency resilience
efforts;
``(2) bolster the short- and long-term national security
posture of the United States by increasing resilience
domestically and abroad, with regard to military installations
of the United States, in collaboration with existing Federal
initiatives and interagency resilience efforts;
``(3) analyze the extent to which the Federal Government
considers, prioritizes, or promotes, via Federal investments
and expenditures, resilience; and
``(4) improve the efficiency of Federal investments and
expenditures to maximize resilience and minimize waste, fraud,
and abuse.
``(c) Interagency Working Groups.--
``(1) Requirement.--In carrying out subsection (b), the
Chief Resilience Officer shall establish one or more
interagency working groups to facilitate coordination with
respect to resilience and the development of the strategy under
subsection (e).
``(2) Request.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall submit,
in writing, a request to the head of any represented agency the
Chief Resilience Officer determines appropriate for the
participation of that agency in a working group. The head shall
approve such request in writing by not later than 60 days after
receipt of the request.
``(3) Support.--The head of each represented agency
participating in a working group shall ensure that the working
group has the personnel and resources necessary as determined
by the head, in consultation with the Chief Resilience Officer,
including with respect to--
``(A) detailing employees of the agency to the
working group to perform such functions as the Chief
Resilience Officer may assign; and
``(B) at the request of the Chief Resilience
Officer, carrying out studies for the working group.
``(4) Executive secretary detailees.--The Chief Resilience
Officer, in consultation with the heads of the represented
agencies, shall designate one career employee of a represented
agency to be detailed to serve as the Executive Secretary for
each working group.
``(5) Status of detailees.--An employee of a represented
agency detailed under paragraph (3) or (4) shall remain an
employee of the represented agency.
``(d) Partners Council on Resilience.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established a council to be
known as the `Partners Council on Resilience'.
``(2) Mission and function.--The Council shall work to
improve the resilience operations of the Federal Government by
providing recommendations to the Chief Resilience Officer,
including those recommendations contained in the report under
paragraph (3), that identify how the Federal Government can
better support non-Federal partners with resources, technical
assistance, improved policies, and other assistance to help
communities, specifically rural and underresourced communities,
build resilience to natural hazards.
``(3) Report.--Not later than 16 months after the date of
enactment of this section, and every 3 years thereafter, the
Council, acting through the Chief Resilience Officer, shall
submit to Congress and the President a report that includes--
``(A) an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in
the resilience operations of the Federal Government
that reduce or fail to increase the capacity of non-
Federal partners to adapt to natural hazards;
``(B) an identification of the resources, including
Federal funding and other expenditures, necessary for
non-Federal partners to adequately adapt to natural
hazards; and
``(C) recommendations with respect to how the
Federal Government could better support efforts by non-
Federal partners to expeditiously address
vulnerabilities associated with, and build resilience
against, natural hazards over time.
``(4) Chair and vice chair.--The Chief Resilience Officer
shall--
``(A) serve as chairperson of the Council; and
``(B) appoint a vice chairperson from among the
members of the Council appointed pursuant to paragraph
(5), who shall perform the duties of the chairperson in
the absence of the Chief Resilience Officer.
``(5) Membership.--
``(A) In general.--In addition to the Chief
Resilience Officer, the Council shall consist of not
more than 24 members appointed by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
``(B) Appointment.--
``(i) In general.--The Chief Resilience
Officer shall appoint members of the Council
with relevant experiences to inform how the
Federal Government can better support non-
Federal partners build resilience to changing
environmental conditions.
``(ii) Non-federal partner members.--The
Chief Resilience Officer shall ensure that 20
members of the Council represent non-Federal
entities by appointing members as follows:
``(I) 12 members shall be appointed
who are employees of State governments,
local governments, territorial
governments, the governments of Indian
Tribes, or the governments of Freely
Associated States.
``(II) 8 members shall be appointed
who represent nongovernmental
organizations and the private sector.
``(iii) Represented agency members.--The
Chief Resilience Officer may appoint not more
than 4 representatives of represented agencies
to the Council whom the Chief Resilience
Officer determines would promote dialogue
useful for implementation of the duties of the
Council.
``(iv) Selection.--To the extent
practicable, the Chief Resilience Officer shall
seek to appoint members of the Council who--
``(I) possess first-hand, lived
experience of environmental or national
security vulnerability to natural
hazards, including direct experience
working with, or as members of,
communities, military installations, or
other infrastructure; and
``(II) represent a diversity of--
``(aa) perspectives;
``(bb) demographics;
``(cc) geographies;
``(dd) political
affiliations; and
``(ee) institution sizes,
including representatives of
both small and large units of
government and businesses.
``(v) Term.--Members appointed to the
Council shall serve a single term of not more
than 3 years, except that the Chief Resilience
Officer may extend the term of any member of
the Council by a period of not more than 1 year
on a one-time basis, if the Chief Resilience
Officer determines it necessary to support the
work of the Council.
``(vi) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Council
shall be filled by not later than 30 days after
the date on which the vacancy occurs in the
same manner in which the original selection was
made.
``(6) Applicability of faca.--Section 1013 of title 5,
United States Code, shall not apply to the Council.
``(e) National Resilience Strategy.--
``(1) Strategy.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this section, the Chief Resilience
Officer shall submit to the President and Congress a
National Resilience Strategy.
``(B) Updates.--Not later than the date that is 3
years after the date on which the Chief Resilience
Officer submits to the President and Congress the first
strategy, and every 3 years thereafter, the Chief
Resilience Officer shall submit an updated version of
the strategy to the President and Congress to account
for--
``(i) evolving science related to natural
hazards, as well as resilience to those
hazards;
``(ii) relevant changes in Federal
Government structure, programs, congressional
authorities, or appropriations that were
recommended or otherwise discussed by the Chief
Resilience Officer or working group; and
``(iii) additional recommendations or
information identified by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
``(C) Purpose and scope.--The strategy shall
describe strategies for the Federal Government, in
partnership with non-Federal partners, to address the
vulnerabilities of the United States (as described in
the best available science) to natural hazards to
ensure that the United States--
``(i) through represented agencies--
``(I) develops proactive resilience
strategies to plan for and respond to
natural hazards threatening
communities, natural resources and
public land, infrastructure generally
and other physical assets, including
critical infrastructure, and including
with respect to cascading effects on
critical energy, transportation,
communication, and supply chain
systems;
``(II) emphasizes forward-thinking
adaptation strategies, including
predisaster mitigation, that seek to
overcome repeated effects to vulnerable
systems, military installations, and
communities;
``(III) prioritizes resilience
efforts to support the most vulnerable
communities and the most urgent
national resilience challenges, as
determined by the Chief Resilience
Officer in consultation with the
working groups;
``(IV) identifies unnecessary
redundancies and inefficiencies in
national adaptation and resilience
planning and response, including with
regard to Federal funding and other
expenditures; and
``(V) recognizes the vulnerability
of natural systems to changing
environmental conditions and that
resilience strategies promote ecosystem
resilience to the extent practicable;
``(ii) via Federal investments in Federal
and non-Federal infrastructure and assets
promote resilience and an improved national
security posture to the extent practicable,
including via the information described in
clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (1)(D); and
``(iii) is working to improve the adaptive
capacity and resilience of State governments,
local governments, territorial governments, the
governments of Indian Tribes, and governments
of Freely Associated States to the extent
practicable.
``(D) Inclusions.--The strategy shall include the
following:
``(i) Information relating to the support
of the resilience of non-Federal partners,
including--
``(I) best practices for
represented agencies to better
collaborate and work directly with non-
Federal partners as determined by the
Chief Resilience Officer, to increase
resilience, particularly if such
practices were recommended by the
Council;
``(II) clarifying, simplifying, and
harmonizing the planning requirements,
application processes, and permitting
processes across represented agencies
for such non-Federal partners to access
Federal funds for resilience efforts;
``(III) identifying opportunities
for technical assistance for non-
Federal partners, and rural and
underresourced communities (as
determined by the Chief Resilience
Officer), in applying for Federal funds
for resilience efforts; and
``(IV) analyzing the need for and
opportunities to support the retreat or
relocation of communities in the United
States that are at increasing risk from
natural hazards.
``(ii) At the discretion of the Chief
Resilience Officer, information relating to
developing or improving Federal metrics and
indicators to assist the Federal Government and
non-Federal partners--
``(I) to the extent practicable, to
consistently measure the resilience of
communities, natural systems, and
physical assets to current and future
natural hazards;
``(II) to set baselines and targets
to measurably increase resilience over
time and measure progress towards goals
outlined in the strategy; and
``(III) to better monitor and
assess the effectiveness of Federal
investments and expenditures related to
resilience, and various resilience-
building activities after
implementation, in coordination with
the information described in clause
(iii)(II).
``(iii) Information relating to Federal
funding and other expenditures, including--
``(I) strategies for helping to
prioritize Federal funding expenditures
for adaptation and resilience in
consideration of the greatest
vulnerabilities, including national
security vulnerabilities;
``(II) a review of--
``(aa) Federal funding and
other expenditures from
represented agencies that is
specifically allocated for
resilience activities,
including--
``(AA) a summary of
Federal funding
available in
appropriations accounts
and subaccounts;
``(BB) disparities
between the supply and
demand for resilience
funding, including
funding available to
non-Federal partners;
and
``(CC) existing
mechanisms to ensure
Federal funding
allocations are being
directed to non-Federal
partners with the
greatest level of
vulnerability; and
``(bb) the cost-benefit
analysis of the methodologies
and discount rates used by
represented agencies for
Federal investments and
expenditures related to
resilience, as determined by
the Chief Resilience Officer,
including a review of the
implications of those
methodologies and discount
rates for resilience; and
``(III) recommendations to improve
the programs and methodologies
described in subclause (II) to
reflect--
``(aa) the added value of
predisaster mitigation,
resilience planning, and
construction methodologies over
the lifetime of a project or
unit of infrastructure;
``(bb) the benefits of
natural infrastructure
investments and nature-based
solutions;
``(cc) the potential value
of retreat and relocation as
adaptation solutions; and
``(dd) to what extent
existing cost-benefit analysis
methodologies lead to
inequitable outcomes or
outcomes that increase
vulnerability natural hazards.
``(2) Implementation plan.--Within the strategy and within
each update of the strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer shall
include an implementation plan that describes how the head of
each represented agency intends to carry out the strategy,
including--
``(A) a description of the roles and
responsibilities of the head of each represented agency
in carrying out each element of the strategy described
in paragraph (1), including how it affects existing
resilience activities;
``(B) a plan to enter into such interagency
agreements between and among represented agencies,
partnerships with non-Federal entities, and other
agreements for coordination between and among the
Federal Government and non-Federal partners as may be
necessary to facilitate a unified national plan to
build resilience;
``(C) how represented agencies plan to incorporate
the recommendations described in paragraph
(1)(D)(iii)(III);
``(D) how represented agencies will leverage the
clearinghouse under subsection (f) to share resilience,
predisaster mitigation best practices, information,
projects, technologies, and approaches; and
``(E) how represented agencies plan to address
inconsistencies in goals, priorities, or strategies
underlying resilience operations and policy across
represented agencies that may inhibit effective
interagency coordination to support national
resilience, including--
``(i) areas of overlap or redundant use of
resources, including Federal investments and
other expenditures, between or among
represented agencies, including recommendations
to eliminate any unnecessary or unintentional
redundancy;
``(ii) opportunities for greater
collaboration between or among represented
agencies to improve Federal Government
resilience operations, policy, and use of
Federal investments and expenditures; and
``(iii) opportunities for greater
collaboration between represented agencies and
non-Federal partners to build local-level
adaptive capacity and resilience.
``(3) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years after the
completion of each strategy and each implementation plan, and
including each update to such strategy and implementation plan,
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
the President and Congress a report that assesses--
``(A) the extent to which the implementation plan
has been carried out by the Federal Government, which
shall be judged, as appropriate, based on any metrics
and indicators developed to track progress in
increasing resilience under paragraph (1)(D)(iii);
``(B) the effectiveness of the actions taken under
the strategy and implementation plan and the resulting
outcomes of those actions in building national
adaptation and resilience planning and response; and
``(C) the progress made towards the development of
an effective whole-of-government effort to build
resilience to the vulnerabilities described in the best
available science, including recommendations for
additional steps necessary to build such resilience.
``(4) Public comment.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
``(A) publish draft and final versions of the
strategy and implementation plan and each update to the
strategy and implementation plan; and
``(B) through publication in the Federal Register,
solicit comments from the public on the draft versions
of the documents published under subparagraph (A) for a
period of 60 days, which the Chief Resilience Officer
shall consider before submitting final versions of the
strategy and implementation plan, and updates to the
strategy and implementation plan, to the President and
Congress.
``(f) Adaptation and Resilience Clearinghouse.--Not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this section, the Chief Resilience
Officer shall establish an adaptation and resilience clearinghouse to
provide information that--
``(1) increases the accessibility and utility of adaptation
and resilience data and information produced, published, or
hosted by the Federal Government, including the work of the
working groups and the Council; and
``(2) increases the accessibility and utility of technical
assistance to non-Federal partners on adaptation and resilience
planning and response, including strategies to better
collaborate across the represented agencies and work with non-
Federal partners to--
``(A) provide locally relevant resilience and
adaptation information and, where practicable and
useful, downscaled projections that are necessary to
support local-level adaptation efforts;
``(B) establish improved methods of communicating
resilience and adaptation risk and other information;
``(C) better educate non-Federal partners about the
available resources;
``(D) streamline information about Federal
adaptation and resilience resources in a single
centralized location if determined necessary by the
Chief Resilience Officer;
``(E) assist non-Federal partners in selecting and
using appropriate information or related tools;
``(F) work with non-Federal partners to access
existing Federal grant programs related to resilience
and adaptation; and
``(G) standardize procedures to synthesize, align,
and update adaptation and resilience information
produced, published, or hosted by the Federal
Government to create standardized national, regional,
and, where applicable, local information for adaptation
planning.
``(g) Sunset.--The requirements under this section shall terminate
on the date that is the earlier of--
``(1) the date on which the Comptroller General of the
United States submits to the President and Congress the third
assessment report under subsection (e)(3); and
``(2) the date that is 10 years after the date of the
enactment of this section.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Best available science.--The term `best available
science' means science that--
``(A) maximizes the quality, objectivity, and
integrity of information, including statistical
information;
``(B) uses peer-reviewed and publicly available
data;
``(C) clearly documents and communicates risks and
uncertainties in the scientific basis for any project;
``(D) uses methodologies that are capable of being
substantially reproduced; and
``(E) incorporates, to the extent practicable,
indigenous knowledge (as such term is defined in
section 6101.4(h) of title 43, Code of Federal
Regulations, as in effect on June 10, 2026).
``(2) Council.--The term `Council' means the Partners
Council on Resilience established under subsection (d).
``(3) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the
meaning given the term `Executive agency' in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code.
``(4) Freely associated state.--The term `Freely Associated
State' has the meaning given the term in section 1411(b)(1)(C)
of title 20, United States Code.
``(5) Implementation plan.--The term `implementation plan'
means the implementation plan jointly developed by the Chief
Resilience Officer and the working groups.
``(6) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
``(7) Natural hazard.--The term `natural hazard' includes
any risk due to significant--
``(A) shifts in ecoregion or biome geography and
phenology, as applicable; and
``(B) changes to other features of the environment,
including--
``(i) sea level rise;
``(ii) desertification;
``(iii) biodiversity loss or the alteration
of or shift in habitat range of individual
species or entire biomes;
``(iv) increases and decreases in
temperature;
``(v) ocean acidification;
``(vi) saltwater intrusion;
``(vii) soil salinization;
``(viii) drought and water scarcity;
``(ix) reduced snow pack;
``(x) sea ice retreat;
``(xi) glacial ice retreat;
``(xii) permafrost thaw;
``(xiii) shifts in precipitation;
``(xiv) coastal and river bank erosion; and
``(xv) wildfire.
``(8) Non-federal partners.--The term `non-Federal
partners' means State governments, local governments,
territorial governments, the governments of Indian Tribes, the
governments of Freely Associated States, nonprofit
organizations, and private sector entities.
``(9) Represented agency.--The term `represented agency'
means each Federal agency from which the Chief Resilience
Officer appoints a member to a working group.
``(10) Resilience.--The term `resilience' means the
capability to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt
to, and recover from, extreme weather, or from anticipated or
unanticipated natural hazards, that do (or have the potential
to) adversely affect the national security of the United States
or of allies and partners of the United States.
``(11) Strategy.--The term `strategy' means the National
Resilience Strategy under subsection (e).
``(12) Territorial government.--The term `territorial
government' means the government of a territory (as defined in
section 602(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 802(g))).
``(13) Working group.--The term `working group' means a
working group established under subsection (c).''.
(b) Appointment.--The President shall appoint the first Chief
Resilience Officer under section 101A of the National Security Act of
1947, as added by subsection (a), by not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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