[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3448-S3449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 391. Mr. JOHNSON (for himself and Mr. Peters) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1790, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES AND GEOMAGNETIC
DISTURBANCES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' has
the meaning given that term in subsection (d) of section 320
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection
(b) of this section; and
(2) the terms ``critical infrastructure'', ``EMP'', and
``GMD'' have the meanings given such terms in section 2 of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101).
(b) Homeland Security.--Section 320 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 195f) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and threat
assessment, response, and recovery'' after ``development'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Threat Assessment, Response, and Recovery.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `appropriate congressional committees'
means--
``(i) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
``(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on
Armed Services, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives;
``(B) the terms `prepare' and `preparedness' mean the
actions taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and exercise
to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent,
protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and
recover from those threats that pose the greatest risk to the
security of the homeland, including the prediction and
notification of impending EMPs and GMDs; and
``(C) the term `Sector-Specific Agency' has the meaning
given that term in section 2201.
``(2) Roles and responsibilities.--
``(A) Distribution of information.--
``(i) In general.--Beginning not later than June 19, 2020,
the Secretary shall provide timely distribution of
information on EMPs and GMDs to Federal, State, and local
governments, owners and operators of critical infrastructure,
and other persons determined appropriate by the Secretary.
``(ii) Briefing.--The Secretary shall brief the appropriate
congressional committees on the effectiveness of the
distribution of information under clause (i).
``(B) Response and recovery.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(I) coordinate the response to and recovery from the
effects of EMPs and GMDs on critical infrastructure, in
coordination with the heads of appropriate Sector-Specific
Agencies, and on matters related to the bulk power system, in
consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission; and
``(II) incorporate events that include EMPs and extreme
GMDs as a factor in preparedness scenarios and exercises.
``(ii) Implementation.--The Secretary and the Administrator
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and on matters
related to the bulk power system, the Secretary of Energy and
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall--
``(I) not later than June 19, 2020, develop plans and
procedures to coordinate the response to and recovery from
EMP and GMD events; and
``(II) not later than December 21, 2020, conduct a national
exercise to test the preparedness and response of the Nation
to the effect of an EMP or extreme GMD event.
``(C) Research and development.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
heads of relevant Sector-Specific Agencies, shall--
``(I) without duplication of existing or ongoing efforts,
conduct research and development to better understand and
more effectively model the effects of EMPs and GMDs on
critical infrastructure (which shall not include any system
or infrastructure of the Department of Defense or any system
or infrastructure of the Department of Energy associated with
nuclear weapons activities); and
``(II) develop technologies to enhance the resilience of
and better protect critical infrastructure.
``(ii) Plan.--Not later than March 26, 2020, and in
coordination with the heads of relevant Sector-Specific
Agencies, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a research and development action
plan to rapidly address modeling shortfall and technology
development.
``(D) Emergency information system.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with
relevant stakeholders, shall implement a network of systems
that are capable of providing appropriate emergency
information to the public before (if possible), during, and
in the aftermath of an EMP or GMD.
``(ii) Briefing.--Not later than December 21, 2020, the
Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall brief the
appropriate congressional committees regarding the system
required under clause (i).
``(E) Quadrennial risk assessments.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the
Secretary of Commerce, and informed by intelligence-based
threat assessments, shall conduct a quadrennial EMP and GMD
risk assessment.
``(ii) Briefings.--Not later than March 26, 2020, and every
4 years thereafter until 2032, the Secretary, the Secretary
of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of
Commerce shall provide a briefing to the appropriate
congressional committees regarding the quadrennial EMP and
GMD risk assessment.
``(iii) Enhancing resilience.--The Secretary, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other
relevant Sector-Specific Agencies, shall use the results of
the quadrennial EMP and GMD
[[Page S3449]]
risk assessments to better understand and to improve
resilience to the effects of EMPs and GMDs across all
critical infrastructure sectors, including coordinating the
prioritization of critical infrastructure at greatest risk to
the effects of EMPs and GMDs.
``(3) Coordination.--
``(A) Report on technological options.--Not later than
December 21, 2020, and every 4 years thereafter until 2032,
the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense,
the Secretary of Energy, the heads of other appropriate
agencies, and, as appropriate, private-sector partners, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees, a report
that--
``(i) assesses the technological options available to
improve the resilience of critical infrastructure to the
effects of EMPs and GMDs; and
``(ii) identifies gaps in available technologies and
opportunities for technological developments to inform
research and development activities.
``(B) Test data.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than December 20, 2020, the
Secretary, in coordination with the heads of Sector-Specific
Agencies, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of
Energy, shall--
``(I) review test data regarding the effects of EMPs and
GMDs on critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets
representative of those throughout the Nation; and
``(II) identify any gaps in the test data.
``(ii) Plan.--Not later than 180 days after identifying
gaps in test data under clause (i), the Secretary, in
coordination with the heads of Sector-Specific Agencies and
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of Energy, shall use the sector partnership
structure identified in the National Infrastructure
Protection Plan to develop an integrated cross-sector plan to
address the identified gaps.
``(iii) Implementation.--The heads of each agency
identified in the plan developed under clause (ii) shall
implement the plan in collaboration with the voluntary
efforts of the private sector, as appropriate.
``(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to affect in any manner the authority, existing on
the day before the date of enactment of this subsection, of
any other component of the Department or any other Federal
department or agency, including the authority provided to the
Sector-Specific Agency specified in section 61003(c) of
division F of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act
(6 U.S.C. 121 note), including the authority under section
215 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o), and including
the authority of independent agencies to be independent.''.
(c) National Essential Functions.--
(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``national
essential functions'' means the overarching responsibilities
of the Federal Government to lead and sustain the Nation
before, during, and in the aftermath of a catastrophic
emergency, such as an EMP or GMD that adversely affects the
performance of the Federal Government.
(2) Updated operational plans.--Not later than March 20,
2020, each agency that supports a national essential function
shall prepare updated operational plans documenting the
procedures and responsibilities of the agency relating to
preparing for, protecting against, and mitigating the effects
of EMPs and GMDs.
(d) Benchmarks.--Not later than March 26, 2020, and as
appropriate thereafter, the Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, and, as appropriate, the private sector,
may develop or update, as necessary, quantitative and
voluntary benchmarks that sufficiently describe the physical
characteristics of EMPs, including waveform and intensity, in
a form that is useful to and can be shared with owners and
operators of critical infrastructure. Nothing in this
subsection shall affect the authority of the Electric
Reliability Organization to develop and enforce, or the
authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
approve, reliability standards.
(e) Pilot Test by DHS to Evaluate Engineering Approaches.--
(1) In general.--Not later than September 22, 2020, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, and in
consultation with the private sector, as appropriate, shall
develop and implement a pilot test to evaluate available
engineering approaches for mitigating the effects of EMPs and
GMDs on the most vulnerable critical infrastructure systems,
networks, and assets.
(2) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which the pilot test described in paragraph (1) is completed,
the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall
jointly brief the appropriate congressional committees on the
cost and effectiveness of the evaluated approaches.
(f) Pilot Test by DOD to Evaluate Engineering Approaches.--
(1) In general.--Not later than September 22, 2020, the
Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security and the Secretary of Energy, shall conduct
a pilot test to evaluate engineering approaches for hardening
a strategic military installation, including infrastructure
that is critical to supporting that installation, against the
effects of EMPs and GMDs.
(2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after completing the
pilot test described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of
Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report regarding the cost and effectiveness of
the evaluated approaches.
(g) Communications Operational Plans.--Not later than
December 21, 2020, the Secretary of Homeland Security, after
holding a series of joint meetings with the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Federal
Communications Commission, and the Secretary of
Transportation shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report--
(1) assessing the effects of EMPs and GMDs on critical
communications infrastructure; and
(2) recommending any necessary changes to operational plans
to enhance national response and recovery efforts after an
EMP or GMD.
(h) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
is amended by striking the item relating to section 320 and
inserting the following:
``Sec. 320. EMP and GMD mitigation research and development and threat
assessment, response, and recovery.''.
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