[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 119 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3719-S3720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2275. Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. King, and Mr.
Sasse) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 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. ___. CONTINUITY OF THE ECONOMY PLAN.
(a) Requirement.--
(1) In general.--The President shall develop and maintain a
plan to maintain and restore the economy of the United States
in response to a significant event.
(2) Principles.--The plan required under paragraph (1)
shall--
(A) be consistent with--
(i) a free market economy; and
(ii) the rule of law; and
(B) respect private property rights.
(3) Contents.--The plan required under paragraph (1)
shall--
(A) examine the distribution of goods and services across
the United States necessary for the reliable functioning of
the United States during a significant event;
(B) identify the economic functions of relevant actors, the
disruption, corruption, or dysfunction of which would have a
debilitating effect in the United States on--
(i) security;
(ii) economic security;
(iii) defense readiness; or
(iv) public health or safety;
(C) identify the critical distribution mechanisms for each
economic sector that should be prioritized for operation
during a significant event, including--
(i) bulk power and electric transmission systems;
(ii) national and international financial systems,
including wholesale payments, stocks, and currency exchanges;
(iii) national and international communications networks,
data-hosting services, and cloud services;
(iv) interstate oil and natural gas pipelines; and
(v) mechanisms for the interstate and international trade
and distribution of materials, food, and medical supplies,
including road, rail, air, and maritime shipping;
(D) identify economic functions of relevant actors, the
disruption, corruption, or dysfunction of which would cause--
(i) catastrophic economic loss;
(ii) the loss of public confidence; or
(iii) the widespread imperilment of human life;
(E) identify the economic functions of relevant actors that
are so vital to the economy of the United States that the
disruption, corruption, or dysfunction of those economic
functions would undermine response, recovery, or mobilization
efforts during a significant event;
(F) incorporate, to the greatest extent practicable, the
principles and practices contained within Federal plans for
the continuity of Government and continuity of operations;
(G) identify--
(i) industrial control networks on which the interests of
national security outweigh the benefits of dependence on
internet connectivity, including networks that are required
to maintain defense readiness; and
(ii) for each industrial control network described in
clause (i), the most feasible and optimal locations for the
installation of--
(I) parallel services;
(II) stand-alone analog services; and
(III) services that are otherwise hardened against failure;
(H) identify critical economic sectors for which the
preservation of data in a protected, verified, and
uncorrupted status would be required for the quick recovery
of the economy of the United States in the face of a
significant disruption following a significant event;
(I) include a list of raw materials, industrial goods, and
other items, the absence of which would significantly
undermine the ability of the United States to sustain the
functions described in subparagraphs (B), (D), and (E);
(J) provide an analysis of supply chain diversification for
the items described in subparagraph (I) in the event of a
disruption caused by a significant event;
(K) include--
(i) a recommendation as to whether the United States should
maintain a strategic reserve of 1 or more of the items
described in subparagraph (I); and
(ii) for each item described in subparagraph (I) for which
the President recommends maintaining a strategic reserve
under clause (i), an identification of mechanisms for
tracking inventory and availability of the item in the
strategic reserve;
(L) identify mechanisms in existence on the date of
enactment of this Act and mechanisms that can be developed to
ensure that the swift transport and delivery of the items
described in subparagraph (I) is feasible in the event of a
distribution network disturbance or degradation, including a
distribution network disturbance or degradation caused by a
significant event;
(M) include guidance for determining the prioritization for
the distribution of the items described in subparagraph (I),
including distribution to States and Indian Tribes;
(N) consider the advisability and feasibility of mechanisms
for extending the credit of the United States or providing
other financial support authorized by law to key participants
in the economy of the United States if the extension or
provision of other financial support--
(i) is necessary to avoid severe economic degradation; or
(ii) allows for the recovery from a significant event;
(O) include guidance for determining categories of
employees that should be prioritized to continue to work in
order to sustain the functions described in subparagraphs
(B), (D), and (E) in the event that there are limitations on
the ability of individuals to travel to workplaces or to work
remotely, including considerations for defense readiness;
(P) identify critical economic sectors necessary to provide
material and operational support to the defense of the United
States;
(Q) determine whether the Secretary of Homeland Security,
the National Guard, and the Secretary of Defense have
adequate authority to assist the United States in a recovery
from a severe economic degradation caused by a significant
event;
(R) review and assess the authority and capability of heads
of other agencies that the President determines necessary to
assist the United States in a recovery from a severe economic
degradation caused by a significant event; and
(S) consider any other matter that would aid in protecting
and increasing the resilience of the economy of the United
States from a significant event.
(b) Coordination.--In developing the plan required under
subsection (a)(1), the President shall--
(1) receive advice from--
(A) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(B) the Secretary of Defense;
(C) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(D) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(E) the Secretary of Commerce;
[[Page S3720]]
(F) the Secretary of Transportation;
(G) the Secretary of Energy;
(H) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration;
and
(I) the head of any other agency that the President
determines necessary to complete the plan;
(2) consult with economic sectors relating to critical
infrastructure through sector-coordinated councils, as
appropriate;
(3) consult with relevant State, Tribal, and local
governments and organizations that represent those
governments; and
(4) consult with any other non-Federal entity that the
President determines necessary to complete the plan.
(c) Submission to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 3
years thereafter, the President shall submit the plan
required under subsection (a)(1) and the information
described in paragraph (2) to--
(A) the majority and minority leaders of the Senate;
(B) the Speaker and the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives;
(G) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
of the Senate;
(H) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(I) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives;
(J) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate;
(K) the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
(L) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives;
(M) the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of
the Senate;
(N) the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives;
(O) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate;
(P) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate; and
(Q) any other committee of the Senate or the House of
Representatives that has jurisdiction over the subject of the
plan.
(2) Additional information.--The information described in
this paragraph is--
(A) any change to Federal law that would be necessary to
carry out the plan required under subsection (a)(1); and
(B) any proposed changes to the funding levels provided in
appropriation Acts for the most recent fiscal year that can
be implemented in future appropriation Acts or additional
resources necessary to--
(i) implement the plan required under subsection (a)(1); or
(ii) maintain any program offices and personnel necessary
to--
(I) maintain the plan required under subsection (a)(1) and
the plans described in subsection (a)(3)(F); and
(II) conduct exercises, assessments, and updates to the
plans described in subclause (I) over time.
(3) Budget of the president.--The President may include the
information described in paragraph (2)(B) in the budget
required to be submitted by the President under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the term in
section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) The term ``economic sector'' means a sector of the
economy of the United States.
(3) The term ``relevant actor'' means--
(A) the Federal government;
(B) a State, local, or Tribal government; or
(C) the private sector.
(4) The term ``significant event'' means an event that
causes severe degradation to economic activity in the United
States due to--
(A) a cyber attack; or
(B) another significant event that is natural or human-
caused.
(5) The term ``State'' means any State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any
possession of the United States.
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