[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5539-H5541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HOMELAND SECURITY FOR CHILDREN ACT

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 4426) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 to ensure that the needs of children are considered in homeland 
security planning, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4426

       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 ``Homeland Security for 
     Children Act''.

     SEC. 2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

       Section 102 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
     112) is amended by adding at the end of the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(h) Planning Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure 
     the head of each office and component of the Department takes 
     into account the needs of children, including children within 
     under-served communities, in mission planning and mission 
     execution. In furtherance of this subsection, the Secretary 
     shall require each such head to seek, to the extent 
     practicable, advice and feedback from organizations 
     representing the needs of children. The Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply whenever such 
     advice or feedback is sought in accordance with this 
     subsection.''.

     SEC. 3. TECHNICAL EXPERT AUTHORIZED.

       Paragraph (2) of section 503(b) of the Homeland Security 
     Act (6 U.S.C. 313(b)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(I) identify, integrate, and implement the needs of 
     children, including children within under-served communities, 
     into activities to prepare for, protect against, respond to, 
     recover from, and mitigate against the risk of natural 
     disasters, acts of terrorism, and other disasters, including 
     catastrophic incidents, including by appointing a technical 
     expert, who may consult with relevant outside organizations 
     and experts, as necessary, to coordinate such integration, as 
     necessary.''.

     SEC. 4. REPORT.

       Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act and annually thereafter for five years, the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee 
     on Homeland Security and the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure

[[Page H5540]]

     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
     Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report 
     describing the efforts the Department has undertaken to 
     review and incorporate feedback from organizations 
     representing the needs of children, including children within 
     under-served communities, into Department policy in 
     accordance with subsection (h) of section 102 of the Homeland 
     Security Act of 2002 (as amended by section 2 of this Act), 
     including information on the following:
       (1) The designation of any individual responsible for 
     carrying out such subsection (h).
       (2) Any review, formal or informal, of Department policies, 
     programs, or activities to assess the suitability of such 
     policies, programs, or activities for children and where 
     feedback from organizations representing the needs of 
     children should be reviewed and incorporated.
       (3) Any review, change, modification, or promulgation of 
     Department policies, programs, or activities to ensure that 
     such policies, programs, or activities are appropriate for 
     children.
       (4) Coordination with organizations or experts outside the 
     Department pursuant to such subsection (h) conducted to 
     inform any such review, change, modification, or promulgation 
     of such policies, programs, or activities.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. 
Guest) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).


                             General Leave

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Mississippi?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, during disasters, children are uniquely vulnerable to 
physical and emotional harm. Sixteen years ago, Hurricane Katrina 
opened our eyes to the disproportionate consequences of disasters on 
our Nation's children. It uprooted 300,000 children, forcing them to 
enroll in new schools, and separated 5,000 children from their 
families, some for months.
  Drawing on the lessons from Katrina, the National Commission on 
Children and Disasters in 2010 issued recommendations to better protect 
children during catastrophes. To date, fewer than a quarter of those 
recommendations have been implemented.
  Children today face a diverse range of homeland security challenges 
that impact their lives. We have seen COVID-19, school shootings, 
hurricanes, and wildfires disrupt access to education and have far-
reaching impacts on the lives of children.
  According to a study published this week, children today will 
experience three times as many climate-related disasters as their 
grandparents.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a Washington Post article on the 
consequences of climate change for children.

                       [From The Washington Post]

Today's Kids Will Live Through Three Times as Many Climate Disasters as 
                     Their Grandparents, Study Says

                 (By Sarah Kaplan, September 27, 2021)

       Adriana Bottino-Poage is 6 years old, with cherub cheeks 
     and curls that bounce when she laughs. She likes soccer, art 
     and visiting the library. She dreams of being a scientist and 
     inventing a robot that can pull pollution out of the air. She 
     wants to become the kind of grownup who can help the world.
       Yet human actions have made the world a far more dangerous 
     place for Adriana to grow up, according to a first-of-its-
     kind study of the impacts of climate change across 
     generations.
       If the planet continues to warm on its current trajectory, 
     the average 6-year-old will live through roughly three times 
     as many climate disasters as their grandparents, the study 
     finds. They will see twice as many wildfires, 1.7 times as 
     many tropical cyclones, 3.4 times more river floods, 2.5 
     times more crop failures and 2.3 times as many droughts as 
     someone born in 1960.
       These findings, published this week in the journal Science, 
     are the result of a massive effort to quantify what lead 
     author Wim Thiery calls the ``intergenerational inequality'' 
     of climate change.
       Drawing on multiple climate and demographic models, Thiery 
     and 36 colleagues compared the risks faced by previous 
     generations to the number of extreme events today's children 
     will witness in their lifetimes. Unless world leaders agree 
     on more ambitious policies when they meet for the United 
     Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, this fall, the 
     study says, today's children will be exposed to an average of 
     five times more disasters than if they lived 150 years ago.
       The changes are especially dramatic in developing nations; 
     infants in sub-Saharan Africa are projected to live through 
     50 to 54 times as many heat waves as someone born in the 
     preindustrial era.
       The disparities underscore how the worst effects of climate 
     change will be experienced in places that contributed least 
     to warming, by people who have had little say in the policies 
     that allow continued emissions to occur, Thiery said. More 
     than half of all greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were 
     generated after 1990, meaning that most of the disasters 
     today's children will experience can be linked to emissions 
     produced during their parents' lifetimes.
       ``Young people are being hit by climate crisis but are not 
     in position to make decisions,'' he said. ``While the people 
     who can make the change happen will not face the 
     consequences.''
       Aggressive efforts to curb fossil fuel use and other 
     planet-warming activities can still dramatically improve the 
     outlook for today's children, he added. If people manage to 
     limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) 
     above preindustrial levels, newborns' risk of extreme heat 
     exposure will fall almost by half. They could see 11 percent 
     fewer crop failures, 27 percent fewer droughts and almost a 
     third as many river floods than if emissions continue 
     unabated.
       But the world is nowhere near meeting that 1.5 degree 
     target. A U.N. report published earlier this month warned 
     that, based on countries' current climate pledges, greenhouse 
     gas emissions could actually increase by 16 percent by the 
     end of the decade. That would put the planet on track to warm 
     by 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of 
     the century.
       This makes Adriana angry. The Woodbridge, Va., first-grader 
     already worries about the wildfires in California, where her 
     half brother lives. She has heard about islands being 
     inundated by rising seas, caught glimpses of hurricanes and 
     droughts on the news.
       Meanwhile, adults ``don't listen, and they keep doing it 
     and keep making the Earth hotter'' she added. ``Everything 
     will keep getting worse and worse until I grow up. Somebody 
     has to do something.''
       The Science paper was partly inspired by Thiery's three 
     sons, who are 7, 5 and 2. But its implications are not 
     restricted to children. Anyone under 40, he said, is destined 
     to live a life of unprecedented disaster exposure, 
     experiencing rates of extreme events that would have just a 1 
     in 10,000 chance of happening in a preindustrial world.
       ``It used to be a story of, like, `yeah we have to limit 
     global warming because of grandchildren,' `` he said. ``This 
     study is making clear that climate change has arrived. It's 
     everywhere.''
       The numbers provided in the study are almost certainly an 
     underestimate, said co-author Joeri Rogelj, director of the 
     Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at 
     Imperial College London. Data limitations, and the complexity 
     of the analysis, meant the scientists didn't assess the 
     increased risk of some hazards, such as coastal flooding from 
     sea level rise. The study also doesn't take into account the 
     increased severity of many events; it only looks at 
     frequency.
       On the other hand, he noted, countries also have a chance 
     to adapt to the changes that are coming. If the world invests 
     in making communities safer--for example, installing flood 
     barriers, adopting fire-safe building codes, providing 
     shelter for people at risk from deadly heat--disasters don't 
     have to be as destructive for future generations as they are 
     for people today.
       ``Our aim is for this not to be the conclusion of this 
     debate,'' Rogelj said, ``but for this to be the start of 
     looking at the lived experience of children being born 
     today.''
       Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at the Georgia Institute of 
     Technology who was not involved in the new research, called 
     it a ``robust study'' based on established findings from the 
     United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As 
     a scientist, Cobb said, she was unsurprised by the results.
       But Cobb is also a mother to four children. Reading the 
     report through that lens, she said, ``it brings into sharp 
     focus what so many economic models of climate change impacts 
     fail to capture--the vast toll of human suffering that is 
     hanging in the balance with our emissions choices this 
     decade.''
       She added: ``The moral weight of this moment is almost 
     unbearable.''
       In a report published in conjunction with Thiery's 
     findings, Save the Children International called on world 
     leaders to make the changes necessary to meet the 1.5 degree 
     Celsius target. Wealthy nations must also follow through on 
     their unmet pledge to give $100 billion per year to help low-
     income countries curb their own emissions and adapt to 
     changes that are already underway, the group said.
       Yolande Wright, who directs the nonprofit's climate 
     efforts, also hopes the findings will bolster legal efforts 
     to force climate action on behalf of children. Last year, a 
     federal appeals court threw out a case brought by 21 American 
     young people who argued that the government's failure to act 
     on climate change was a violation of their

[[Page H5541]]

     rights. Similar cases have been filed in Portugal, Peru and 
     elsewhere.
       ``Now that we can really quantify how a child in their 
     lifetime will see so many more of these extreme events . . . 
     it helps make the case,'' Wright said.
       Environmental attorney Dan Galpern, general counsel and 
     director of Climate Protection and Restoration Initiative, 
     agreed that ``anticipatory research'' like this can help 
     establish governments' and corporations' liability for real 
     harms experienced by kids.
       Young people already say climate change has touched their 
     lives and harmed their mental health. In a recent survey of 
     16- to 25-year-olds, scientists found that three quarters of 
     respondents feared the future and more than half believed 
     they would have less opportunity than their parents. Nearly 
     60 percent said their governments had betrayed them and 
     future generations--making them feel even more anxious.
       ``The future for me and everyone who comes after is so 
     insecure,'' said Emanuel Smari Nielsen, a 14-year-old climate 
     activist from Norway. ``When politicians and those with power 
     do not do anything, it makes me feel tired. It almost makes 
     me angry.''
       Adriana, the 6-year-old, said she feels ``super nervous'' 
     when she thinks about what the future might hold. In those 
     moments, there's nothing that helps her feel better.
       ``I just wait till I'm done thinking about it,'' she said.
       Experts say one way to help children cope with climate 
     anxiety is to help them feel empowered to do something about 
     it. The Save the Children report calls for communities, 
     countries and global institutions like the U.N. to give young 
     people a greater role in setting climate policy.
       Cormac Buck, an 8-year-old from Savannah, Ga., has decided 
     to stop eating meat (except for the occasional chicken 
     nugget). He is part of a group of kids at his school who have 
     asked teachers and administrators to use fewer fossil fuels.
       ``Sometimes I hear some depressing things happening, like 
     some animals because of climate change are really close to 
     extinction . . . and I feel sad,'' he said. ``And then I 
     normally try to think of a way to stop that from happening 
     again.''
       And adults must earn back children's trust, Thiery said, by 
     making the dramatic emissions reductions that have been so 
     long delayed. Our choices now will determine whether kids 
     grow up in a world with four times as many heat waves or 
     seven times as many heat waves, a world with occasional crop 
     failures or chronic food shortages.
       ``We can still avoid the worst consequences,'' he said. 
     ``That is what gives me strength as a father . . . Their 
     future is in our hands.''

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, the safety of our children 
is central to our country's well-being, and we must ensure that, for 
its part, the Department of Homeland Security is equipped to consider 
these needs.
  The Homeland Security for Children Act would ensure the unique needs 
of children are taken into account throughout the Department by 
mandating the DHS Secretary direct all components and offices to 
consider children when creating policies and implementing programs.

                              {time}  1615

  It specifically directs the Department to seek feedback from 
organizations that represent children when developing and carrying out 
policies and programs.
  H.R. 4426 would also permanently authorize a ``children's technical 
expert'' within the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prioritize 
the interests of children in emergency preparedness, response, and 
recovery initiatives.
  Lastly, the legislation, as introduced by my colleague from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne) would require DHS to report to Congress on the 
Department's work to incorporate children's interests throughout all 
its work.
  Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
4426, the Homeland Security for Children Act, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.

         House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and 
           Infrastructure,
                               Washington, DC, September 23, 2021.
     Hon. Bennie G. Thompson,
     Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
     House of Representatives. Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Thompson: I write concerning H.R. 4426, the 
     Homeland Security for Children Act. There are certain 
     provisions in this legislation that fall within the Rule X 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure.
       In order to expedite floor consideration of H.R. 4426, the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure agrees to 
     forgo action on the bill. However, this is conditional on our 
     mutual understanding that forgoing consideration of the bill 
     would not prejudice the Committee with respect to the 
     appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional 
     claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or 
     similar legislation that fall within the Committee's Rule X 
     jurisdiction. I also request that you urge the Speaker to 
     name members of this Committee to any conference committee 
     which is named to consider such provisions.
       Please place a copy of this letter and your response 
     acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the committee 
     report on H.R. 4426 and into the Congressional Record during 
     consideration of the measure on the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Peter A. Defazio,
     Chair.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                               Committee on Homeland Security,

                               Washington, DC, September 23, 2021.
     Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman DeFazio: Thank you for your letter regarding 
     H.R. 4426, the ``Homeland Security for Children Act.'' I 
     recognize that the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure has a jurisdictional interest in H.R. 4426, 
     and I appreciate your effort to allow this bill to be 
     considered on the House floor.
       I concur with you that forgoing action on the bill does not 
     in any way prejudice the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure with respect to its jurisdictional 
     prerogatives on this bill or similar legislation in the 
     future, and I would support your effort to seek appointment 
     of an appropriate number of conferees to any House--Senate 
     conference involving this legislation.
       I will include our letters on H.R. 4426 in the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of this bill. 
     I look forward to working with you on this legislation and 
     other matters of great importance to this Nation.
           Sincerely,

                                           Bennie G. Thompson,

                                                         Chairman,
                                   Committee on Homeland Security.

  Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4426, the Homeland 
Security for Children Act.
  While terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other large-scale 
emergencies have devastating effects on our communities that last for 
years, the impacts on children whose lives are often shaped by such 
emergencies can be felt throughout our country for decades. This 
legislation will help ensure that DHS, especially FEMA, is considering 
those long-term implications in all aspects of its mission and 
planning.
  I commend Representative Payne for his tireless effort over the years 
to support and protect our Nation's children.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to join me in supporting H.R. 4426. I 
have no more speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation's children need our help. Natural disasters 
have impacted one in three Americans. Since the onset of the COVID-19 
pandemic, over 5.5 million children have tested positive, and 
conditions are not trending in the right direction.
  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, last week, with kids 
back at school, the number of infected children had exponentially risen 
to the third highest level since the beginning of the pandemic.
  As a partner to schools, which are critical to infrastructure, the 
Department of Homeland Security has a critical mission to play in 
helping to protect children. To do so effectively, it is critical that 
children's unique needs are front and center in DHS programs and 
policies. Enactment of the Homeland Security for Children Act will do 
just that.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4426, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4426, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________