[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5476-S5480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5970. Mr. COONS (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Bennet, Ms.
Rosen, Mr. Cassidy, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Kaine,
and Mr. Graham) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 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 in subtitle G of title X, insert
the following:
SEC. 10__. NATIONAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE
STRATEGY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Adaptation.--The term ``adaptation'' means an
adjustment in a natural or human system in response to a new
or changing environmental condition, including such an
adjustment associated with climate change, that exploits
beneficial opportunities or moderates negative effects.
(2) Adaptive capacity.--The term ``adaptive capacity''
means the ability of a system--
(A) to adjust to climate vulnerabilities to moderate
potential damage or harm;
(B) to take advantage of new, and potentially beneficial,
opportunities; or
(C) to cope with change.
(3) Cascading climate hazards.--The term ``cascading
climate hazards'' means a series
[[Page S5477]]
of successive environmental hazards triggered by an initial
hazard that is driven or exacerbated by climate change, such
that the impacts to vulnerable systems are amplified.
(4) Chief resilience officer.--The term ``Chief Resilience
Officer'' means the Chief Resilience Officer of the United
States appointed by the President under subsection (b)(1)(A).
(5) Climate change.--The term ``climate change'' means
changes in average atmospheric and oceanic conditions that
persist over multiple decades or longer and are natural or
anthropogenic in origin, including--
(A) both increases and decreases in temperature;
(B) shifts in precipitation;
(C) shifts in ecoregion or biome geography and phenology,
as applicable;
(D) changing risk from certain types of rapid-onset climate
hazards and slow-onset climate hazards; and
(E) changes to other features of the climate system.
(6) Climate information.--The term ``climate information''
means information, data, or products that enhance knowledge
and understanding of climate science, risk, conditions,
vulnerability, or impact, including--
(A) climate data products;
(B) historic or future climate projections or scenarios;
(C) climate risk or vulnerability information;
(D) data or information related to climate adaptation and
mitigation; and
(E) other best available climate science.
(7) Compound climate hazards.--The term ``compound climate
hazards'' means 2 or more environmental hazards driven or
exacerbated by climate change that occur simultaneously or
successively, such that the impacts to vulnerable systems are
amplified.
(8) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Partners
Council on Climate Adaptation and Resilience established by
subsection (c)(1).
(9) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``Executive agency'' in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code.
(10) Freely associated state.--The term ``Freely Associated
State'' means--
(A) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(B) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; and
(C) the Republic of Palau.
(11) Frontline communities.--The term ``frontline
communities'' means human communities that--
(A) are highly vulnerable to climate change or exposed to
climate risk;
(B) experience the earliest, most adverse impacts of
climate change; and
(C) may have a reduced ability to adapt to climate change
due to a lack of resources, political power, or adaptive
capacity.
(12) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan''
means the Implementation Plan jointly developed by the Chief
Resilience Officer and the Working Groups under subsection
(e)(2).
(13) 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).
(14) National climate assessment.--The term ``National
Climate Assessment'' means the assessment delivered to
Congress and the President pursuant to section 106 of the
Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2936).
(15) Natural infrastructure.--The term ``natural
infrastructure'' means infrastructure that--
(A) uses, restores, or emulates natural ecological,
geological, or physical processes; and
(B)(i) is created through the action of natural physical,
geological, biological, and chemical processes over time;
(ii) is created by human design, engineering, and
construction to emulate or act in concert with natural
processes; or
(iii) involves the use of plants, soils, and other natural
features, including through the creation, restoration, or
preservation of natural areas using materials appropriate to
the region to manage stormwater and runoff, to attenuate
flooding and storm surges, to manage erosion and saltwater
intrusion, and for other related purposes.
(16) Non-federal partner.--The term ``non-Federal partner''
means a member of a unit of State, local, or territorial
government, the government of an Indian Tribe, the government
of a Freely Associated State, a private sector entity, or
another individual or organization not affiliated with the
Federal Government.
(17) Operations report.--The term ``Operations Report''
means the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Operations Report jointly developed by the Chief Resilience
Officer and the Working Groups under subsection (d).
(18) Rapid-onset climate hazard.--The term ``rapid-onset
climate hazard'' means an abrupt environmental hazard driven
or exacerbated by climate change that occurs quickly or
unexpectedly and triggers impacts that materialize rapidly
and interact with conditions of exposure and vulnerability to
result in a disaster.
(19) Represented agency.--The term ``represented agency''
means each Federal agency from which the Chief Resilience
Officer appoints a member to a Working Group under subsection
(b)(2)(D)(ii)(II).
(20) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means the
capacity of a social, physical, economic, or environmental
system to cope with an environmental hazard event, trend, or
disturbance that is driven or exacerbated by climate change
by responding or reorganizing in ways that maintain, to the
greatest extent practicable, the essential function,
identity, and structure of the system and ensure that, in the
event of a rapid-onset climate hazard or a slow-onset climate
hazard, basic human needs are met, while also maintaining the
capacity for adaptation and transformation.
(21) Risk.--
(A) In general.--The term ``risk'' means the potential for
consequences in a situation in which--
(i) something of value is at stake; and
(ii) the outcome is uncertain.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``risk'' includes the potential
for consequences described in subparagraph (A) that is
evaluated as the product obtained by multiplying--
(i) the probability of a hazard occurring; by
(ii) the consequence that would result if the hazard
occurred.
(22) Slow-onset climate hazard.--
(A) In general.--The term ``slow-onset climate hazard''
means an environmental hazard driven or exacerbated by
climate change that evolves gradually through time due to
incremental change or because of an increasing frequency or
intensity of recurring climate impacts.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``slow-onset climate hazard''
includes hazards such as--
(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) increasing temperatures;
(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; and
(xiii) coastal and river bank erosion.
(23) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the National
Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy required to be
developed jointly by the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups under subsection (e)(1).
(24) 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))).
(25) Vulnerability.--The term ``vulnerability'' means the
propensity or predisposition of a human individual or
community or physical, biological, or socioeconomic system to
be susceptible to and adversely affected by the impacts of
climate change.
(26) Working group.--The term ``Working Group'' means a
National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Working Group
established by the Chief Resilience Officer under subsection
(b)(2).
(b) Chief Resilience Officer and National Climate
Adaptation and Resilience Working Groups.--
(1) Chief resilience officer.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall identify or
appoint a Chief Resilience Officer of the United States to
serve in the Executive Office of the President.
(B) Duties.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall--
(i) serve the President by directing a whole-of-government
effort to build resilience to climate change vulnerabilities
in the United States (as described in the National Climate
Assessment or other relevant analyses identified by the Chief
Resilience Officer) in collaboration with existing Federal
initiatives and interagency adaptation efforts;
(ii) establish Working Groups in accordance with paragraph
(2) to facilitate interagency coordination with respect to
climate resilience and adaptation; and
(iii) at the end of a presidential administration, delegate
the duties of the Chief Resilience Officer to the Executive
Secretary of the Working Groups designated under paragraph
(2)(F)(i)(I) until a new Chief Resilience Officer is
appointed.
(C) Compensation.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall be
compensated by the Federal Government at level III of the
Executive Schedule in subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5,
United States Code.
(2) Working groups.--
(A) Establishment.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), the Chief
Resilience Officer shall establish the minimum number of
National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Working Groups
that is necessary to carry out the duties and purposes
described in subparagraph (C).
(ii) Limitation.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall not
establish more than 5 Working Groups.
(B) Focus.--Each Working Group shall focus on a topic or
series of related topics with respect to climate adaptation
and resilience, as determined by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
(C) Duties and purpose.--Each Working Group shall, under
the leadership of the Chief Resilience Officer, with respect
to the focus of the Working Group--
(i) coordinate a whole-of-government plan to build
resilience to the applicable climate change vulnerabilities
described in the National Climate Assessment or other
relevant
[[Page S5478]]
analyses identified by the Chief Resilience Officer;
(ii) assist in the development of the applicable portions
of--
(I) the Operations Report;
(II) the Strategy; and
(III) the Implementation Plan; and
(iii) assist in the standardization across represented
agencies of, with respect to climate change, the term
``resilience'' to promote greater consistency in Federal
resilience leadership.
(D) Structure.--
(i) Chairperson.--
(I) In general.--Subject to a designation under subclause
(III), the Chief Resilience Officer shall serve as
chairperson of each Working Group.
(II) Temporary chairperson.--The President or the Chief
Resilience Officer may designate another staff member or
member of a Working Group to act temporarily as the
chairperson of that Working Group in the absence of the Chief
Resilience Officer.
(III) Designated agency chairperson.--The Chief Resilience
Officer may designate as chairperson of a Working Group the
head of a represented agency that serves on that Working
Group.
(ii) Membership.--In establishing a Working Group, the
Chief Resilience Officer shall--
(I) identify each Federal agency with operations or
organizational units that are relevant to the focus of the
Working Group; and
(II) appoint 1 member of each Federal agency identified
under subclause (I) to represent that Federal agency on the
Working Group.
(iii) Requirement.--In appointing a member of a Working
Group under clause (ii)(II), the Chief Resilience Officer
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, appoint the head of
the portion of the represented agency that is most relevant
to the focus of the Working Group.
(iv) Duties of members.--Each member of a Working Group--
(I) shall attend meetings of the Working Group; and
(II) work to support the duties of the Working Group.
(E) Meetings.--
(i) In general.--Each Working Group shall meet not less
frequently than once every 180 days.
(ii) Quorum.--\3/4\ of the members of a Working Group shall
constitute a quorum of the Working Group.
(iii) Remote participation.--A member of a Working Group
may participate in a meeting of that Working Group through
teleconference or similar means.
(F) Support personnel.--
(i) Executive secretary.--
(I) In general.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall
designate a permanent employee of a represented agency to
serve as Executive Secretary of the Working Groups.
(II) Employment.--The employee designated as Executive
Secretary under subclause (I) shall remain an employee of the
agency, department, or program from which the employee was
appointed.
(ii) Necessary assistance.--To carry out the purposes of
each Working Group, as described in subparagraph (C), each
represented agency with a member on the Working Group shall
furnish necessary assistance to that Working Group, such as--
(I) a detail of employees to the Working Group to perform
such functions, consistent with the purposes of the Working
Group described in subparagraph (C), as the Chief Resilience
Officer may assign, including support staff for the Executive
Secretary appointed under clause (i)(I); and
(II) on request of the Chief Resilience Officer,
undertaking special studies for the Working Group as may be
appropriate to carry out the functions of the Working Group.
(c) Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and
Resilience.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established a council, to be
known as the ``Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and
Resilience''.
(2) Mission and function.--The Council shall work to
improve the climate adaptation and resilience operations of
the Federal Government by providing recommendations through
the Chief Resilience Officer, including those recommendations
contained in the report required under paragraph (3), that
identify how the Federal Government can better support non-
Federal partners with equitable resources, technical
assistance, improved policies, and other assistance to help
frontline communities build resilience to climate change.
(3) Report.--Not later than 16 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the
Council, acting through the Chief Resilience Officer, shall
submit to the President and the Working Groups a report that
includes--
(A) an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in the climate
resilience operations of the Federal Government that reduce
or fail to increase the capacity of non-Federal partners to
adapt to climate change;
(B) an identification of the resources, including Federal
funding, necessary for non-Federal partners to adequately
adapt to climate change; and
(C) recommendations with respect to how the Federal
Government could better support efforts by non-Federal
partners to expeditiously address vulnerabilities associated
with climate change and build climate resilience.
(4) Chair and vice-chair.--The Chief Resilience Officer
shall serve as chairperson of the Council and shall appoint a
vice-chairperson from among the members of the Council
appointed pursuant to paragraph (5).
(5) Membership.--
(A) In general.--In addition to the Chief Resilience
Officer, the Council shall consist of not more than 23
members appointed by the Chief Resilience Officer.
(B) Appointment.--
(i) In general.--The Chief Resilience Officer shall appoint
members of the Council who can support the Working Groups by
articulating how the Federal Government can better support
State governments, local governments, territorial
governments, the governments of Indian Tribes, the
governments of Freely Associated States, nonprofit
organizations, or private sector entities to build resilience
to climate change.
(ii) Non-federal partner members.--The Chief Resilience
Officer shall appoint 20 non-Federal partner members of the
Council as follows:
(I) 12 members who are employees of State governments,
local governments, territorial governments, the governments
of Indian Tribes, or the governments of Freely Associated
States, of which--
(aa) not fewer than 2 shall be employees of a State
government;
(bb) not fewer than 2 shall be employees of a unit of local
government;
(cc) not fewer than 2 shall be employees of the government
of an Indian Tribe; and
(dd) not fewer than 2 shall be employees of a territorial
government or the government of a Freely Associated State;
and
(II) 8 members who represent nongovernmental organizations
and the private sector, of which--
(aa) 3 shall represent nongovernmental organizations;
(bb) 3 shall represent the private sector; and
(cc) 2 shall represent academic institutions.
(iii) Represented agency members.--The Chief Resilience
Officer may, with the consent of those representatives,
appoint not more than 3 representatives of represented
agencies to the Council that the Chief Resilience Officer
determines would promote dialogue useful for implementation
of the duties of the Council while keeping the size of the
Council manageable.
(iv) Selection.--To the maximum extent practicable, the
Chief Resilience Officer shall seek to select members of the
Council who--
(I) possess first-hand, lived experience of climate
vulnerability in the United States, including direct
experience working with, or as members of, frontline
communities; 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--
(I) of the initial members appointed to the Council, the
Chief Resilience Officer shall appoint--
(aa) \1/2\ of the members to serve for a term of 18 months;
and
(bb) \1/2\ of the members to serve a term of 3 years; and
(II) 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.--
(I) In general.--A vacancy in the Council shall be filled
in the same manner in which the original selection was made.
(II) Appointment of new members.--After the expiration of
the term for which a member of the Council is appointed, the
member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed.
(6) Meetings.--
(A) In general.--The Council shall meet not less frequently
than once every 180 days.
(B) Quorum.--\3/4\ of the members of the Council shall
constitute a quorum of the Council.
(C) Remote participation.--A member of the Council may
participate in a meeting of the Council through
teleconference or similar means.
(7) Applicability of faca.--Section 14 of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the
Council.
(d) National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Operations
Report.--Not later than 16 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Chief
Resilience Officer and the Working Groups shall jointly and
simultaneously submit to the President and Congress a
National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Operations Report
that includes--
(1) a summary of the existing climate resilience operations
of each represented agency that includes--
(A) the roles and responsibilities of each represented
agency in building national resilience to the climate
vulnerabilities described in the National Climate Assessment
or other analyses relevant to each represented agency;
(B) the major findings and conclusions from climate
adaptation plans or risk or vulnerability assessments
prepared by each represented agency;
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(C) the mechanisms by which each represented agency
supports the resilience efforts of non-Federal partners, such
as by providing funding, resources, and technical assistance;
and
(D) an assessment of how each represented agency is working
to ensure equitable adaptation outcomes; and
(2) a cross-agency analysis of the resilience operations
identified under paragraph (1) that--
(A) identifies--
(i) the challenges, barriers, or disincentives for the
Federal Government to build resilience to climate change in
the United States;
(ii) the inconsistencies in goals, priorities, or
strategies underlying climate resilience operations and
policy across represented agencies that may inhibit effective
interagency coordination to support national climate
resilience, including--
(I) the areas of necessary differences in those goals,
priorities, or strategies; and
(II) the justifications for those inconsistencies;
(iii) areas of overlap or redundant use of resources
between or among represented agencies, including
recommendations to eliminate any unnecessary or unintentional
redundancy;
(iv) gaps or deficiencies in resilience operations and
policy that need to be addressed in the context of the
Strategy;
(v) opportunities for greater collaboration between or
among represented agencies to improve Federal Government
resilience operations and policy; and
(vi) opportunities for greater collaboration between the
Federal Government and non-Federal partners to build local-
level adaptive capacity and resilience; and
(B) includes a review and summary of all available Federal
funding from represented agencies that is specifically
allocated for climate adaptation activities to be undertaken
by non-Federal partners, including--
(i) a summary of Federal funding available in
appropriations accounts and subaccounts;
(ii) disparities between the supply and demand for
adaptation funding available to non-Federal partners; and
(iii) existing mechanisms to ensure Federal funding
allocations are being directed to frontline communities with
the greatest level of vulnerability.
(e) National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy.--
(1) Strategy.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups shall jointly submit and simultaneously to the
President and Congress a National Climate Adaptation and
Resilience Strategy.
(B) Updates.--Not later than the date that is 3 years after
the date on which the Chief Resilience Officer and the
Working Groups jointly and simultaneously submit the Strategy
to the President and Congress under subparagraph (A), and
every 3 years thereafter, the Chief Resilience Officer and
the Working Groups shall jointly submit an updated version of
the Strategy to the President and Congress to account for--
(i) new science related to climate change, resilience, and
adaptation;
(ii) relevant changes in Federal Government structure,
congressional authorities, or appropriations; and
(iii) any other necessary improvements or changes
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 to climate change described in the National
Climate Assessment or other relevant analyses identified by
the Chief Resilience Officer to ensure that--
(i) the United States has an overarching strategic vision
to respond to climate change that--
(I) identifies national climate resilience goals and guides
national climate adaptation efforts;
(II) facilitates the incorporation of the climate
resilience goals identified under subclause (I) into relevant
national programs, operations, and strategies;
(III) develops proactive, long-term, scenario-based
strategies to plan for and respond to current and future
climate impacts to human communities, natural resources and
public land, and infrastructure and other physical assets;
(IV) emphasizes forward-thinking adaptation strategies,
including predisaster mitigation, that seek to overcome
repeated climate impacts to vulnerable systems and
communities;
(V) prioritizes climate resilience efforts to support the
most vulnerable human communities and the most urgent
national resilience challenges, as determined by the Chief
Resilience Officer in consultation with the Working Groups;
(VI) avoids unnecessary redundancies and inefficiencies in
the national planning for and response to climate change; and
(VII) recognizes the vulnerability of natural systems to
climate change and underscores the importance of promoting
ecosystem resilience to preserve the intrinsic value of
nature and support ecosystem services relied on by human
beings;
(ii) Federal investments in Federal and non-Federal
infrastructure and assets promote climate resilience to the
maximum extent practicable; and
(iii) the adaptive capacity and resilience of State
governments, local governments, territorial governments, the
governments of Indian Tribes, and governments of Freely
Associated States are maximized to the maximum extent
practicable.
(D) Council recommendations.--In developing the Strategy,
the Chief Resilience Officer and Working Groups shall
consider the recommendations of the Council.
(E) Inclusions.--In addition to the overarching strategies
developed in accordance with subparagraph (C), the Strategy
shall include information with respect to the following:
(i) Direct federal government response to climate change.--
(I) Addressing the limitations, redundancies, and
opportunities for improved resilience operations of the
Federal Government that are identified in the Operations
Report.
(II) Better preparing the United States for the adverse
impacts experienced or anticipated to be experienced as a
result of--
(aa) rapid-onset climate hazards;
(bb) slow-onset climate hazards;
(cc) compound climate hazards; and
(dd) cascading climate hazards.
(III) Educating, engaging, or developing the skills of the
workforce of the represented agencies with respect to topics
related to climate change vulnerability and resilience to
promote effective Federal resilience operations.
(IV) An identification of opportunities and appropriate
circumstances for represented agencies to better utilize
natural infrastructure as an adaptation strategy.
(ii) Support of non-federal partners' response to climate
change.--
(I) Methods for represented agencies to better collaborate
and work directly with non-Federal partners to increase the
resilience and adaptive capacity of State governments, local
governments, territorial governments, the governments of
Indian Tribes, the governments of Freely Associated States,
and other non-Federal partners.
(II) Educating non-Federal partners about the availability
of Federal funding opportunities identified in the Operations
Report under subsection (d)(2)(B), including the development
of a centralized, cross-agency portal that allows non-Federal
partners to easily identify and apply for appropriate Federal
funding opportunities for the specific resilience needs of
those non-Federal partners.
(III) Clarifying, simplifying, and harmonizing the planning
requirements and application processes for State governments,
local governments, territorial governments, the governments
of Indian Tribes, and the governments of Freely Associated
States to access Federal funds for climate adaptation and
resilience efforts across represented agencies.
(IV) Identifying under-resourced communities and
communities with low adaptive capacity and resilience and to
directly support those communities in applying for Federal
funds for climate adaptation and resilience efforts.
(V) Supporting the retreat or relocation of human
communities in areas that are at increasing risk from climate
change, in particular from slow-onset climate hazards,
including strategies to better manage equitable property
buyouts, managed retreat, or relocation options for
communities in those areas.
(iii) Climate information.--
(I) Increasing the accessibility and utility of climate
information that is produced, published, or hosted by the
Federal Government, including strategies to better
collaborate across the represented agencies and work with
non-Federal partners--
(aa) to provide the high-quality, locally relevant climate
information and, where practicable and useful, transparent
and replicable downscaled climate projections that are
necessary to support local-level adaptation efforts;
(bb) to establish improved methods of communicating climate
risk and other relevant climate information;
(cc) to better educate non-Federal partners about the
available resources for climate information; and
(dd) to assist non-Federal partners in selecting and using
appropriate climate information or related tools.
(II) Standardized procedures to synthesize, align, and
update climate information produced, published, or hosted by
the Federal Government to create arrays of standardized
national, regional, and, where applicable, local climate
information for adaptation planning.
(III) An assessment of the necessity and utility of
developing or improving a centralized clearinghouse and
dedicated Federal program for climate information to better
provide climate information to end users.
(IV) Developing the centralized clearinghouse or dedicated
Federal program described in subclause (III), if such an
effort is determined to be necessary by the Chief Resilience
Officer.
(iv) Resilience metrics and indicators.--At the discretion
of the Chief Resilience Officer, developing or improving
resilience metrics and indicators to assist the Federal
Government and non-Federal partners--
(I) to the maximum extent practicable, to consistently
measure the resilience of human communities, natural systems,
and physical assets to climate change;
(II) to set baselines and targets to measurably increase
climate resilience over time; and
[[Page S5480]]
(III) to better monitor and assess the effectiveness of
various resilience-building activities after implementation.
(v) Funding climate adaptation.--
(I) Helping to prioritize Federal funding expenditures for
adaptation and resilience in consideration of the greatest
vulnerabilities.
(II) Creating financial incentives for adaptation and
resilience efforts.
(III) A review of the cost-benefit analysis methodologies
and discount rates used by represented agencies for all
Federal investments, including a review of the implications
of those methodologies and discount rates for climate
adaptation and resilience.
(IV) Recommendations to improve the methodologies described
in subclause (III) to reflect--
(aa) the added value of resilience planning and
construction methodologies over the lifetime of a project or
unit of infrastructure;
(bb) the benefits of natural infrastructure investments;
(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 climate vulnerability.
(vi) Social equity.--
(I) Ensuring that the costs, benefits, and risks resulting
from climate resilience efforts, including funding
allocations, the methodologies for determining funding
allocations, and existing and future policies, are equitably
distributed among sectors of society, types of communities,
and geographies.
(II) Ensuring that federally supported climate resilience
efforts are--
(aa) designed in consultation with the communities that
will be affected by those efforts; and
(bb) centered on the needs of those communities.
(III) To the greatest extent practicable, integrating
social equity considerations across all aspects of the
Strategy.
(2) Implementation plan.--Concurrently with the Strategy
and each update of the Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer
and the Working Groups shall jointly and simultaneously
submit to the President and Congress an Implementation Plan
that describes how represented agencies intend to carry out
the Strategy, which shall include--
(A) a description of the roles and responsibilities of each
represented agency in carrying out each element of the
Strategy described in paragraph (1);
(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 to climate change; and
(C) the use of any relevant metrics and indicators
described in paragraph (1)(E)(iv).
(3) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years following the
completion of each Strategy under paragraph (1)(A) and each
Implementation Plan, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall simultaneously submit to the President and
Congress a report that assesses--
(A) the extent to which the Strategy and Implementation
Plan have 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)(E)(iv);
(B) the effectiveness of the actions taken under the
Strategy and Implementation Plan and the resulting outcomes
of those actions in building national resilience to climate
change; and
(C) the progress made towards the development of an
effective whole-of-government effort to build resilience to
the climate vulnerabilities described in the National Climate
Assessment or other relevant analyses identified by the Chief
Resilience Officer, including recommendations for additional
steps necessary to reach this goal.
(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 and the Working
Groups 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) Sunset.--This section ceases to be effective 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 the last day of fiscal year 2033.
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