[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 179 (Tuesday, October 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5252-S5253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             STRENGTHENING COASTAL COMMUNITIES ACT OF 2023

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, on September 27, the Environment and 
Public Works Committee favorably reported the Strengthening Coastal 
Communities Act of 2023 as an original bill by voice vote. This bill, 
S. 2958, expands and improves the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, also 
known as CBRA. I would like to formally recognize the colleagues who 
have worked with me on this bill and share some thoughts on its 
significance.
  According to Senate procedure, original bills are considered a 
product of the committee and do not have sponsors or cosponsors. With 
this in mind, I wish to acknowledge for the record that Senators 
Graham, Whitehouse, and Tillis assisted in authorship of the 
Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2023. While these colleagues 
cannot be formally added as cosponsors, I want to thank them for their 
participation in developing this bipartisan legislation and note that I 
consider them to be cosponsors.

[[Page S5253]]

  I would also like to ask our colleagues across the Senate for their 
support to pass this bill. CBRA was originally enacted in 1982, and it 
protects sensitive habitats along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
coasts by restricting Federal investment within designated areas. In 
doing so, CBRA has saved billions of Federal tax dollars since 
enactment, while simultaneously protecting hundreds of thousands of 
acres of coastal wetlands from development. In 2019, a scientific study 
found that CBRA had saved the Federal taxpayer roughly $9.5 billion 
since its passage and is projected to save up to $108 billion over the 
next 50 years. Coastal wetlands that CBRA protects continue to provide 
key habitat areas for commercial and recreational fisheries, migratory 
birds, and endangered species.
  Importantly, the areas protected under CBRA play a crucial role in 
coastal resilience by mitigating hurricane and flood damage. A 2023 
study found that CBRA provided $112 million per year in prevented 
National Flood Insurance Program claims, a 7-percent savings in annual 
claims.
  Given this broad range of benefits, CBRA has enjoyed strong 
bipartisan support since its inception. CBRA was developed and 
introduced on a bipartisan basis in 1982, with 58 cosponsors in the 
Senate led by sponsor Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island. CBRA's 
co-author, Representative Thomas B. Evans from my home State of 
Delaware, said CBRA was needed because ``the U.S. taxpayer should not 
subsidize and bear the risk for private development on coastal 
barriers.'' President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law, noting 
that CBRA adopts a ``sensible approach'' to conservation that also 
saves taxpayer dollars. CBRA has continued to enjoy strong bipartisan 
support in subsequent improvements, map enactments, and 
reauthorizations in 1988, 1990, 2000, 2006, and 2018.
  The areas protected under CBRA are identified in official maps that 
must be authorized by Congress and have not been comprehensively 
revised since 1990. The 1990s-era maps were created using now-
antiquated mapping techniques and, as a result, are imprecise, 
difficult to apply in practice, and contain errors that impact property 
owners and project proponents. Congress has recognized this problem and 
directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to undergo a yearslong 
modernization process to recommend updates to these maps. In 2013, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service received supplemental appropriations related 
to Hurricane Sandy in order to modernize CBRS maps, resulting in 
extensive recommended revisions along the Mid-Atlantic and New England 
coasts.
  The Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2023 adopts the 
comprehensively revised maps prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service for 187 updated CBRS maps and 11 new maps, including maps 
prepared through the Hurricane Sandy Remapping Project and other 
technical correction reviews. Enacting this legislation will provide 
critical modernization of CBRA implementation, in addition to making 
other improvements and technical corrections in CBRA.
  With that said, I would like to reiterate my gratitude to Senators 
Graham, Whitehouse, and Tillis, who have been indispensable partners in 
the development of the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2023. I 
look forward to continuing to work with them and our colleagues in the 
House to pass S. 2958 and enact it into law.

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