[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4221. Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
Merkley, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Alsobrooks, and Mr. Bennet) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 6938, making 
consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2026, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DATABASE AND WEBPAGE FOR INFORMATION ON BILLION-
                   DOLLAR DISASTERS.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration (in this section referred to 
     as the ``Administrator'') shall establish and maintain a 
     database and webpage that is available to the public and 
     contains information on each billion-dollar disaster that 
     occurs each year in the United States.
       (b) Update.--Not less frequently than biannually, the 
     Administrator shall update the database and webpage required 
     under subsection (a) as new information is available.
       (c) Matters To Be Included.--The database and webpage 
     required under subsection (a) shall include the following:
       (1) With respect to each billion-dollar disaster included 
     in the database and webpage--
       (A) the estimated cost of the disaster;
       (B) the type of disaster;
       (C) the location of the disaster;
       (D) the date or dates of the disaster; and
       (E) such other information regarding the disaster as the 
     Administrator considers appropriate.
       (2) Visual graphs and mapping features showing the 
     trajectory of disasters over time and the distribution of 
     types of disasters across the United States that are similar, 
     if not identical, to those features produced by the National 
     Centers for Environmental Information from 1980 through 2024 
     and that were available and updated online at 
     www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/ until May 9, 2025.
       (d) Data To Be Used.--In establishing and maintaining the 
     database required under subsection (a), the Administrator 
     shall use data available to the Administrator and may 
     collaborate with Federal and non-Federal partners as 
     necessary, such as those partners with which the 
     Administrator collaborated previously while the database 
     specified under subsection (c)(2) was active from 1980 
     through 2024.
       (e) Inclusion of Other Disasters.--The Administrator may 
     include in the database required under subsection (a) a 
     disaster that is not a billion-dollar disaster if the 
     Administrator determines that the inclusion of the disaster 
     in the database would be appropriate.
       (f) Maintenance of Existing Database.--The Administrator 
     shall maintain and update information contained in the 
     previously existing disaster database specified under 
     subsection (c)(2) on the webpage for the National Centers for 
     Environmental Information for archiving and research 
     purposes.
       (g) Billion-dollar Disaster Defined.--In this section, the 
     term ``billion-dollar disaster'' means a storm or severe 
     weather event that results in $1,000,000,000 or more in 
     combined direct costs and market costs as determined by the 
     National Centers for Environmental Information.

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