[Senate Report 115-202]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


 						   Calendar No. 296

115th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                            { 115-202

======================================================================
                                                  
                   HOMELAND SECURITY FOR CHILDREN ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              TO ACCOMPANY

                                S. 1847

          TO AMEND THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 TO ENSURE
         THAT THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN ARE CONSIDERED IN HOMELAND
 SECURITY, TRAFFICKING, AND DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                January 30, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
                
                
                             __________
                               

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                        WASHINGTON : 2018              
                
                
                
        
        
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona                 CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
STEVE DAINES, Montana                DOUG JONES, Alabama

                  Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
        Natalie F. Enclade, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
                  Office of Inspector General Detailee
               Margaret E. Daum, Minority Staff Director
               Stacia M. Cardille, Minority Chief Counsel
       Charles A. Moskowitz, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel
Daniel J. Webb, Minority U.S. Government Accountability Office Detailee
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
 
 
 					            Calendar No. 296

115th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                            { 115-202

=====================================================================                    
                      
                    HOMELAND SECURITY FOR CHILDREN ACT

                                _______
                                

                January 30, 2018.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1847]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1847) to amend the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that the needs of 
children are considered in homeland security, trafficking, and 
disaster recovery planning, and for other purposes, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 1847, the Homeland Security for Children Act, requires 
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and 
its components to more effectively include the needs of 
children in its policy and procedures in areas such as disaster 
recovery planning by seeking feedback from outside 
organizations.

              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    There are over 73 million children in the United States, 
totaling 22.8 percent of our population.\1\ The majority of 
American children are separated from their parents every 
weekday while the parents work and the children are in school 
or daycare. Over 90 percent of those separated children live in 
an area at risk of natural disasters.\2\
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    \1\U.S. Census Bureau, Quick Facts, https://www.census.gov/
quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216 (multiplying ``Population estimates, 
July 1, 2016'' by ``Persons under 18 years, percent, July 1, 2016'' to 
calculate number of children).
    \2\Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute, Low 
Standards for Emergency Preparedness in the Early Childhood and K-12 
Sectors (2008).
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    The Department is tasked with keeping the public safe, 
including children. Its mission ranges from thwarting terrorist 
attacks to responding to natural and manmade disasters; from 
interdicting the movement of illicit drugs at the border to 
combating human trafficking and protecting its victims.\3\ 
Within DHS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 
primary mission is to support citizens and first responders as 
they prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, 
and mitigate all hazards.\4\ However, FEMA has not always 
considered the unique needs of children when it comes to 
evacuation, shelter, and medical care, and there is wide 
variance in the level of preparation and responsiveness of 
other relevant Federal agencies as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., Our Mission (May 11, 2016), https://
    www.dhs.gov/our-mission.
    \4\FEMA, About the Agency, https://www.fema.gov/about-agency.
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    In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Congress and 
President George W. Bush created the National Commission on 
Children and Disasters (NCCD). As required under the Kids in 
Disasters Well-being, Safety, and Health Act of 2007, the NCCD 
was created to assess gaps in Federal disaster preparedness, 
response, and recovery planning that put children at risk and 
to formulate recommendations that could guide a national 
movement to close those gaps and help Congress, Federal 
agencies, states, and non-Federal partners better protect our 
children.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\National Commission on Children and Disasters, 2010 Report to 
the President and Congress (October 2010), https://archive.ahrq.gov/
prep/nccdreport/nccdreport.pdf [hereinafter ``NCCD Report''].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In 2010, the NCCD reported to the President and Congress on 
its review of Federal disaster-related laws, regulations, 
programs, and policies. The report made 32 recommendations to 
eliminate gaps in policies that overlook the needs of children 
and achieve a coordinated national disaster strategy that 
accounts for the needs of children.\6\ In 2015, Save the 
Children reported that 79 percent of these recommendations had 
not been completely implemented.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\NCCD Report at 7-16.
    \7\Save the Children, Still at Risk: U.S. Children 10 Years After 
Hurricane Katrina, 2015 National Report Card on Protecting Children in 
Disasters, 3 (July 14, 2015), http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/
%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/DISASTERREPORT_2015.PDF.
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    In 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
recommended that FEMA improve collaboration across all agencies 
and all levels of government in implementing the National 
Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF).\8\ FEMA issued the NDRF in 
2011, after an interagency collaborative process, ``to define 
how the nation will approach recovery and establish new 
coordination structures, leadership roles, and 
responsibilities.''\9\ The NDRF, while providing a guide to 
effective recovery policies, does not sufficiently address the 
unique needs of children.
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    \8\U.S. Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-16-476, Disaster Recovery: 
FEMA Needs to Assess Its Effectiveness in Implementing the National 
Disaster Recovery Framework (2016), available at https://www.gao.gov/
products/GAO-16-476.
    \9\Id. at 5.
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    Although DHS has made significant progress implementing 
recommendations included in the NCCD report for improved 
sheltering standards and case management, there is room for 
improvement in the preparation, evacuation, disaster 
management, and recovery phases. Outstanding recommendations 
include increasing DHS's information sharing and inter-
governmental collaboration, as well as with non-governmental 
organizations for disaster management and recovery.\10\ In 
addition to FEMA's role in aiding Department efforts, the NCCD 
also recommended FEMA establish a Children's Integration 
Specialists program.\11\ According to NCCD, these specialists 
would serve as the lead for FEMA regarding children's needs 
when working with other Federal human service coordination 
agencies and other non-profit organizations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\NCCD Report at 8 (referring to Recommendations 1.3 and 1.4).
    \11\Id. at 7 (referring to Recommendation 1.1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This legislation would require the DHS Under Secretary for 
Strategy, Policy, and Plans to account for children's needs in 
Department-wide policies, addressing unfulfilled NCCD 
recommendations. Further, given FEMA's sole focus on preparing 
for and responding to hazards, this bill would require the 
designation of a technical expert within FEMA responsible for 
ensuring that children's needs are addressed in all 
preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery activities of 
the agency. FEMA believes that children should be elevated to a 
level of special focus and concurred with a FEMA National 
Advisory Council recommendation that it should appoint a 
permanent technical expert within the Agency.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Memorandum from W. Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator, on 
Response to National Advisory Council Recommendations from March 2015 
NAC Meeting to James Featherson, Chairman, Nat'l Advisory Council 2 
(June 19, 2015), available at https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/
1435777284829-2a904b07e6dae17900c579f314f7ed2d/
FEMAResponseMarch2015NACRecs.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    On September 19, 2017, Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) 
introduced S. 1847, the Homeland Security for Children Act, 
with Senator Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH). Senator Claire 
McCaskill (D-MO) joined as a co-sponsor on October 3, 2017. The 
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 1847 at a business meeting on 
October 4, 2017. Senators Daines, Hassan, and McCaskill offered 
a manager's amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
incorporate a technical change that moved the statutory 
authorization for the technical expert from FEMA's ``mission'' 
to its ``authority'' section. Additionally, the amendment 
removed the bill's reporting requirements.
    The Committee favorably reported the bill, as amended, by 
voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote on the 
amendment and final passage were Johnson, Lankford, Daines, 
McCaskill, Tester, Heitkamp, Hassan, and Harris.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section specifies that the bill may be cited as the 
``Homeland Security for Children Act.''

Sec. 2. Responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, 
        and Plans

    This section requires the DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, 
Policy, and Plans to consider input from organizations 
representing the needs of children when soliciting external 
stakeholder feedback for developing Department policies.

Sec. 3. Technical expert authorized

    This section requires FEMA to identify and integrate the 
needs of children into its activities to prepare for and 
respond to natural and man-made disasters. It requires the 
internal appointment of a technical expert to lead the policy 
development and authorizes collaboration with external 
stakeholders.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                                  November 3, 2017.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1847, the Homeland 
Security for Children Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 1847--Homeland Security for Children Act

    S. 1847 would require the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to identify and integrate children's needs when 
preparing for, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating 
against natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade 
disasters. The bill would authorize FEMA to appoint a technical 
expert on children's needs to coordinate the integration of the 
bill's requirements into the agency's plans and policies.
    Based on an analysis of information provided by the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the level of effort 
required, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have 
no significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting the bill 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 1847 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    S. 1847 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    On April 21, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1372, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland 
Security on March 8, 2017. The two bills are similar, although 
H.R. 1372 would require DHS to submit an annual report to the 
Congress, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary effects are 
the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 709. OFFICE OF STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (c) Functions.--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (6) Review and incorporate, as appropriate, external 
        stakeholder feedback, including feedback from 
        organizations representing the needs of children, into 
        Department policy; and

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 504. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (c) Needs of Children.--In carrying out the 
responsibilities under this section, the Administrator shall 
identify and integrate the needs of children into activities to 
prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and 
mitigate against the risk of natural disasters, acts of 
terrorism, and other manmade 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.

                                 [all]