[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.
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\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\
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\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''].
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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\
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\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.
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\10\NCCD Report at 8 (referring to Recommendations 1.3 and 1.4).
\11\Id. at 7 (referring to Recommendation 1.1).
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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\
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\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).
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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]