[House Report 116-85]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 116-85
======================================================================
TO REQUIRE A REPORT ON THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE COAST
GUARD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
May 24, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. DeFazio, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1322]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 1322) to require a report on the
effects of climate change on the Coast Guard, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Legislative History and Consideration............................ 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 5
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5
Preemption Clarification......................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 6
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 6
PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 1322 is to direct the Coast guard to
submit a report on vulnerabilities of Coast Guard installations
and mission capabilities resulting from the impacts of climate
change over the next 20 years.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The impacts of change on near coastal areas is a major
concern for the Coast Guard, which has hundreds of properties
and units located along the water's edge. Some of these
facilities may be directly affected by the impacts of climate
change, such as sea level rise, storm surge, high winds, and
severe flooding. It is important for the Coast Guard and
Congress to understand the Coast Guard's climate change
vulnerabilities.
HEARINGS
Pursuant to section 103(i) of H. Res. 6, 116th Cong.
(2019), the Full Committee held the following hearing to
develop or consider H.R. 1322:
On February 26, 2018, the Committee held a hearing entitled
``Examining How Federal Infrastructure Policy Could Help
Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change.'' Witnesses included: Dr.
Daniel Sperling, Board Member, California Air Resources Board;
Mr. Ben Prochazka, Vice President, Electrification Coalition;
Ms. Vicki Arroyo, Executive Director, Georgetown Climate
Center; Mr. James M. Proctor, II, Senior Vice President and
General Counsel, McWane, Inc., testifying on behalf of the
Build Strong Coalition; Mr. Kevin DeGood, Director,
Infrastructure Policy, Center for American Progress; Ms. Lynn
Scarlett, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, The
Nature Conservancy; and Dr. Whitley J. Saumweber, Director,
Stephenson Ocean Security (SOS) Project, Center for Strategic
and International Studies. Topics discussed included impacts of
climate change on Coast Guard facilities and operations in the
Arctic.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION
H.R. 1322 was introduced in the House on February 22, 2019,
by Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Mr. Anthony Brown
of Maryland, and referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure. Within the Committee, H.R. 1322 was
referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation.
The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1322 on March
27, 2019.
The Full Committee met in open session to consider H.R.
1322 on March 27, 2019, and ordered the measure to be reported
favorably to the House without amendment by voice vote, with a
quorum present.
The Committee took the following actions:
An amendment offered by Mr. Perry, (#1); At the end
of section 1, add a new subsection entitled ``(d) Use
of Products From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change.''; was NOT AGREED TO by a record vote of 22
yeas and 33 nays (Roll Call Vote No. 1).
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires each committee report to include the
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for
and against.
An amendment offered by Mr. Perry, (#1); At the end of
section 1, add a new subsection entitled ``(d) Use of Products
From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.''; was NOT
AGREED TO by a record vote of 22 yeas and 33 nays (Roll Call
Vote No. 1). The vote was as follows:
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
ROLL CALL VOTE NO. 1
On agreeing to amendment #1 offered by Mr. Perry to H.R.
1322.
Not Agreed to: 22 yeas and 33 nays.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. DeFazio, Chair.......................... ....... X Mr. Graves of MO, Ranking X .......
Member.
Ms. Norton.................................. ....... X Mr. Young..................... X .......
Ms. Johnson of TX........................... ....... X Mr. Crawford.................. X .......
Mr. Cummings................................ ....... ....... Mr. Gibbs..................... X .......
Mr. Larsen of WA............................ ....... X Mr. Webster of FL............. X .......
Mrs. Napolitano............................. ....... X Mr. Massie.................... X .......
Mr. Lipinski................................ ....... X Mr. Meadows................... X .......
Mr. Cohen................................... ....... X Mr. Perry..................... X .......
Mr. Sires................................... ....... X Mr. Davis of IL............... ....... .......
Mr. Garamendi............................... ....... ....... Mr. Woodall................... ....... .......
Mr. Johnson of GA........................... ....... ....... Mr. Katko..................... ....... X
Mr. Carson of IN............................ ....... X Mr. Babin..................... X .......
Ms. Titus................................... ....... X Mr. Graves of LA.............. ....... X
Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of NY.............. ....... X Mr. Rouzer.................... X .......
Mr. Huffman................................. ....... ....... Mr. Bost...................... X .......
Ms. Brownley of CA.......................... ....... X Mr. Weber of TX............... X .......
Ms. Wilson of FL............................ ....... X Mr. LaMalfa................... X .......
Mr. Payne................................... ....... ....... Mr. Westerman................. X .......
Mr. Lowenthal............................... ....... X Mr. Smucker................... X .......
Mr. DeSaulnier.............................. ....... X Mr. Mitchell.................. X .......
Ms. Plaskett................................ ....... ....... Mr. Mast...................... ....... X
Mr. Lynch................................... ....... ....... Mr. Gallagher................. ....... X
Mr. Carbajal................................ ....... X Mr. Palmer.................... X .......
Mr. Brown of MD............................. ....... X Mr. Fitzpatrick............... ....... .......
Mr. Espaillat............................... ....... X Miss Gonzalez-Colon of PR..... ....... .......
Mr. Malinowski.............................. ....... X Mr. Balderson................. X .......
Mr. Stanton................................. ....... X Mr. Spano..................... X .......
Ms. Mucarsel-Powell......................... ....... X Mr. Stauber................... X .......
Mrs. Fletcher............................... ....... ....... Mrs. Miller................... X .......
Mr. Allred.................................. ....... X Mr. Pence..................... X .......
Ms. Davids of KS............................ ....... X
Ms. Finkenauer.............................. ....... X
Mr. Garcia of IL............................ ....... X
Mr. Delgado................................. ....... X
Mr. Pappas.................................. ....... X
Mrs. Craig.................................. ....... X
Mr. Rouda................................... ....... X
Vote Total:................... 22 33
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COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is
included in this report.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1322 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 25, 2019.
Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1322, a bill to
require a report on the effects of climate change on the Coast
Guard, and for other purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
H.R. 1322 would require the Coast Guard (USCG) to report to
the Congress, within one year, on the agency's potential
vulnerability to climate-related hazards. For example, the bill
would require the USCG to identify the 10 installations that
are most vulnerable to risks of rising sea tides, increased
flooding, droughts, desertification, wildfires, thawing
permafrost, or any other risks identified by the Commandant.
The bill would require the USCG to report on potential means of
mitigating such risks to those installations and, more broadly,
to discuss how climate-related changes affect the agency's
operations, particularly with regard to humanitarian
assistance.
Using information from the USCG, CBO expects that
implementing H.R. 1322 would not significantly affect the
federal budget. Based on the historical cost of similar
efforts, CBO estimates that any change in federal spending to
complete the required report--which would be subject to
appropriation--would not exceed $500,000.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to
determine the Coast Guard installations most vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change over the next 20 years.
DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision
of H.R. 1322 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal
program, a program that was included in any report from the
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance.
CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF
BENEFITS
In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule
XXI.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (Public Law 104-4).
PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local,
or tribal law. The Committee finds that H.R. 1322 does not
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law
104-1).
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Sec. 1. Report on effects of climate change on Coast Guard
This section requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard to
submit a report to Congress on the vulnerabilities of Coast
Guard installations and requirements resulting from climate
change over the next 20 years. Section 335 of the National
Defense Authorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-91) includes a
similar requirement for the four other Armed Forces.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
As reported by the Committee, H.R. 1322 makes no changes in
existing law.
[all]