[Senate Report 117-117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 385
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-117
_______________________________________________________________________
DISASTER RESILIENCY PLANNING ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 3510
TO REQUIRE THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT
AND BUDGET TO ISSUE GUIDANCE WITH RESPECT TO NATURAL
DISASTER RESILIENCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
May 24, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
29-010 WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Chelsea A. Davis, Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Allen L. Huang, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 385
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-117
======================================================================
DISASTER RESILIENCY PLANNING ACT
_______
May 24, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 3510]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 3510), to require
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue
guidance with respect to natural disaster resilience, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, 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 of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 3510, the Disaster Resiliency Planning Act, requires the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance to
federal agencies on how to incorporate natural disaster
resilience into investment and asset management decisions.
The legislation is in response to a 2021 report issued by
the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that
while the federal government has issued guidance to address
risks such as climate change, there were no specific directives
for incorporating natural disaster resilience into asset-
management decisions.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, can
expose federal real property assets to substantial and costly
damage. Over the past five years, the government spent billions
of dollars to repair federal property damage resulting from
natural disasters.\1\ Moreover, 2020 set a record number of 22
natural disaster events in the U.S. costing more than $1
billion in damages, surpassing the previous record of 16 such
events that occurred in 2011 and 2017.\2\ As extreme weather
and climate-related events become more frequent and severe and
costs continue to mount, it has become increasingly clear that
federal agencies should enhance the resilience of their real
property to natural disasters through use of appropriate asset
management principles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property Asset
Management: Additional Direction in Government-Wide Guidance Could
Enhance Natural Disaster Resilience (GAO-21-596) (Sept. 2021).
\2\National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Billion-Dollar
Weather and Climate Disasters, (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/)
(accessed May 25, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In September 2021, GAO released a report, titled Federal
Real Property Asset Management: Additional Direction in
Government-Wide Guidance Could Enhance Natural Disaster
Resilience (GAO-21-596), which evaluated how agencies prevent
or reduce damage to real property caused by natural disasters.
GAO found that some agencies (including the Fish and Wildlife
Service) have begun to take steps to incorporate resilience to
natural disasters into their assets. They also noted that the
Administration issued guidance asking agencies to develop a
climate action plan detailing relevant threats.
However, government-wide directives have failed to go the
extra step of requiring agencies to use the information
collected to guide investment decisions. As agencies face
mounting exposure to future natural disasters, many may not
proactively incorporate resilience into investment and
management decisions across their portfolios. If agencies are
required to integrate assessments of natural disaster risk
information, including vulnerability assessments, into
decision-making, they can more readily choose resilient
investments that will provide the greatest long-term value to
taxpayers and agencies in meeting their missions.
The Disaster Resiliency Planning Act would provide a
legislative solution to the open GAO recommendation. Developed
with GAO input, this bill would require the OMB Director to
establish guidance directing the head of each agency to
incorporate natural disaster resilience into real property
asset management and investment decisions made by the agency.
Agencies must incorporate assessments of natural disaster risk
information resulting from vulnerability and other risk
assessments.
OMB may periodically update the guidance as necessary to
further enhance natural disaster resilience. The OMB Director
may consult with appropriate entities as desired in developing
guidance, including GAO and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). The OMB Director must also submit a report to
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform
detailing the required guidance. Within two years, the Director
must brief these committees on the implementation of guidance
across agencies.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 3510, the
Disaster Resiliency Planning Act, on January 13, 2022, with
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 3510 at a business meeting on
February 2, 2022. Senators Peters and Scott offered an
amendment in the nature of a substitute to specify that, for
purposes of the bill, the term ``asset management'' applies
specifically to real property. The substitute amendment was
adopted by voice vote en bloc. The bill, as amended, was
ordered reported favorably by voice vote en bloc. The Senators
present were Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Lankford, Scott, and Hawley.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section cites the short title of the bill as the
``Disaster Resiliency Planning Act.''
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines key terms of ``Agency,'' ``Director,''
and ``Real Property'' and outlines relevant congressional
committees.
Section 3. Guidance
Subsection (a) requires the OMB Director to establish,
within 180 days, guidance requiring the head of each agency to
incorporate natural disaster resilience into real property
asset management and investment decisions made by the agency.
Subsection (b) specifies that the contents of the guidance
must incorporate assessments of natural disaster risk
information conducted by the agency, such as from vulnerability
and other risk assessments.
Subsection (c) notes that the OMB Director may periodically
update the required guidance as necessary.
Subsection (d) notes that the OMB Director may consult with
appropriate entities in developing guidance, including GAO and
FEMA.
Subsection (e) outlines reporting requirements. A year
after the legislation's enactment, the OMB Director must submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
describes the guidance required under subsection (a). No later
than two years after the date of enactment, the OMB Director
must brief the appropriate congressional committees on the
implementation of the guidance across agencies.
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
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 20, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
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. 3510, the Disaster
Resiliency Planning Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 3510 would require the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to provide guidance to federal agencies on how to
incorporate natural disaster resilience into their asset
management and investment decisions. OMB would be required to
collaborate with the Government Accountability Office and the
Federal Emergency Management Agency in that effort and to
report to the Congress on the bill's implementation.
Under current law, the Administration has issued orders and
memorandums concerning natural disaster resilience in federal
agencies' management of property. As a result, CBO expects that
the net budgetary effects of the required guidance would not be
significant. Those effects include increased costs for OMB to
develop the guidance and for federal agencies to comply,
reduced costs for property repairs, and the cost of the
required reports. Spending would be subject to the availability
of appropriated funds.
Enacting S. 3510 could affect direct spending by some
agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale
of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO
estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those
agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust
amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no changes in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
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