[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.

                                  [all]