[Senate Report 117-254]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 638
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-2
_______________________________________________________________________
GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC RISK MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2022
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 4488
TO ESTABLISH AN INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON GLOBAL
CATASTROPHIC RISK, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 13, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
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
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Naveed Jazayeri, Senior Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Clyde E. Hicks Jr., Minority Director of Homeland Security
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 638
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-254
======================================================================
GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC RISK MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2022
_______
December 13, 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. 4488]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4488) to establish
an interagency committee on global catastrophic risk, 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.............................................. 2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 5
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 8
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 4488, the Global Catastrophic Risk Management Act of
2022, would establish an interagency committee on global
catastrophic risk to determine the full range of potential
risks that have the potential to significantly harm, set back,
or destroy human civilization at the global scale, the likely
occurrence of each kind of risk, and proposals for how to
better identify and assess such risks. Following its
assessment, the committee would report on the adequacy of
continuity of operations (COOP) and continuity of government
(COG) plans for each identified risk. The bill also requires
the committee to develop a catastrophic incident response
strategy and implementation plan to: provide for basic needs of
the United States population; coordinate response efforts with
state and local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit
relief organizations; promote personal and local readiness and
non-reliance on government relief during periods of heightened
tension or after catastrophic incidents; and develop
international partnerships with allied nations for the
provision of relief services and goods. The Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), through the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), is then required to lead a national
exercise to test and operationalize the implementation plan.
The bill also requires the committee to issue recommendations
to Congress that the United States could take to better prepare
for and respond to catastrophic risks.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
Global catastrophic threats can produce consequences severe
enough to result in significant harm or destruction of human
civilization at the global scale or lead to human extinction.
Catastrophic events are difficult to foresee and while unlikely
to occur, it is important to ensure that the U.S. government is
better prepared for high-consequence events that could cause
significant harm. According to the Global Challenges
Foundation, some current risks include weapons of mass
destruction (WMDs), catastrophic climate change, and ecological
collapse.\1\ Natural catastrophes include pandemics, asteroid
impacts, and super volcanic eruptions that require coordinated
global response. One potential emerging risk is through
technological advances, such as artificial intelligence (AI),
being abused in a way that pose catastrophic risk.\2\ The
National Intelligence Council (Council), in their 2021 Global
Trends Report, provided that technological advances both
mitigate and generate existential risk on a global scale.\3\
The Council believes that low-probability, high-impact events
may be difficult and expensive to prepare for, but developing
strategies for mitigation of such events can provide some
resilience.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Global Challenges Foundation, Global Catastrophic Risks 2021:
Navigating the Complex Intersections (2021) (https://
globalchallenges.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Global-Catastrophic-
Risks-2021-FINAL.pdf).
\2\Id.
\3\National Intelligence Council, Global Trends 2040: A More
Contested World (March 2021).
\4\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This legislation is intended to mitigate against such
potential risks by establishing an interagency committee on
global catastrophic risk to determine the full range of
potential risks and prepare for the response to a catastrophe.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 4488 was introduced by Senators Portman (R-OH) and
Peters (D-MI) on June 23, 2022 and referred to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Hassan (D-NH) joined as cosponsors
of the bill on August 6, 2022.
The Committee considered the legislation at a business
meeting on August 3, 2022. During the meeting, Senators Portman
and Padilla offered a substitute amendment, as modified, that
incorporated agency technical drafting assistance, clarified
defined terms, added additional members to the interagency
committee, made changes to the reporting and exercise
requirements, and added a rule of construction. The Committee
adopted the Portman-Padilla substitute amendment, as modified,
and reported the bill favorably by voice vote, as amended. The
Senators present were: Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla,
Ossoff, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section designates the name of the bill as the
``Global Catastrophic Risk Management Act of 2022.''
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines the terms ``basic need,''
``catastrophic incident,'' ``committee,'' ``critical
infrastructure,'' ``existential risk,'' ``global catastrophic
risk,'' ``global catastrophic and existential threats,''
``national exercise program'' and ``tribal government.''
Section 3. Interagency committee on global catastrophic risk
Subsection (a) provides that within 90 days after enactment
of this bill, the President is required to establish an
interagency committee on global catastrophic risk.
Subsection (b) lists the members of the committee as
follows: the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs; the Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy; the Director of National Intelligence and the Director
of the National Intelligence Council; the Secretary of DHS and
the Administrator of the FEMA; the Secretary of State and the
Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International
Security; the Attorney General and the Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation; the Secretary of Energy, the Under
Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security, and the Director of
Science; the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the
Assistant Secretary of Global Affairs; the Secretary of
Commerce, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and
Atmosphere, and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards
and Technology; the Secretary of the Interior and the Director
of the United States Geological Survey; the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Assistant
Administrator for Water; the Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Director of the
National Science Foundation; the Secretary of the Treasury; the
Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
the Secretary of Defense, the Assistant Secretary of the Army
for Civil Works, and the Chief of Engineers and Commanding
General of the Army Corps of Engineers; the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development; and other stakeholders
the President determines appropriate.
Subsection (c) requires the committee to be co-chaired by a
senior representative of the President and the Deputy
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for
Resilience.
Section 4. Report required
Subsection (a) provides that within one year of final
enactment of this bill, and every 10 years after, the
President, with support from the established committee, is
required to submit a detailed report to Congress assessing
global catastrophic and existential risk.
Subsection (b) details the matters that must be covered in
the report required by subsection (a).
Subsection (c) provides that in the creation of the report
required under subsection (a), the President and the committee
must regularly consult with subject matter experts, including
those from non-governmental, academic, and private sector
institutions.
Subsection (d) states that the report required under
subsection (a) must be submitted to Congress in unclassified
form, but there may also include a classified version.
Section 5. Report on continuity of operations and continuity of
government planning
Subsection (a) requires the President, with support from
the committee, to submit a secondary report, within 180 days of
the report required under Section 4, that reports on the
adequacy of continuity of operations and continuity of
government plans based on the assessed global catastrophic and
existential risk.
Subsection (b) details the matters that must be covered in
the report required by subsection (a).
Subsection (c) states that the report required under
subsection (a) must be submitted to Congress in unclassified
form, but there may also include a classified version.
Section 6. Enhanced catastrophic incident annex
Subsection (a) provides that the President, with support
from the committee, is required to supplement each Federal
Interagency Operational Plan to include an annex containing a
strategy to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of
the civilian population affected by catastrophic incidents.
Subsection (b) details the information each annex, required
under subsection (a) must provide.
Subsection (c) provides the assumptions that the President
and committee should account for when designing the strategy
required under subsection (a), such as multiple levels of
critical infrastructure failure.
Subsection (d) states that existing contingency plans may
be incorporated in the strategy required under subsection (a)
if they are amended to be in accordance with the requirements
of this section.
Subsection (e) provides that the strategy developed under
subsection (a) must be made available to the public but may
include a classified annex available to the appropriate
Congressional Committees and government entities.
Section 7. Validation of the strategy through an exercise
This section requires that within 1 year after the addition
of the annex required under section 6, DHS is required to lead
an exercise to test and enhance the operationalization of the
strategy.
Section 8. Recommendations
Subsection (a) requires the President to provide
recommendation to Congress on actions that should be taken to
prepare the United States to implement the strategy, and
additional authorities that should be considered for Federal
agencies and the President to implement the strategy more
effectively.
Subsection (b) provides that the President may include the
recommendations required under subsection (a) in a report
submitted under Section 9.
Section 9. Reporting requirements
This section provides that within 1 year of the DHS
exercise required under Section 7, the President is required to
submit a report to Congress that includes a description of the
efforts to develop and update the strategy required under
Section 6.
Section 10. Rule of construction
This section states that nothing in this Act can be
construed to supersede the civilian emergency management
authority of the FEMA Administrator.
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, November 9, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. 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 table summarizing estimated budgetary
effects and mandates information for some of the legislation
that has been ordered reported by the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 117th
Congress.
If you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide
them. The CBO staff contact for each estimate is listed on the
enclosed table.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In
order to provide the Congress with as much information as
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during
the 117th Congress. The legislation listed in this table
generally would have small effects, if any, on direct spending
or revenues, CBO estimates. Where possible, the table also
provides information about the legislation's estimated effects
on spending subject to appropriation and on intergovernmental
and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act.
ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS AND MANDATES INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increases
Direct Spending Subject Pay-As-You- On-Budget
Bill Title Status Last Budget Spending, Revenues, to Go Deficits Mandates Contact
Number Action Function 2023-2032 2023-2032 Appropriation, Procedures Beginning
2023-2027 Apply? in 2033?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4488 Global Ordered 08/03/22 800 0 Between Not estimated Yes No No Matthew
Catastrophic reported zero and Pickford
Risk $500,000
Management
Act of 2022
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S. 4488 would establish an interagency committee to assess the risk of global catastrophes that could harm or destroy human civilization. The bill would
require the President to develop a strategy based on the committee's recommendations to respond to such risks and require the Department of Homeland
Security to lead an exercise to test the strategy. CBO estimates that enacting S. 4488 would have no effect on direct spending and an insignificant
effect on revenues over the 2023 2032 period. CBO has not estimated the discretionary costs of implementing the bill. The bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 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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