II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4488 

To establish an interagency committee on global catastrophic risk, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2022 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency committee on global catastrophic 

risk, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Catastrophic 

5 Risk Management Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BASIC NEED.—The term ‘‘basic need’’— 

9 (A) means any good, service, or activity 

10 necessary to protect the health, safety, and genVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Jun 30, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4488.IS S4488

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1 eral welfare of the civilian population of the 

2 United States; and 

3 (B) includes— 

4 (i) food; 

5 (ii) water; 

6 (iii) shelter; 

7 (iv) basic communication services; and 

8 (v) public safety. 

9 (2) CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘cat10 astrophic incident’’ means an incident, whether 

11 caused by human or natural events, in which mul12 tiple levels of United States critical infrastructure 

13 are destroyed, damaged or interrupted in sufficient 

14 magnitude to threaten the health, safety, or general 

15 welfare of the civilian population of the United 

16 States. 

17 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘committee’’ 

18 means the interagency committee on global cata19 strophic risk established under section 3. 

20 (4) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

21 ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given the 

22 term in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infrastruc23 ture Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 

24 (5) EXISTENTIAL RISK.—The term ‘‘existential 

25 risk’’ means the risk of human extinction. 


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1 (6) GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC RISK.—The term 

2 ‘‘global catastrophic risk’’ means the risk of events 

3 or incidents consequential enough to significantly 

4 harm, set back, or destroy human civilization at the 

5 global scale. 

6 (7) GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC AND EXISTENTIAL

7 THREATS.—The term ‘‘global catastrophic and exis8 tential threats’’ means those threats that with vary9 ing likelihood can produce consequences severe 

10 enough to result in significant harm or destruction 

11 of human civilization at the global scale, or lead to 

12 human extinction. Examples of global catastrophic 

13 and existential threats include severe global 

14 pandemics, nuclear war, asteroid and comet impacts, 

15 supervolcanoes, sudden and severe changes to the 

16 climate, and intentional or accidental threats arising 

17 from the use and development of emerging tech18 nologies. 

19 (8) NATIONAL EXERCISE.—The term ‘‘national 

20 exercise’’ means a national exercise described in sec21 tion 648(b) of the Post-Katrina Emergency Manage22 ment Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 748(b)). 

23 (9) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

24 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

25 of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, 


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1 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com2 ponent reservation, that is individually identified (in3 cluding parenthetically) in the most recent list pub4 lished pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Rec5 ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

6 5131). 

7 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON GLOBAL CATA8 STROPHIC RISK. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall es11 tablish an interagency committee on global catastrophic 

12 risk. 

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall include sen14 ior representatives of— 

15 (1) the Assistant to the President for National 

16 Security Affairs; 

17 (2) the Director of the Office of Science and 

18 Technology Policy; 

19 (3) the Director of National Intelligence and 

20 the Director of the National Intelligence Council; 

21 (4) the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

22 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Manage23 ment Agency; 


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1 (5) the Secretary of State and the Under Sec2 retary of State for Arms Control and International 

3 Security; 

4 (6) the Attorney General and the Director of 

5 the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

6 (7) the Secretary of Energy, the Under Sec7 retary of Energy for Nuclear Security, and the Di8 rector of Science; 

9 (8) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv10 ices and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness 

11 and Response; 

12 (9) the Secretary of Commerce, the Under Sec13 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, 

14 and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Stand15 ards and Technology; 

16 (10) the Secretary of the Interior and the Di17 rector of the United States Geological Survey; 

18 (11) the Administrator of the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency; 

20 (12) the Administrator of the National Aero21 nautics and Space Administration; 

22 (13) the Director of the National Science Foun23 dation; 

24 (14) the Secretary of the Treasury; 


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1 (15) the Chair of the Board of Governors of the 

2 Federal Reserve System; 

3 (16) the Secretary of Defense; and 

4 (17) other stakeholders the President deter5 mines appropriate. 

6 (c) CHAIRMANSHIP.—The committee shall be co7 chaired by a senior representative of the President and 

8 the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man9 agement Agency for Resilience. 

10 SEC. 4. REPORT REQUIRED. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the President, with support 

13 from the committee, shall conduct and submit to Congress 

14 a detailed assessment of global catastrophic and existen15 tial risk. 

16 (b) MATTERS COVERED.—The report required under 

17 subsection (a) shall include— 

18 (1) expert estimates of cumulative global cata19 strophic and existential risk in the next 30 years, in20 cluding separate estimates for the likelihood of oc21 currence and potential consequences; 

22 (2) expert-informed analyses of the risk of the 

23 most concerning specific global catastrophic and ex24 istential threats, including separate estimates, where 

25 reasonably feasible and credible, of each threat for 


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1 its likelihood of occurrence and its potential con2 sequences, as well as associated uncertainties; 

3 (3) a comprehensive list of potential cata4 strophic or existential threats, including even those 

5 that may have very low likelihood; 

6 (4) technical assessments and lay explanations 

7 of the analyzed global catastrophic and existential 

8 risks, including their qualitative character and key 

9 factors affecting their likelihood of occurrence and 

10 potential consequences; 

11 (5) an explanation of any factors that limit the 

12 ability of the President to assess the risk both cumu13 latively and for particular threats, and how those 

14 limitations may be overcome through future research 

15 or with additional resources, programs, or authori16 ties; 

17 (6) a review of the effectiveness of intelligence 

18 collection, early warning and detection systems, or 

19 other functions and programs necessary to evaluate 

20 the risk of particular global catastrophic and exis21 tential threats, if any exist and as applicable for par22 ticular threats; 

23 (7) a forecast of if and why global catastrophic 

24 and existential risk is likely to increase or decrease 

25 significantly in the next 30 years, both qualitatively 


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1 and quantitatively, as well as a description of associ2 ated uncertainties; 

3 (8) proposals for how the Federal Government 

4 may more adequately assess global catastrophic and 

5 existential risk on an ongoing basis in future years; 

6 (9) recommendations for legislative actions, as 

7 appropriate, to support the evaluation and assess8 ment of global catastrophic and existential risk; and 

9 (10) other matters deemed appropriate by the 

10 President. 

11 (c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In producing 

12 the report required under subsection (a), the President 

13 shall regularly consult with experts on global catastrophic 

14 and existential risks, including from non-governmental, 

15 academic, and private sector institutions. 

16 (d) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

17 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

18 a classified annex. 

19 SEC. 5. REPORT ON CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS AND 

20 CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT PLANNING. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 submission of the report required under section 4, the 

23 President shall produce a report on the adequacy of con24 tinuity of operations and continuity of government plans 


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1 based on the assessed global catastrophic and existential 

2 risk. 

3 (b) MATTERS COVERED.—The report required under 

4 subsection (a) shall include— 

5 (1) a detailed assessment of the ability of con6 tinuity of government and continuity of operations 

7 plans and programs, as defined by Executive Order 

8 13961, Presidential Policy Directive–40, or suc9 cessor policies, to maintain national essential func10 tions following global catastrophes, both cumula11 tively and for particular threats; 

12 (2) an assessment of the need to revise Execu13 tive Order 13961, Presidential Policy Directive–40, 

14 or successor policies to account for global cata15 strophic and existential risk cumulatively or for par16 ticular threats; 

17 (3) a budget proposal for continuity of govern18 ment and continuity of operations programs nec19 essary to adequately maintain national essential 

20 functions during global catastrophes; 

21 (4) recommendations for legislative actions nec22 essary to improve continuity of government and con23 tinuity of operations plans and programs; and 

24 (5) other matters deemed appropriate by the 

25 co-chairs. 


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1 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

3 a classified annex. 

4 SEC. 6. STRATEGY TO ENSURE THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND 

5 GENERAL WELFARE OF THE CIVILIAN POPU6 LATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the President, with support 

9 from the committee, shall develop and submit to the ap10 propriate committees of Congress a strategy to— 

11 (1) provide for the basic needs of the civilian 

12 population of the United States that is impacted by 

13 catastrophic incidents in the United States; 

14 (2) coordinate response efforts with State and 

15 local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit 

16 relief organizations; 

17 (3) promote personal and local readiness and 

18 non-reliance on government relief during periods of 

19 heightened tension or after catastrophic incidents; 

20 and 

21 (4) develop international partnerships with al22 lied nations for the provision of relief services and 

23 goods. 


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1 (b) ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY.—The strategy 

2 developed under subsection (a) shall include a description 

3 of— 

4 (1) actions the President will take to ensure the 

5 basic needs of the civilian population of the United 

6 States in a catastrophic incident are met; 

7 (2) how the President will coordinate with non8 Federal entities to multiply resources and enhance 

9 relief capabilities, including— 

10 (A) State and local governments; 

11 (B) Tribal governments; 

12 (C) State disaster relief agencies; 

13 (D) State and local disaster relief man14 agers; 

15 (E) State National Guards; 

16 (F) law enforcement and first response en17 tities; and 

18 (G) nonprofit relief services; 

19 (3) actions the President will take to enhance 

20 individual resiliency to the effects of a catastrophic 

21 incident, which actions shall include— 

22 (A) readiness alerts to the public during 

23 periods of elevated threat; 


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1 (B) efforts to enhance domestic supply and 

2 availability of critical goods and basic neces3 sities; and 

4 (C) information campaigns to ensure the 

5 public is aware of response plans and services 

6 that will be activated when necessary; 

7 (4) efforts the President will undertake and 

8 agreements the President will seek with inter9 national allies to enhance the readiness of the 

10 United States to provide for the general welfare; 

11 (5) how the strategic plan will be implemented 

12 should multiple levels of critical infrastructure be de13 stroyed or taken offline entirely for an extended pe14 riod of time; 

15 (6) how the strategic plan will be made oper16 ational within the larger response strategy of the 

17 United States; and 

18 (7) the authorities the President would impli19 cate in responding to a catastrophic incident. 

20 (c) ASSUMPTIONS.—In designing the strategy under 

21 subsection (a), the President shall account for certain fac22 tors to make the strategy operationally viable, including 

23 the assumption that— 


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1 (1) multiple levels of critical infrastructure have 

2 been taken offline or destroyed by catastrophic inci3 dents or the effects of catastrophic incidents; 

4 (2) impacted sectors include— 

5 (A) the transportation sector; 

6 (B) the communication sector; 

7 (C) the energy sector; 

8 (D) the healthcare and public health sec9 tor; 

10 (E) the water and wastewater sector; and 

11 (F) the financial sector; 

12 (3) State and local governments have been 

13 equally affected or made largely inoperable by cata14 strophic incidents or the effects of catastrophic inci15 dents; 

16 (4) the emergency has exceeded the response 

17 capabilities of State and local governments under 

18 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer19 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and 

20 other relevant disaster response laws; and 

21 (5) the United States military is sufficiently en22 gaged in armed or cyber conflict with State or non23 State adversaries, or is otherwise unable to augment 

24 domestic response capabilities in a significant man25 ner due to a catastrophic incident. 


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1 (d) EXISTING PLANS.—The President may incor2 porate existing contingency plans in the strategy developed 

3 under subsection (a) so long as those contingency plans 

4 are amended to be operational in accordance with the re5 quirements under this section. 

6 (e) AVAILABILITY.—The strategy developed under 

7 subsection (a) shall be available to the public but may in8 clude a classified, or other restricted, annex to be made 

9 available to the appropriate committees of Congress and 

10 appropriate government entities. 

11 SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 

12 Not later than 90 days after the issuance of the strat13 egy required under section 6, the President shall issue a 

14 plan to implement and operationalize the strategy, which 

15 shall include— 

16 (1) steps the President will take to prepare im17 plicated entities for mobilization under the strategy; 

18 and 

19 (2) specific actions the President will take to— 

20 (A) ensure the continued readiness of the 

21 United States to implement the strategy; 

22 (B) educate the public on the strategy and 

23 the role individual citizens should play to ensure 

24 the objectives of the strategy are met; 


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1 (C) ensure the objectives of the strategy 

2 are met; and 

3 (D) ensure foreign adversaries are not able 

4 to undermine the operationalization of the 

5 strategy. 

6 SEC. 8. NATIONAL RESPONSE EXERCISE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 issuance of the implementation plan required under sec9 tion 7, the Department of Homeland Security shall lead 

10 a national exercise, in coordination with the committee, 

11 to test and enhance the operationalization of the imple12 mentation plan. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A national exercise conducted 

14 under this section shall include participation from most 

15 or all entities implicated by the strategy required under 

16 section 4, including: 

17 (1) State, local, and Tribal governments. 

18 (2) Information sharing and analysis centers. 

19 (3) Owners and operators of critical infrastruc20 ture. 

21 SEC. 9. RECOMMENDATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide rec23 ommendations to Congress for— 

24 (1) actions that should be taken to prepare the 

25 United States to implement the strategy required 


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1 under section 6, increase readiness, and address pre2 paredness gaps for responding to the impacts of cat3 astrophic incidents on citizens of the United States; 

4 and 

5 (2) additional authorities that should be consid6 ered for Federal agencies and the President to more 

7 effectively implement the strategy required under 

8 section 6. 

9 (b) INCLUSION IN REPORTS.—The President may in10 clude the recommendations required under subsection (a) 

11 in a report submitted under section 10. 

12 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date on which Depart14 ment of Homeland Security leads the national exercise 

15 under section 8, the President shall submit to Congress 

16 a report that includes— 

17 (1) a description of the efforts of the President 

18 to develop and update the strategy required under 

19 section 6; 

20 (2) a description of the efforts of the President 

21 to develop and update the implementation plan re22 quired under section 7; and 

23 (3) an analysis of the effectiveness and benefit 

24 of the national exercise conducted under section 8. 

Æ 


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