I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6450 

To provide for a National Disaster Safety Board, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2023 

Ms. PORTER (for herself and Ms. MACE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To provide for a National Disaster Safety Board, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Disaster Safety Board Act of 2023’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Establishment and purpose. 

Sec. 4. General authority. 

Sec. 5. Recommendations and responses. 

Sec. 6. Reports and studies. 

Sec. 7. Appointment and organization. 

Sec. 8. Methodology. 

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Sec. 9. Administrative. 

Sec. 10. Disclosure, availability, and use of information. 

Sec. 11. Training. 

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 13. Authority of the Inspector General. 

Sec. 14. Evaluation and audit of National Disaster Safety Board. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ACT OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘act of vio4 lence’’ means an offense described in section 16(a) 

5 of title 18, United States Code. 

6 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na7 tional Disaster Safety Board established under sec8 tion 3. 

9 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘‘Chairperson’’ 

10 means the Chairperson of the Board designated 

11 under section 7. 

12 (4) ECONOMIC INJURY.—The term ‘‘economic 

13 injury’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘substantial 

14 economic injury’’ in section 7(b) of the Small Busi15 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)). 

16 (5) INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘incident’’ means a 

17 natural hazard or other circumstance that the Board 

18 decides to review. 

19 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND

20 RESEARCH INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘institution of 

21 higher education and research institution’’ means— 

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1 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

2 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 

4 (B) a National Laboratory (as defined in 

5 section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 15801)); 

7 (C) a laboratory described in section 

8 308(c)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 

9 2002 (6 U.S.C. 188(c)(2)); 

10 (D) the National Domestic Preparedness 

11 Consortium established under section 1204 of 

12 the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 

13 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1102) and 

14 the members of such Consortium; and 

15 (E) a research institution associated with 

16 an institution of higher education. 

17 (7) NATURAL HAZARD.—The term ‘‘natural 

18 hazard’’— 

19 (A) means a major disaster, as defined in 

20 paragraph (2) of section 102 of the Robert T. 

21 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist22 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), that is naturally oc23 curring, regardless of— 

24 (i) whether the President makes a de25 termination with respect to severity and 

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1 magnitude of the disaster under such para2 graph; or 

3 (ii) the result of such a determination; 

4 (B) includes any naturally occurring heat 

5 wave, wind storm, wildfire, wildland urban 

6 interface fire, urban conflagration fire, or dust 

7 storm; 

8 (C) includes any combination of events 

9 covered by subparagraphs (A) and (B) that 

10 causes or threatens to cause loss of human life, 

11 or human or economic injury, as determined by 

12 the Board; and 

13 (D) does not include a technological dis14 aster. 

15 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean16 ing given the term in section 102 of the Robert T. 

17 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

19 (9) TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTER.—The term 

20 ‘‘technological disaster’’ means an incident that— 

21 (A) is caused by human error or malfunc22 tion in technology, including a dam or struc23 tural failure, a fire (other than a naturally oc24 curring wildfire, wildland urban interface fire, 

25 urban conflagration fire, or arson), a hazardous 

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1 material incident, a nuclear accident, and a 

2 power and telecommunications failure; and 

3 (B) causes loss of human life, or human or 

4 economic injury, as determined by the Board. 

5 (10) TERRORISM.—The term ‘‘terrorism’’ has 

6 the meaning given the term in section 2 of the 

7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101). 

8 (11) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

9 Government’’ means the governing body of any In10 dian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, 

11 village, or community that the Secretary of the Inte12 rior acknowledges to exist as an Indian Tribe under 

13 the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

14 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130 et seq.). 

15 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE. 

16 (a) ORGANIZATION.—There is established in the exec17 utive branch a National Disaster Safety Board, which 

18 shall be an independent establishment, as defined in sec19 tion 104 of title 5, United States Code. 

20 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Board are— 

21 (1) to reduce loss of life, injury, and economic 

22 injury caused by future incidents by learning from 

23 natural hazards, including the impacts and under24 lying factors of such incidents, in a standardized 

25 way; 

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1 (2) to maintain a focus that is future-looking 

2 and national in scope, by applying what the Board 

3 learns through the trends that emerge from the inci4 dents the Board reviews nationally to prevent loss of 

5 life, or human or economic injury, not only in the af6 fected jurisdiction, but nationally, as the Board de7 termines relevant; 

8 (3) in carrying out reviews, analyses, and rec9 ommendations, not to be accusatory in nature and 

10 the Board shall not seek to find blame in any indi11 vidual or organization, or second-guess any relevant 

12 authorities; 

13 (4) to address systemic causes behind the loss 

14 of life and human or economic injury in incidents, 

15 including by recommending the augmentation of re16 sources available to entities responsible for man17 aging incident consequences; and 

18 (5) while preventing economic injury as part of 

19 the mission of the Board, when relevant, to prioritize 

20 efforts that focus on lifesaving and injury preven21 tion, especially in disproportionately impacted com22 munities, as its work determines them to be. 

23 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), 

2 the Board shall review and establish the facts, cir3 cumstances, and cause or probable cause of the loss 

4 of life, human injury, and economic injury due to a 

5 natural hazard with 10 or more fatalities or that 

6 meets the requirements described in paragraph (5) 

7 or (6) of subsection (b) that occurs after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) DUE TO A NATURAL HAZARD INCIDENT DE10 FINED.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 

11 ‘‘due to a natural hazard’’ means a fatality that, if 

12 not for the natural hazard incident, as the case may 

13 be, would not have occurred within the time frame 

14 of the incident, as defined by standards developed by 

15 the Board. 

16 (b) DETERMINATION OF WHETHER INCIDENT WAR17 RANTS BOARD REVIEW.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

18 the Board— 

19 (1) may begin the review of an incident, includ20 ing by monitoring the natural hazard and collecting 

21 facts, before the total number of fatalities is known 

22 if the Board determines that the natural hazard in23 cident has the potential to cause 10 or more fatali24 ties at its onset, in accordance with the policies and 

25 procedures established by the Board; 

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1 (2) may, by a two-thirds vote, decide that an in2 cident that caused 10 or more fatalities does not re3 quire a review and shall issue a public statement ex4 plaining the determination; 

5 (3) may, by a majority vote, decide to review 

6 any natural hazard incident that occurs after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act upon request from a 

8 representative of an affected State, Tribal Govern9 ment, or unit of local government, regardless of the 

10 number of fatalities; 

11 (4) may, by a majority vote, decide to review 

12 any natural hazard incident that occurs after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act upon recommendation 

14 by the Office for the Protection of Disproportion15 ately Impacted Communities of the Board, which the 

16 Office may make because of the incident’s impacts 

17 on populations that are socially, medically, or eco18 nomically vulnerable, as decided by the Office; 

19 (5) may, by a majority vote, decide to review a 

20 natural hazard incident that occurs after the date of 

21 enactment of this Act if— 

22 (A) the Board determines that information 

23 may be gained by the review that will be useful 

24 in reducing systemic causes behind the loss of 

25 life and human or economic injury; and 

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1 (B) the incident— 

2 (i) did not result in 10 or more fatali3 ties; and 

4 (ii)(I) could have resulted in a large 

5 number of fatalities if not for swift inter6 vention or a shift in the course of events; 

7 or 

8 (II) resulted in, as determined by the 

9 Board— 

10 (aa) a significant amount of eco11 nomic or infrastructure damage; 

12 (bb) significant human displace13 ment; or 

14 (cc) a significant number of se15 vere non-fatal injuries or cases of se16 vere illness; and 

17 (6) shall, by majority vote, determine whether 

18 each incident for which the President issues a major 

19 disaster declaration under section 401 of the Robert 

20 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist21 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) meets the criteria for re22 view under paragraph (5). 

23 (c) NATURE OF REVIEW.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a review 

25 under this Act, the Board shall— 

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1 (A) conduct the review to determine the 

2 facts, conditions, and circumstances relating to 

3 the loss of life, human injury, and economic in4 jury due to an incident; 

5 (B) following an initial assessment of an 

6 incident by the Board, notify any individual or 

7 organization that the Board anticipates will be 

8 affected by the review as to the extent of the 

9 expected review response of the Board; 

10 (C) use the results of the review under 

11 subparagraph (A) to— 

12 (i) determine how and why people die 

13 and are injured during an incident; and 

14 (ii) issue recommendations to prevent 

15 or mitigate the loss of life, human injury, 

16 or economic injury due to similar incidents; 

17 and 

18 (D) report on the facts and circumstances 

19 of the incident review, including the pre-inci20 dent resilience or vulnerabilities of the incident 

21 area or population. 

22 (2) GENERALIZED NATURE OF REVIEWS.—A 

23 review of loss of life and injury conducted by the 

24 Board shall— 

25 (A) be generalized; 

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1 (B) focus on trends across an incident; and 

2 (C) not aim to determine the exact indi3 vidual cause of death or injury of any affected 

4 people. 

5 (3) FACT-FINDING PROCEEDING.—Any review 

6 of an incident by the Board under this Act shall be 

7 a fact-finding proceeding with no adverse parties. 

8 (4) LIMITATION OF APPLICABILITY OF OTHER

9 ACTS.— 

10 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT.— 

11 Any review proceedings of the Board under this 

12 Act shall not be— 

13 (i) subject to the section 551 of title 

14 5, United States Code; or 

15 (ii) conducted for the purpose of de16 termining the rights, liabilities, or blame of 

17 any person, as the review is not an adju18 dicatory proceeding. 

19 (B) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.—Chap20 ter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not 

21 apply to the review proceedings of the Board 

22 under this Act. 

23 (C) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

24 ACT.—Chapter 10 of part I of title 5, United 

25 States Code, shall not apply to the Board. 

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1 (5) INITIATING REVIEWS.—The Board shall ini2 tiate a review of an incident by monitoring the situa3 tion and assessing available facts to determine the 

4 appropriate review response, without interfering in 

5 any ongoing lifesaving and life sustaining efforts un6 derway by other entities. 

7 (6) ALIGNMENT AND COORDINATION.—In car8 rying out this Act, the Board shall coordinate with 

9 Federal, State, local, and Tribal entities to— 

10 (A) establish or adopt standard methods of 

11 measuring the impacts of natural hazards and 

12 accessing response capacity and capabilities to 

13 maintain consistency and allow for the analysis 

14 of trends over time; 

15 (B) ensure that the standard data sets and 

16 formats necessary for reviews developed under 

17 subparagraph (A) are propagated among Fed18 eral, State, local, and Tribal entities that may 

19 be involved in response operations; 

20 (C) leverage, to the extent practicable, 

21 data collected using standard data sets and for22 mats established under subparagraph (B) by 

23 Federal entities involved in response operations 

24 to avoid any duplication of data collection; and 

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1 (D) during incident response operations, 

2 coordinate with partners active in the operation 

3 to collect data remotely or take other actions 

4 that the Board finds necessary to align and co5 ordinate the requirements of the review with 

6 ongoing operations, including through the re7 quirements under paragraph (7). 

8 (7) INCIDENT COMMAND.—The Board shall— 

9 (A) recognize the role of incident command 

10 systems to address incidents; 

11 (B) observe the incident command system 

12 to identify and coordinate review needs related 

13 to the preservation and collection of information 

14 and evidence; and 

15 (C) collect information and evidence from 

16 the incident command in a timely and reason17 able manner so as not to interfere with the op18 erations of the incident command. 

19 (8) PARTIES TO THE REVIEW.— 

20 (A) PARTICIPANTS.—Subject to subpara21 graph (B), the Board may invite 1 or more en22 tities to serve as a party in a review on a vol23 untary basis, and any party participant shall be 

24 required to follow all directions and instructions 

25 from the Board. 

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1 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In designating an 

2 entity to serve as a party under subparagraph 

3 (A), the Board may designate only a Federal, 

4 State, or local government agency or private or5 ganization whose employees, functions, activi6 ties, or products were involved in the incident, 

7 including responsible parties, and that can pro8 vide suitable qualified technical personnel to ac9 tively assist in the review. 

10 (C) REPRESENTATIVES OF ELIGIBLE ENTI11 TIES.—To the extent practicable, a representa12 tive proposed by an entity designated as a party 

13 under subparagraph (A) to participate in the 

14 review may not be an individual who had direct 

15 involvement in the incident under review. 

16 (D) REVOCATION OF PARTY STATUS.—A 

17 designation as a party under subparagraph (A) 

18 may be revoked or suspended by the Board if 

19 the party fails to comply with assigned duties 

20 and instructions, withholds information, or oth21 erwise acts in a manner prejudicial or disrup22 tive to a review. 

23 (E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

24 this paragraph shall be construed to establish a 

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1 right for any entity to participate in a Board 

2 review as a party. 

3 (F) INTERNAL REVIEW BY A PARTY.—To 

4 assure coordination of concurrent efforts, a 

5 party to a review that conducts or authorizes an 

6 internal review of the processes and procedures 

7 of the party as a result of an incident that the 

8 Board is reviewing shall— 

9 (i) inform the Board of the nature of 

10 the review; and 

11 (ii) provide to the Board findings 

12 from the review. 

13 (9) REVIEW PROCEDURES.—In addition to any 

14 procedures required under this Act, the Board shall 

15 determine and publish detailed review procedures as 

16 the Board determines necessary. 

17 (10) PRODUCTS.—The Board may use any me18 dium that will effectively convey the findings and 

19 recommendations of the Board to the targeted audi20 ence of such findings or recommendations. 

21 (d) REVIEW BY AFFECTED AUTHORITIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—When the Board has com23 pleted the findings and recommendations or other 

24 products as a result of a review under this Act, the 

25 Board shall provide all affected States, Tribal GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Jan 11, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450
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1 ernments, and units of local government, or their 

2 designees, an opportunity to review and comment 

3 not later than 30 days before the publication of the 

4 findings or recommendations. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall make 

6 every reasonable effort, within its discretion, to re7 spond to requests for additional information and 

8 context that an affected jurisdiction may make and 

9 to edit their findings and recommendations with any 

10 useful additional information or context provided by 

11 any affected jurisdiction in its comments without af12 fecting the integrity or independence of the review 

13 and its findings and recommendations, as the Board 

14 shall determine. 

15 (e) DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMU16 NITIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a review of 

18 an incident under this section, including in deter19 mining whether to launch a review, the Board shall 

20 ensure the potential development of findings that 

21 would benefit the prevention of loss of life and 

22 human or economic injury to populations that are 

23 socially, medically, or economically vulnerable, as de24 termined by the Board. 

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1 (2) DATA REQUIREMENT.—To forward the 

2 analysis and identification of trends of fatalities and 

3 injuries as a result of incidents, the Board shall pub4 lish information regarding the number of fatalities 

5 and injuries, and the facts and circumstances sur6 rounding them, disaggregated by race, color or eth7 nicity, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, 

8 English proficiency, occupation, or economic status, 

9 and other demographic characteristics that the 

10 Board may determine appropriate. 

11 (f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER REVIEWS AND IN12 VESTIGATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements 

14 of this section, a review of a natural hazard incident 

15 by the Board under subsection (a)(1) shall have pri16 ority over any investigation by another department, 

17 agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Govern18 ment or a State, Tribal, or local government. 

19 (2) PARTICIPATION BY OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

20 Board shall provide for appropriate participation by 

21 other departments, agencies, or instrumentalities in 

22 a review conducted by the Board, except that an23 other department, agency, or instrumentality may 

24 not influence the final findings of the Board. 

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1 (3) COORDINATION.—The Board shall coordi2 nate with all other Federal, State, Tribal, or local le3 gally mandated investigations or reviews and may 

4 share information with those entities, according to 

5 policies and procedures that the Board will provide, 

6 to ensure that appropriate findings and rec7 ommendations to reduce loss of life, injury, and eco8 nomic injury caused by future incidents are pro9 duced as efficiently as possible. 

10 (4) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—Not 

11 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

12 Act, and biennially thereafter, the Chairman of the 

13 Board shall enter into memoranda of understanding 

14 with the Director of the National Institute of Stand15 ards and Technology, the Administrator of the Fed16 eral Emergency Management Agency, the Chairman 

17 of the Chemical Safety Board, and the Chairman of 

18 the National Transportation Safety Board, respec19 tively, and may enter into additional memoranda of 

20 understanding with any other Federal entity that re21 quests such due to the relationship that the require22 ments of the Federal entity may have with the re23 quirements with the Board, in order to— 

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1 (A) determine the appropriate roles and re2 sponsibilities of the Board with respect to the 

3 other agency or board; 

4 (B) avoid any duplication of effort; and 

5 (C) ensure that appropriate findings and 

6 recommendations to reduce loss of life, injury, 

7 and economic injury caused by future incidents 

8 are provided. 

9 (g) PARTICIPATION IN SUPPORT OF ANOTHER AGEN10 CY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (A) INVESTIGATION OF ACTS OF VIO13 LENCE.—The Board may participate in an in14 vestigation of an act of violence in support of 

15 another Federal department or agency, or other 

16 Federal investigative body with statutory au17 thority to lead such an investigation, if the head 

18 of the lead investigative agency determines that 

19 the participation of the Board would be bene20 ficial to reduce the likelihood of the loss of life 

21 and human or economic injury, for future simi22 lar incidents. 

23 (B) INVESTIGATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL

24 INCIDENTS.— 

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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Board may 

2 participate in an investigation of a techno3 logical incident— 

4 (I) in support of another Federal 

5 department or agency, or other Fed6 eral investigative body with statutory 

7 authority to lead such an investiga8 tion, if the head of the lead investiga9 tive agency determines that the par10 ticipation of the Board would be bene11 ficial to reduce the likelihood of the 

12 loss of life and human or economic in13 jury, for future similar incidents; or 

14 (II) in the case of no statutory 

15 authority for another Federal depart16 ment or agency, or other Federal in17 vestigative body, to lead such an in18 vestigation, as the lead investigative 

19 entity. 

20 (ii) MEMORANDA OF UNDER21 STANDING.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, and bi23 ennially thereafter, the Chairman of the 

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1 derstanding with the heads of appropriate 

2 Federal agencies in order to— 

3 (I) determine the appropriate 

4 roles and responsibilities of the Board 

5 in investigating technological incidents 

6 with respect to the other agency; 

7 (II) avoid any duplication of ef8 fort; and 

9 (III) ensure that appropriate 

10 findings and recommendations to re11 duce loss of life, injury, and economic 

12 injury caused by future incidents are 

13 provided. 

14 (2) FINDINGS.—If the Board participates in an 

15 act of violence or technological incident investigation 

16 under paragraph (1)(A), the Board may issue inde17 pendent findings and recommendations notwith18 standing the outcome of any investigation conducted 

19 by another Federal agency or other Federal inves20 tigative body. 

21 (3) CRIMINAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the Attor22 ney General, in consultation with the Chairperson, 

23 determines and notifies the Board that cir24 cumstances reasonably indicate that the act of vio25 lence or technological incident described in paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Jan 11, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450
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1 graph (1)(A) may have been caused by an inten2 tional criminal act, the Board shall relinquish inves3 tigative priority to the responsible Federal law en4 forcement entity. 

5 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section 

6 shall not be construed to affect the authority of an7 other department, agency, or instrumentality of the 

8 Federal Government to investigate an incident under 

9 applicable law or to obtain information directly from 

10 the parties involved in, and witnesses to, the inci11 dent. The Board and other departments, agencies, 

12 and instrumentalities shall ensure that appropriate 

13 information developed about the incident is ex14 changed in a timely manner. 

15 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Board may make 

16 the following types of technical assistance available to 

17 Federal, State, Tribal, and local government agencies and 

18 to private entities as designated by a Federal, State, Trib19 al, or local government agency: 

20 (1) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Board shall 

21 disseminate best practices to develop disaster inves22 tigation and review capacity within State, Tribal, 

23 and local governments. 

24 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDA25 TIONS.—The Board— 

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1 (A) may provide technical assistance to 

2 any entity identified as responsible for imple3 menting a recommendation under section 

4 5(a)(1) to assist the entity in implementing the 

5 recommendation; and 

6 (B) to the extent possible, shall provide the 

7 technical assistance described in subparagraph 

8 (A) in coordination with technical assistance of9 fered by another Federal department or agency. 

10 (3) PRIORITIZATION.—In offering technical as11 sistance under this subsection, the Board shall use 

12 a risk-based method of prioritization, as the Board 

13 determines appropriate. 

14 (i) FINDINGS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), not later than 1 year after the date on 

17 which the Board initiates a review conducted under 

18 this section, the Board shall make the findings and 

19 relevant underlying data of the review available to 

20 the public. 

21 (2) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The Chair22 person of the Board may extend the 1-year period 

23 described in paragraph (1) if the Chairperson, before 

24 the end of such 1-year period— 

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1 (A) provides an explanation for the exten2 sion; and 

3 (B) makes available to the public all avail4 able interim findings and underlying data. 

5 SEC. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESPONSES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Board issues a rec7 ommendation about an incident, the Board shall— 

8 (1) explain the relationship between any rec9 ommendation and the results of a fact-finding re10 view; 

11 (2) identify each relevant entity responsible for 

12 making the change called for in the recommenda13 tion, including State, local, or private entities, as ap14 propriate; 

15 (3) publish any responses to the recommenda16 tion publicly; and 

17 (4) assess whether the responses adequately 

18 lower the likelihood that a future similar incident 

19 will result in loss of life or human or economic in20 jury in the view of the Board. 

21 (b) FEDERAL RESPONSES TO RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—All Federal departments and 

23 agencies identified in a recommendation made by the 

24 Board shall reply to the recommendations not later 

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1 than 90 days after the date on which the rec2 ommendation is published by the Board. 

3 (2) RESPONSE DESCRIBED.—A response under 

4 paragraph (1) made by a Federal department or 

5 agency shall include— 

6 (A) whether the department or agency in7 tends to adopt the recommendation in whole, in 

8 part, or not at all; 

9 (B) an explanation of the reasons for only 

10 adopting the recommendation in part or not at 

11 all; and 

12 (C) a proposed timetable for completing 

13 the action the Federal department or agency 

14 has agreed to. 

15 (3) PROGRESS UPDATES.—A Federal depart16 ment or agency that agrees to adopt a recommenda17 tion of the Board shall— 

18 (A) track the progress of the department 

19 or agency toward completion; and 

20 (B) provide an update to the Board, to be 

21 published publicly, periodically, and not less fre22 quently than annually. 

23 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date on which a final determination is made on 

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1 a recommendation under this section, the Board 

2 shall make a copy of the recommendation and re3 sponse to the recommendation available to the pub4 lic. 

5 (2) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The Chair6 person of the Board may extend the 1-year period 

7 described in paragraph (1) if the Chairperson, before 

8 the end of such 1-year period— 

9 (A) provides an explanation for the exten10 sion; and 

11 (B) makes available to the public any 

12 available interim response to the recommenda13 tion and underlying data. 

14 (d) DISSEMINATION.—The Board shall propagate 

15 each recommendation issued under this section, including 

16 by— 

17 (1) incorporating the recommendation, and any 

18 related findings, into training material used by Fed19 eral, State, Tribal, and private training facilities 

20 specializing in building resilience to and responding 

21 to and recovering from natural hazards, as the 

22 Board determines appropriate; 

23 (2) coordinating with professional associations 

24 related to building resilience to and responding to 

25 and recovering from natural hazards; 

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1 (3) collaborating with relevant Federal, State, 

2 and Tribal authorities and private organizations; 

3 and 

4 (4) coordinating with private and public institu5 tions of higher education and research institutions. 

6 SEC. 6. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 

7 (a) STUDIES AND OTHER REPORTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall annually 

9 submit a report containing the information described 

10 in paragraph (2) to— 

11 (A) Congress; 

12 (B) any department, agency, or instrumen13 tality of the Federal Government concerned 

14 with natural hazards; 

15 (C) all State and Tribal governments; and 

16 (D) the general public. 

17 (2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa18 tion described in this paragraph is— 

19 (A) the results of special studies on how to 

20 reduce morbidity and mortality from incidents; 

21 (B) an examination of techniques and 

22 methods of evaluating measures to protect the 

23 public from incidents and periodically publish 

24 recommended procedures for reviews; 

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1 (C) evaluation and examination of the ef2 fectiveness of the findings of the Board about 

3 the natural hazard resilience of other depart4 ments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the 

5 Federal Government and their effectiveness in 

6 preventing loss of life or human or economic in7 jury; and 

8 (D) recommend meaningful responses to 

9 reduce the likelihood of loss of life or human or 

10 economic injury, according to the findings of 

11 the research described in this subsection, in12 cluding national and regional policies and pro13 grams. 

14 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 2 years 

16 thereafter, the Board shall submit a report to Congress, 

17 which shall include— 

18 (1) a statistical and analytical summary of the 

19 reviews conducted and reviewed by the Board during 

20 the prior 2 calendar years; 

21 (2) a survey and summary of the recommenda22 tions made by the Board and the observed response 

23 to each recommendation, including the classification, 

24 containing a written justification and explanation of 

25 each recommendation as— 

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1 (A) open, if, in the determination of the 

2 Board, sufficient action to fulfill the intent of 

3 the recommendation has not been taken and 

4 still should be; 

5 (B) closed, if, in the determination of the 

6 Board, sufficient action to fulfill the intent of 

7 the recommendation has been taken and no fur8 ther action is necessary; and 

9 (C) outdated, if, in the determination of 

10 the Board, the recommendation is no longer rel11 evant because of any change in circumstances 

12 or actions by parties other than the intended 

13 recipient of the recommendation; 

14 (3) an assessment of efforts of Federal, State, 

15 Tribal, and local governments to respond to rec16 ommendations made by the Board, if such entities 

17 have voluntarily provided information to the Board 

18 on the progress of the entity; 

19 (4) a description of the training undertaken by 

20 the Board and its staff and persons sponsored by 

21 the Board; 

22 (5) a list of natural hazards that caused 10 or 

23 more fatalities that the Board did not review and a 

24 recommendation with justification by the Board of 

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1 whether similar incidents should be reviewed in the 

2 future; 

3 (6) a recommendation on how, if at all, the 

4 thresholds and triggers for a review by the Board 

5 should change; 

6 (7) an assessment of the sufficiency of Federal 

7 resources provided to State, Tribal, and local gov8 ernments in aggregate relative to any vulnerabilities 

9 that the Board determines the governments have; 

10 (8) a list of all requests for review from Gov11 ernors of States and territories and chief executives 

12 of Tribal Governments or recommended by the office 

13 established under section 7(f)(2) that the Board re14 jected, including comments and recommendations 

15 from the Board regarding whether similar incidents 

16 should be reviewed in the future; and 

17 (9) a list of ongoing reviews that have exceeded 

18 the expected time allotted for completion by Board 

19 order and an explanation for the additional time re20 quired to complete each such review. 

21 (c) DISSEMINATION.—The Board shall propagate the 

22 information described in subsection (a)(2), including by— 

23 (1) incorporating the information into training 

24 material used by Federal, State, Tribal, and private 

25 training facilities specializing in building resilience 

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1 to and responding to and recovering from natural 

2 hazards, as the Board determines appropriate; 

3 (2) coordinating with professional associations 

4 related to building resilience to and responding to 

5 and recovering from natural hazards; 

6 (3) collaborating with relevant Federal, State, 

7 and Tribal authorities and private organizations; 

8 and 

9 (4) coordinating with private and public institu10 tions of higher education and research institutions. 

11 SEC. 7. APPOINTMENT AND ORGANIZATION. 

12 (a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be com14 posed of 7 members, who shall, in accordance with 

15 paragraph (2) and subject to paragraph (3), be ap16 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

17 consent of the Senate. 

18 (2) PROCEDURE.— 

19 (A) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Presi20 dent shall, in consultation with the National 

21 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi22 cine and relevant professional associations and 

23 leaders in the private sector, appoint the 7 

24 members of the Board from among a list of 14 

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1 individuals provided by both houses of Con2 gress, of which— 

3 (i) the majority leader of the Senate 

4 shall provide the names of 4 individuals; 

5 (ii) the minority leader of the Senate 

6 shall provide the names of 3 individuals; 

7 (iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep8 resentatives shall provide the names of 4 

9 individuals; and 

10 (iv) the minority leader of the House 

11 of Representatives shall provide the names 

12 of 3 individuals. 

13 (B) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—Any 

14 vacancy of the Board shall be filled in the same 

15 manner as the original appointment. 

16 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—Of the 7 members ap17 pointed under paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) not more than 4 members may be ap19 pointed from the same political party; 

20 (B) all members shall be appointed on the 

21 basis of technical qualification, professional 

22 standing, and demonstrated knowledge in emer23 gency management, fire management, emer24 gency medical services, public health, physical 

25 sciences, social science, behavioral science, or 

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1 architectural and engineering with post-disaster 

2 evaluation or building forensics expertise in 

3 their respective field; 

4 (C) a minimum of 2 members shall have 

5 experience working at the State or municipal 

6 level in 1 of the fields described in subpara7 graph (B); and 

8 (D) a minimum of 2 members shall have 

9 demonstrated professional experience working 

10 with populations that have historically been 

11 more vulnerable to incidents because of their 

12 race, color, nationality, sex, age, disability, 

13 English proficiency, or economic status. 

14 (b) TERMS OF OFFICE AND REMOVAL.— 

15 (1) TERM OF OFFICE.—Except as provided in 

16 paragraph (2), the term of office of each member 

17 shall be 5 years. 

18 (2) FILLING OF VACANCY.—An individual ap19 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira20 tion of the term for which the predecessor of that 

21 individual was appointed is appointed for the re22 mainder of that term. 

23 (3) CONTINUATION UNTIL SUCCESSOR IS AP24 POINTED.—When the term of office of a member 

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1 ends, the member may continue to serve until a suc2 cessor is appointed and confirmed. 

3 (4) REMOVAL.—The President may remove a 

4 member only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or 

5 malfeasance in office. Immediately upon removing a 

6 member of the Board, the President shall issue a 

7 public statement that details how the actions of the 

8 removed member met the criteria of this paragraph. 

9 (c) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

10 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall des11 ignate, by and with the advice and consent of the 

12 Senate, a member appointed under subsection (b) to 

13 serve as the Chairperson of the Board. 

14 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall 

15 designate a member appointed under subsection (b) 

16 to serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Board and 

17 if the Chairperson is absent or unable to serve, or 

18 if the position of Chairperson is vacant, the Vice 

19 Chairperson shall act as the Chairperson. 

20 (3) TERM OF OFFICE.—The Chairperson and 

21 Vice Chairperson shall each serve in such position 

22 for a term of 3 years. 

23 (d) DUTIES AND POWERS OF CHAIRPERSON.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson shall be the 

2 chief executive and administrative officer of the 

3 Board. 

4 (2) POWERS.—Subject to the general policies 

5 and decisions of the Board, the Chairperson shall— 

6 (A) appoint and supervise officers and em7 ployees, other than regular and full-time em8 ployees in the immediate offices of another 

9 member, necessary to carry out this Act; 

10 (B) fix the pay of officers and employees 

11 necessary to carry out this Act; 

12 (C) distribute business among the officers, 

13 employees, and administrative units of the 

14 Board; and 

15 (D) supervise the expenditures of the 

16 Board. 

17 (e) QUORUM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

19 and (3), 4 members of the Board shall constitute a 

20 quorum for purposes of carrying out the duties and 

21 powers of the Board, subject to the limitations in 

22 the remainder of this subsection. 

23 (2) PARTY LIMITATION.—Not less than 1 rep24 resentative from each party shall be present for a 

25 quorum to be established. 

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1 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—Either the Chairperson or 

2 Vice Chairperson shall be present for a quorum to 

3 be established. 

4 (f) OFFICES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish 

6 such offices as are necessary to carry out this Act, 

7 which may include offices responsible for— 

8 (A) operations; 

9 (B) science and methodology; 

10 (C) review and evaluation; 

11 (D) communications; 

12 (E) external coordination; and 

13 (F) technical assistance. 

14 (2) OFFICE FOR THE PROTECTION OF DIS15 PROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall estab17 lish an office to review and make recommenda18 tions to mitigate and prevent the loss of life, or 

19 human or economic injury for vulnerable popu20 lations, including populations that may be more 

21 vulnerable because of their race, color, religion, 

22 nationality, sex, age, disability, English pro23 ficiency, economic status, or other demographic 

24 characteristic that the Board may determine 

25 appropriate. 

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1 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The office estab2 lished under paragraph (1) shall— 

3 (i) provide recommendations to the 

4 Board for incidents to review in accordance 

5 with section 4(b)(4) that do not otherwise 

6 meet the requirements of section 4(b); 

7 (ii) determine and maintain a list spe8 cific demographic, economic, social, and 

9 health characteristics of populations that 

10 historically have shown to be disproportion11 ately impacted by incidents; 

12 (iii) during a review conducted by the 

13 Board, provide research and analysis on 

14 how the incident impacts populations that 

15 the Office determines to be disproportion16 ately impacted; 

17 (iv) provide recommendations for each 

18 review conducted by the Board and for 

19 each report developed under section 6 on 

20 actions that can be taken to reduce the im21 pact to populations that are found to be 

22 disproportionately impacted under clause 

23 (ii); and 

24 (v) provide training, and establish 

25 training requirements, for Board members 

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1 and staff in the fields of diversity, inclu2 sion, and equity in consultation with orga3 nizations specializing in those fields. 

4 (3) REGIONAL OFFICES.—In establishing offices 

5 under this subsection, the Board may establish re6 gional offices across the United States to facilitate 

7 collaboration, coordination, and the dissemination of 

8 findings, recommendations, and best practices to 

9 State, Tribal, and local governments and the private 

10 sector in such regions as the Board determines ap11 propriate. 

12 (4) PURPOSE.—Each office established under 

13 this subsection shall enable the Board to review, re14 port on, and issue recommendations to prevent the 

15 loss of life, human injury, and economic injury and 

16 deliver technical assistance to disseminate best prac17 tices in accordance with this Act. 

18 (g) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—The Chairperson 

19 shall designate an officer or employee of the Board to 

20 serve as the Chief Financial Officer, who shall— 

21 (1) report directly to the Chairperson on finan22 cial management and budget execution; 

23 (2) direct, manage, and provide policy guidance 

24 and oversight on financial management and property 

25 and inventory control; and 

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1 (3) review the fees, rents, and other charges im2 posed by the Board for services and things of value 

3 it provides and suggest appropriate revisions to 

4 those charges to reflect costs incurred by the Board 

5 in providing those services and things of value. 

6 (h) BOARD MEMBER STAFF.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Board 

8 shall appoint and supervise regular and full-time em9 ployees in the immediate office of the member as 

10 long as any such employee has been approved for 

11 employment by the designated agency ethics official 

12 under the same guidelines that apply to all employ13 ees of the Board. 

14 (2) DESIGNATION.—With respect to an indi15 vidual appointed under paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) the member of the Board making the 

17 appointment shall determine which grade of the 

18 General Schedule most closely corresponds with 

19 respect to the duties and functions of the posi20 tion to which the individual is appointed; and 

21 (B) during the period of the appoint22 ment— 

23 (i) the individual shall be compensated 

24 at the appropriate rate of pay for the 

25 grade of the General Schedule with respect 

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1 to which the determination is made under 

2 subparagraph (A); and 

3 (ii) for the purposes of title 5, United 

4 States Code, and the rules issued under 

5 that title, the individual shall be considered 

6 to be an employee, as that term is defined 

7 in section 5331(a) of title 5, United States 

8 Code. 

9 (3) LIMITATION.—Except for the Chairperson, 

10 the appointment authority in paragraph (1) shall be 

11 limited to the number of full-time equivalent posi12 tions, in addition to 1 senior professional staff posi13 tion at a level not to exceed the GS–15 level of the 

14 General Schedule and 1 administrative staff posi15 tion, allocated to each member of the Board through 

16 the annual budget and allocation process of the 

17 Board. 

18 (i) DETAILED STAFF.— 

19 (1) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the 

21 Board, the head of an agency described in sub22 paragraph (B), or any other Federal depart23 ment or agency that the Board may request, 

24 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 

25 personnel of that department or agency to the 

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1 Board to assist the Board in carrying out the 

2 duties of the Board under this Act. 

3 (B) RELEVANT AGENCIES.—For purposes 

4 of subparagraph (A), the following are agencies 

5 described in this subparagraph: 

6 (i) The Federal Emergency Manage7 ment Agency. 

8 (ii) The Cybersecurity and Infrastruc9 ture Security Agency of the Department of 

10 Homeland Security. 

11 (iii) The National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration, including the Na13 tional Weather Service. 

14 (iv) The Department of Defense, in15 cluding the Army Corps of Engineers. 

16 (v) The Department of Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 (vi) The National Institutes of 

19 Health. 

20 (vii) The Centers for Disease Control 

21 and Prevention. 

22 (viii) The Coast Guard. 

23 (ix) The National Transportation 

24 Safety Board. 

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1 (x) The National Institute of Stand2 ards and Technology. 

3 (xi) The Government Accountability 

4 Office. 

5 (xii) The Department of the Interior, 

6 including the United States Geological 

7 Survey. 

8 (xiii) Any Office of the Inspector Gen9 eral. 

10 (xiv) The Small Business Administra11 tion. 

12 (xv) The Chemical Safety and Hazard 

13 Investigation Board. 

14 (xvi) The Department of Housing and 

15 Urban Development. 

16 (xvii) The Department of Agriculture. 

17 (2) STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND RESEARCH

18 STAFF.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board may enter 

20 into agreements with State, local, and Tribal 

21 governments and relevant nonprofit institutions 

22 of higher education and research institutions to 

23 request staff, with specialized experience that 

24 the Board determines relevant, to be detailed to 

25 the Board, on a reimbursable basis, and shall 

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1 consult with relevant associations and organiza2 tions of those entities in developing an efficient 

3 process for requesting and receiving detailed 

4 staff. 

5 (B) COMPENSATION.—The Board shall en6 sure that any staff members detailed to the 

7 Board under this paragraph are compensated 

8 equitably and shall pay differences in salaries 

9 based on the experience of said staff and in 

10 consultation with the Office of Personnel Man11 agement. 

12 (3) TERM OF DETAIL.—Any staff member de13 tailed to the Board under this section shall be de14 tailed for a term of 1 year and such detail may be 

15 extended for not more than 2 1-year terms. 

16 (4) LIMITATIONS.—Under this subsection— 

17 (A) not more than 25 percent of the total 

18 number of staff members working for the 

19 Board at any time may be detailees or other20 wise nonpermanent staff; 

21 (B) a detailee shall serve as an adviser or 

22 supplemental professional staff in any office es23 tablished by the Board under subsection (g); 

24 and 

25 (C) a detailee may not— 

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1 (i) determine any final findings or rec2 ommendations; and 

3 (ii) be the sole decisionmaker in re4 view or evaluation methodologies. 

5 (j) SEAL.—The Board shall have a seal that shall be 

6 judicially recognized. 

7 (k) OPEN MEETINGS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), the Board shall be considered an agency 

10 for purposes of section 552b of title 5, United States 

11 Code. 

12 (2) NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUS13 SIONS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec15 tion 552b of title 5, United States Code, a ma16 jority of the members may hold a meeting that 

17 is not open to public observation to discuss offi18 cial agency business if— 

19 (i) no formal or informal vote or other 

20 official agency action is taken at the meet21 ing; 

22 (ii) each individual present at the 

23 meeting is a member or an employee of the 

24 Board; 

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1 (iii) at least 1 member of the Board 

2 from each political party is present at the 

3 meeting, if applicable; 

4 (iv) the General Counsel of the Board 

5 is present at the meeting; and 

6 (v) the records of the meeting, includ7 ing the names of the individuals in attend8 ance, time, place, and summary to be as 

9 thorough as the Board determines to be 

10 prudent, are posted publicly and online. 

11 (B) DISCLOSURE OF NONPUBLIC COLLABO12 RATIVE DISCUSSIONS.—Except as provided 

13 under subparagraphs (C) and (D), not later 

14 than 2 business days after the conclusion of a 

15 meeting under subparagraph (A), the Board 

16 shall make available to the public, in a place 

17 easily accessible to the public— 

18 (i) a list of the individuals present at 

19 the meeting; and 

20 (ii) a summary of the matters, includ21 ing key issues, discussed at the meeting, 

22 except for any matter the Board properly 

23 determines may be withheld from the pub24 lic under section 552b(c) of title 5, United 

25 States Code. 

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1 (C) SUMMARY.—If the Board properly de2 termines a matter may be withheld from the 

3 public under section 552b(c) of title 5, United 

4 States Code, the Board shall provide a sum5 mary with as much general information as pos6 sible on each matter withheld from the public. 

7 (D) ACTIVE REVIEWS.—If a discussion 

8 under subparagraph (A) directly relates to an 

9 active review, the Board shall make the disclo10 sure under subparagraph (B) on the date the 

11 Board adopts the final report. 

12 (E) PRESERVATION OF OPEN MEETINGS

13 REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENCY ACTION.—Noth14 ing in this paragraph may be construed to limit 

15 the applicability of section 552b of title 5, 

16 United States Code, with respect to a meeting 

17 of the members, other than the limitations de18 scribed in this paragraph. 

19 (F) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

20 in this paragraph may be construed— 

21 (i) to limit the applicability of section 

22 552b of title 5, United States Code, with 

23 respect to any information which is pro24 posed to be withheld from the public under 

25 subparagraph (B)(ii); or 

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1 (ii) to authorize the Board to withhold 

2 from any individual any record that is ac3 cessible to that individual under section 

4 552a of title 5, United States Code. 

5 SEC. 8. METHODOLOGY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall conduct each re7 view, issue each recommendation, develop each report, and 

8 deliver all technical assistance authorized under this Act 

9 using methods that are in accordance with relevant profes10 sional best practices, including best practices issued by 

11 analogous review organizations, academia, and govern12 ment and private organizations. 

13 (b) REQUIRED REVIEW.—The Board shall— 

14 (1) review, on a regular basis, the methodolo15 gies of the Board; and 

16 (2) update the methodologies of the Board in 

17 accordance with the findings of each review con18 ducted under paragraph (1). 

19 (c) REQUIREMENT.—In establishing the methodolo20 gies of the Board under this section, the Board shall incor21 porate all relevant information from relevant Federal, 

22 State, and local entities, including past experience with 

23 similar incidents, exercises, risk assessments, and all other 

24 past research and analysis. 

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1 (d) TRANSPARENCY.—The Chairperson shall include 

2 with each review report in which a recommendation is 

3 issued by the Board a methodology section detailing the 

4 process and information underlying the selection of each 

5 recommendation. 

6 (e) ELEMENTS.—Except as provided under sub7 section (f), the methodology section under subsection (d) 

8 shall include, for each recommendation— 

9 (1) a brief summary of the Board’s collection 

10 and analysis of the specific information most rel11 evant to the recommendation; 

12 (2) a description of the Board’s use of external 

13 information, including studies, reports, and experts, 

14 other than the findings of a specific review, if any 

15 were used to inform or support the recommendation, 

16 including a brief summary of the specific resilience 

17 benefits and other effects identified by each study, 

18 report, or expert; and 

19 (3) a brief summary of actions, including im20 portant examples, taken by regulated entities before 

21 the publication of the recommendation, to the extent 

22 such actions are known to the Board, that were con23 sistent with the recommendation. 

24 (f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section may 

2 be construed— 

3 (A) to delay publication of the findings, 

4 cause, or probable cause of a Board review; 

5 (B) to delay the issuance of an urgent rec6 ommendation that the Board has determined 

7 must be issued to avoid immediate death or 

8 human or economic injury; or 

9 (C) to limit the number of examples the 

10 Board may consider before issuing a rec11 ommendation. 

12 (2) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

13 (1), the Board shall publish the methodology re14 quired under this section not later than 30 days 

15 after the date on which the review is initially pub16 lished. 

17 SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATIVE. 

18 (a) AUTHORITY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board, and when au20 thorized by the Board, a member of the Board, an 

21 administrative law judge employed by or assigned to 

22 the Board, or an officer or employee designated by 

23 the Chairperson, may conduct hearings to carry out 

24 this Act, administer oaths, and require, by subpoena 

25 or otherwise, necessary witnesses and evidence. 

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1 (2) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—A witness or evi2 dence in a hearing under paragraph (1) may be 

3 summoned or required to be produced from any 

4 place in the United States to the designated place of 

5 the hearing. A witness summoned under this sub6 section is entitled to the same fee and mileage the 

7 witness would have been paid in a court of the 

8 United States. 

9 (3) REQUIREMENT.—A subpoena shall be 

10 issued under the signature of the Chairperson or the 

11 Chairperson’s designee, but may be served by any 

12 person designated by the Chairperson. 

13 (4) ENFORCEMENT.—If a person disobeys a 

14 subpoena, order, or inspection notice of the Board, 

15 the Board may bring a civil action in a district court 

16 of the United States to enforce the subpoena, order, 

17 or notice. An action under this paragraph may be 

18 brought in the judicial district in which the person 

19 against whom the action is brought resides, is found, 

20 or does business. The court may punish a failure to 

21 obey an order of the court to comply with the sub22 poena, order, or notice as a contempt of court. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL POWERS.—The Board may— 

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1 (1) procure the temporary or intermittent serv2 ices of experts or consultants under section 3109 of 

3 title 5, United States Code; 

4 (2) make agreements and other transactions 

5 necessary to carry out this Act without regard to 

6 subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 6101 of title 

7 41, United States Code; 

8 (3) use, when appropriate, available services, 

9 equipment, personnel, and facilities of a department, 

10 agency, or instrumentality of the United States Gov11 ernment on a reimbursable or other basis; 

12 (4) confer with employees and use services, 

13 records, and facilities of State and local govern14 mental authorities; 

15 (5) appoint advisory committees composed of 

16 qualified private citizens and officials of the Federal 

17 Government and State and local governments as ap18 propriate; 

19 (6) accept voluntary and uncompensated serv20 ices notwithstanding any other law; 

21 (7) make contracts with private entities to carry 

22 out studies related to duties and powers of the 

23 Board; and 

24 (8) negotiate and enter into agreements with 

25 individuals and private entities and departments, 

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•HR 6450 IH

1 agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Gov2 ernment, State, Tribal, and local governments, and 

3 governments of foreign countries for the provision of 

4 facilities, technical services, or training in research 

5 theory and techniques, and require that such entities 

6 provide appropriate consideration for the reasonable 

7 costs of any facilities, goods, services, or training 

8 provided by the Board. 

9 (c) COLLECTION OF FUNDS.—The Board shall de10 posit into the Treasury of the United States amounts re11 ceived under subsection (b)(8) to be credited as offsetting 

12 collections to the appropriation of the Board. The Board 

13 shall maintain an annual record of collections received 

14 under subsection (b)(8). 

15 (d) SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN COPIES TO CON16 GRESS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—When the Board submits to 

18 the President or the Director of the Office of Man19 agement and Budget a budget estimate, budget re20 quest, supplemental budget estimate, other budget 

21 information, a legislative recommendation, prepared 

22 testimony for congressional hearings, or comments 

23 on legislation, the Board shall submit a copy to Con24 gress at the same time. 

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1 (2) LIMITATION.—An officer, department, 

2 agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Govern3 ment may not require the Board to submit the esti4 mate, request, information, recommendation, testi5 mony, or comments to another officer, department, 

6 agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Govern7 ment for approval, comment, or review before being 

8 submitted to Congress. 

9 (3) BUDGET PROCESS.—The Board shall de10 velop and approve a process for the Board’s review 

11 and comment or approval of documents submitted to 

12 the President, the Director of the Office of Manage13 ment and Budget, or Congress under this sub14 section. 

15 (e) LIAISON COMMITTEES.—The Chairperson may 

16 determine the number of committees that are appropriate 

17 to maintain effective liaison with other departments, agen18 cies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, 

19 State and local governmental authorities, and independent 

20 standard-setting authorities that carry out programs and 

21 activities related to its work. The Board may designate 

22 representatives to serve on or assist those committees. 

23 (f) INQUIRIES.—The Board, or an officer or employee 

24 of the Board designated by the Chairperson, may conduct 

25 an inquiry to obtain information related to natural hazard 

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1 safety after publishing notice of the inquiry in the Federal 

2 Register. The Board or designated officer or employee 

3 may require by order a department, agency, or instrumen4 tality of the Federal Government, a State, Tribal, or local 

5 governmental authority, or a person transporting individ6 uals or property in commerce to submit to the Board a 

7 written report and answers to requests and questions re8 lated to a duty or power of the Board. The Board may 

9 prescribe the time within which the report and answers 

10 must be given to the Board or to the designated officer 

11 or employee. Copies of the report and answers shall be 

12 made available for public inspection. 

13 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Board may prescribe regu14 lations to carry out this Act. 

15 (h) OVERTIME PAY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements 

17 of this section and notwithstanding paragraphs (1) 

18 and (2) of section 5542(a) of title 5, United States 

19 Code, for an employee of the Board whose basic pay 

20 is at a rate which equals or exceeds the minimum 

21 rate of basic pay for GS–10 of the General Schedule, 

22 the Board may establish an overtime hourly rate of 

23 pay for the employee with respect to work performed 

24 in the field (including travel to or from) and other 

25 work that is critical to a review in an amount equal 

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1 to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic 

2 pay of the employee. All of such amount shall be 

3 considered to be premium pay. 

4 (2) LIMITATION ON OVERTIME PAY TO AN EM5 PLOYEE.—An employee of the Board may not re6 ceive overtime pay under paragraph (1), for work 

7 performed in a calendar year, in an amount that ex8 ceeds 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of 

9 the employee for such calendar year. 

10 (3) BASIC PAY DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

11 the term ‘‘basic pay’’ includes any applicable local12 ity-based comparability payment under section 5304 

13 of title 5, United States Code (or similar provision 

14 of law), and any special rate of pay under section 

15 5305 of such title 5 (or similar provision of law). 

16 (4) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

18 thereafter, the Board shall transmit to Congress a 

19 report identifying the total amount of overtime pay20 ments made under this subsection in the preceding 

21 fiscal year, and the number of employees whose 

22 overtime pay under this subsection was limited in 

23 that fiscal year as a result of the 25 percent limit 

24 established by paragraph (2). 

25 (i) ENTRY AND INSPECTION.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An officer or employee of 

2 the Board, on display of appropriate credentials and 

3 written notice of authority, may— 

4 (A) enter an area where an incident has 

5 occurred; 

6 (B) take such actions as are necessary to 

7 conduct a review under this section, so long as 

8 the actions do not interfere with ongoing life9 saving and life-sustaining operations; and 

10 (C) during reasonable hours, inspect any 

11 record, including an electronic record, process, 

12 control, or facility related to an incident under 

13 this Act. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall use ut15 most discretion to prevent interference with ongoing 

16 response efforts, including by developing review pro17 cedures with input from relevant authorities nation18 wide. 

19 SEC. 10. DISCLOSURE, AVAILABILITY, AND USE OF INFOR20 MATION. 

21 (a) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub23 sections (b), (c), (d), and (f), a copy of a record, in24 formation, or review submitted or received by the 

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1 Board, or a member or employee of the Board, shall 

2 be posted publicly. 

3 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

4 subsection shall be construed to require the release 

5 of information described in section 552(b) of title 5, 

6 United States Code, or protected from disclosure by 

7 another law of the United States. 

8 (b) TRADE SECRETS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may disclose in10 formation related to a trade secret referred to in sec11 tion 1905 of title 18, United States Code, only— 

12 (A) to another department, agency, or in13 strumentality of the United States Government 

14 when requested for official use; 

15 (B) to a committee of Congress having ju16 risdiction over the subject matter to which the 

17 information is related, when requested by that 

18 committee; 

19 (C) in a judicial proceeding under a court 

20 order that preserves the confidentiality of the 

21 information without impairing the proceeding; 

22 and 

23 (D) to the public to protect health and 

24 safety after giving notice to any interested per25 son to whom the information is related and an 

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1 opportunity for that person to comment in writ2 ing, or orally in closed session, on the proposed 

3 disclosure, if the delay resulting from notice 

4 and opportunity for comment would not be det5 rimental to health and safety. 

6 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Information disclosed 

7 under paragraph (1) may be disclosed only in a way 

8 designed to preserve its confidentiality. 

9 (3) PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION

10 OF INFORMATION.—Notwithstanding any other pro11 vision of law, neither the Board, nor any agency re12 ceiving information from the Board, shall disclose 

13 voluntarily provided safety-related information if 

14 that information is not related to the exercise of the 

15 Board’s review authority under this Act and if the 

16 Board finds that the disclosure of the information 

17 would inhibit the voluntary provision of that type of 

18 information. 

19 (c) RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.— 

20 (1) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDINGS.—Ex21 cept as provided in paragraph (2), the Board may 

22 not disclose publicly any part of an original record23 ing or transcript of oral communications or original 

24 and contemporary written communications between 

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1 Federal, State, Tribal, or local officials responding 

2 to an incident under review by the Board. 

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

4 Board shall make public any part of a transcript, 

5 any written depiction of visual information obtained 

6 from an audio or video recording, or any still image 

7 obtained from a recording the Board decides is rel8 evant to the incident— 

9 (A) if the Board holds a public hearing on 

10 the incident at the time of the hearing; or 

11 (B) if the Board does not hold a public 

12 hearing, at the time a majority of the other fac13 tual reports on the incident are placed in the 

14 public docket. 

15 (3) REFERENCES TO INFORMATION IN MAKING

16 SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.—This subsection shall 

17 not prevent the Board from referring at any time to 

18 recorded or written information in making safety 

19 recommendations. 

20 (d) FOREIGN REVIEWS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, neither the Board, nor any agency 

23 receiving information from the Board, shall disclose 

24 records or information relating to its participation in 

25 foreign incident review, except that— 

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1 (A) the Board shall release records per2 taining to such a review when the country con3 ducting the review issues its final report or 2 

4 years following the date of the incident, which5 ever occurs first; and 

6 (B) the Board may disclose records and in7 formation when authorized to do so by the 

8 country conducting the review. 

9 (2) SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.—Nothing in 

10 this subsection shall restrict the Board at any time 

11 from referring to foreign review information in mak12 ing safety recommendations. 

13 (e) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—Before making public 

14 any still image obtained from a video recorder under sub15 section (c)(2) or subsection (d)(2), the Board shall take 

16 such action as appropriate to protect from public disclo17 sure any information that readily identifies an individual, 

18 including a decedent. 

19 SEC. 11. TRAINING. 

20 (a) USE OF TRAINING FACILITIES.—The Board may 

21 use, on a reimbursable basis, the services of any training 

22 facility of the Federal Government, including those oper23 ated by the Department of Homeland Security, the De24 partment of Health and Human Services, and the Depart25 ment of Commerce. The responsible department or agency 

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1 shall make such training facility and any relevant training 

2 course available to— 

3 (1) the Board for safety training of employees 

4 of the Board in carrying out their duties and pow5 ers; and 

6 (2) other relevant personnel of the United 

7 States Government, State and local governments, 

8 governments of foreign countries, interstate authori9 ties, and private organizations the Board designates 

10 in consultation with the relevant departments and 

11 agencies. 

12 (b) FEES.—Training shall be provided at a reason13 able fee established periodically by the Board in consulta14 tion with the relevant departments and agencies. The fee 

15 shall be paid directly to the relevant departments and 

16 agencies, and shall be deposited in the Treasury. 

17 (c) TRAINING OF BOARD EMPLOYEES AND OTH18 ERS.—The Board may conduct training of its employees 

19 in those subjects necessary for proper performance. The 

20 Board may also authorize attendance at courses given 

21 under this subsection by other government personnel, per22 sonnel of foreign governments, and personnel from indus23 try or otherwise who have a requirement for training. The 

24 Board may require non-Board personnel to reimburse 

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1 bursed shall be credited to the appropriation of the Board 

2 as offsetting collections. 

3 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated, to remain available until expended, for the pur6 poses of this Act— 

7 (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

8 (2) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

9 (3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and 

10 (4) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2027. 

11 (b) FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSEMENTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may impose and 

13 collect such fees, refunds, and reimbursements as it 

14 determines to be appropriate for services provided by 

15 or through the Board. 

16 (2) RECEIPTS CREDITED AS OFFSETTING COL17 LECTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 

18 31, United States Code, any fee, refund, or reim19 bursement collected under this subsection— 

20 (A) shall be credited as offsetting collec21 tions to the account that finances the activities 

22 and services for which the fee is imposed or 

23 with which the refund or reimbursement is as24 sociated; 

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1 (B) shall be available for expenditure only 

2 to pay the costs of activities and services for 

3 which the fee is imposed or with which the re4 fund or reimbursement is associated; and 

5 (C) shall remain available until expended. 

6 (3) REFUNDS.—The Board may refund any fee 

7 paid by mistake or any amount paid in excess of 

8 that required. 

9 SEC. 13. AUTHORITY OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De11 partment of Homeland Security, in accordance with the 

12 mission of the Inspector General to prevent and detect 

13 fraud and abuse, shall have authority to review only the 

14 financial management, property management, and busi15 ness operations of the Board, including internal account16 ing and administrative control systems, to determine com17 pliance with applicable Federal laws, rules, and regula18 tions. 

19 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out this section, the In20 spector General of the Department of Homeland Security 

21 shall— 

22 (1) keep the Chairperson of the Board and 

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1 counting and administrative control systems of the 

2 Board; 

3 (2) issue findings and recommendations for ac4 tions to address such problems; and 

5 (3) report periodically to Congress on any 

6 progress made in implementing actions to address 

7 such problems. 

8 (c) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—In carrying out this 

9 section, the Inspector General of the Department of 

10 Homeland Security may exercise authorities granted to 

11 the Inspector General under subsections (a) and (b) of sec12 tion 406 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (1) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap15 propriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

16 for use by the Inspector General of the Department 

17 of Homeland Security such sums as may be nec18 essary to cover expenses associated with activities 

19 pursuant to the authority exercised under this sec20 tion. 

21 (2) REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENT.—In the ab22 sence of an appropriation under this subsection for 

23 an expense referred to in paragraph (1), the Inspec24 tor General and the Board shall have a reimbursable 

25 agreement to cover such expense. 

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1 SEC. 14. EVALUATION AND AUDIT OF NATIONAL DISASTER 

2 SAFETY BOARD. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—As determined necessary by the 

4 Comptroller General of the United States or the appro5 priate congressional committees, but not less frequently 

6 than once every 2 years, the Comptroller General of the 

7 United States shall evaluate and audit the programs and 

8 expenditures of the Board in order to promote economy, 

9 efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of the 

10 programs, operations, and activities of the Board. 

11 (b) RESPONSIBILITY OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

12 In carrying out subsection (a), the Comptroller General 

13 of the United States shall evaluate and audit the pro14 grams, operations, and activities of the Board, including— 

15 (1) information management and security, in16 cluding privacy protection of personally identifiable 

17 information; 

18 (2) the resource levels of the Board and man19 agement of such resources relative to the mission of 

20 the Board; 

21 (3) workforce development; 

22 (4) procurement and contracting planning, 

23 practices, and policies; 

24 (5) the process and procedures to select an inci25 dent to review; 

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1 (6) the extent to which the Board follows lead2 ing practices in selected management areas; 

3 (7) the extent to which the Board addresses 

4 management challenges in completing reviews; 

5 (8) the extent to which the evaluation, review, 

6 and recommendation-issuing methodologies of the 

7 Board are consistent with established best practice, 

8 as determined by the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States; and 

10 (9) an impact evaluation of the work of the 

11 Board, using the purposes and intent described in 

12 this Act and by the Board, against the realized re13 sults of the Board, according to a methodology de14 termined by the Comptroller General of the United 

15 States, conducted in a manner that is not overly dis16 ruptive to the work of the Board. 

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