61320 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Notices 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

Overview of This Information 

Collection 

(1) Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension, Without Change, of 

a Currently Approved Collection. 

(2) Title of the Form/Collection: 

Collection of Qualitative Feedback 

through Focus Groups. 

(3) Agency form number, if any, and 

the applicable component of the DHS 

sponsoring the collection: No Agency 

Form Number; USCIS. 

(4) Affected public who will be asked 

or required to respond, as well as a brief 

abstract: Primary: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit. 

The information collection activity will 

garner qualitative customer and 

stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 

timely manner, in accordance with the 

Administration’s commitment to 

improving service delivery. By 

qualitative feedback USCIS means 

information that provides useful 

insights on perceptions and opinions, 

but not responses to statistical surveys 

that yield quantitative results that can 

be generalized to the population of 

study. This feedback will provide 

information on customer and 

stakeholder perceptions, experiences 

and expectations, provide an early 

warning of issues with service, and/or 

focus attention on areas where 

communication, training, or changes in 

operations might improve delivery of 

products or services. These collections 

will allow for ongoing, collaborative and 

actionable communications between the 

Agency and its customers and 

stakeholders and contribute directly to 

the improvement of program 

management. Feedback collected under 

this generic clearance will provide 

useful information, but it will not be 

generalized to the overall population. 

This data collection will not be used to 

generate quantitative information that is 

designed to yield reliably actionable 

results, such as monitoring trends over 

time or documenting program 

performance. 

(5) An estimate of the total number of 

respondents and the amount of time 

estimated for an average respondent to 

respond: The estimated total number of 

respondents for the information 

collection is 3,000 and the estimated 

hour burden per response is 1.5 hours. 

(6) An estimate of the total public 

burden (in hours) associated with the 

collection: The total estimated annual 

hour burden associated with this 

collection is 4,500 hours. 

(7) An estimate of the total public 

burden (in cost) associated with the 

collection: The estimated total annual 

cost burden associated with this 

collection of information is $0. 

Dated: December 20, 2017. 

Samantha Deshommes, 

Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, 

Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2017–27809 Filed 12–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–6074–N–01] 

Allocations, Common Application, 

Waivers, and Alternative Requirements 

for Community Development Block 

Grant Disaster Recovery Grantees; 

State of Texas Allocation 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Community Planning and 

Development, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice allocates 

$57,800,000 of Community 

Development Block Grant disaster 

recovery (CDBG–DR) funds to the State 

of Texas in response to Hurricane 

Harvey. This allocation is made 

pursuant to the requirements of Public 

Law 115–31. This notice also makes a 

technical correction to the previously 

established alternative requirement on 

the low- and moderate- income national 

objective criteria for grantees 

undertaking CDBG–DR buyouts and 

housing incentives. 

DATES: Applicable: January 2, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessie Handforth Kome, Acting Director, 

Office of Block Grant Assistance, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street, SW, Room 

10166, Washington, DC 20410, 

telephone number 202–708–3587. 

Persons with hearing or speech 

impairments may access this number 

via TTY by calling the Federal Relay 

Service at 800–877–8339. Facsimile 

inquiries may be sent to Ms. Kome at 

202–401–2044. (Except for the’’800’’ 

number, these telephone numbers are 

not toll-free.) Email inquiries may be 

sent to disaster_recovery@hud.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. 2017 Allocations 

A. Background 

B. Use of Funds 

C. Grant Process 

D. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and 

Alternative Requirements 

E. Duration of Funding 

II. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and 

Alternative Requirements 

III. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

IV. Finding of No Significant Impact 

I. 2017 Allocations 

A. Background 

Congress appropriated $400 million 

in CDBG–DR funds for necessary 

expenses for activities authorized under 

title I of the Housing and Community 

Development Act of 1974 (HCDA) 

related to disaster relief, long-term 

recovery, restoration of infrastructure 

and housing, and economic 

revitalization in the most impacted and 

distressed areas resulting from a 

qualifying major disaster declared by 

the President pursuant to the Robert T. 

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Act of 1974 (Stafford Act) (42 

U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) in 2015, 2016, 2017 

or later. 

Of this amount, HUD previously 

allocated $342,200,000 to areas 

impacted by disasters in 2015 and 2016. 

The $57,800,000 allocated under this 

notice is the remaining amount from 

$400 million appropriated under Public 

Law 115–31. 

Public Law 115–31 specifies that the 

funds allocated for disasters in 2017 or 

later must be allocated and used under 

the same authority and conditions as 

those applicable to CDBG–DR funds 

appropriated by Public Law 114–223. 

Therefore, the funds allocated to the 

State of Texas under this notice are 

subject to the authority and conditions 

of Public Law 114–223 and the 

requirements, waivers, and alternative 

requirements applicable to CDBG–DR 

funds appropriated under Public Law 

114–223 provided in HUD’s Federal 

Register notices published on November 

21, 2016, January 18, 2017, and August 

7, 2017. These Federal Register notices 

describe the allocation and applicable 

waivers and alternative requirements, 

relevant statutory and regulatory 

requirements, grant award process, 

criteria for Action Plan approval, and 

eligible disaster recovery activities for 

the qualifying disaster. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Notices 61321 

Section III.A. of HUD’s August 7, 2017 

Federal Register notice provided that 

HUD would not evaluate a 2017 disaster 

for qualification to receive CDBG–DR 

funds until: (i) The major disaster has 

been declared eligible for the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency’s 

(FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Program 

and Individual and Households (IHP) 

Program; (ii) FEMA has approved 

Individual Assistance applications 

totaling at least $13 million in IHP 

financial assistance for the declared 

disaster in a single county; and (iii) four 

months have passed since the disaster 

declaration that made IHP available, or 

the IHP registration period is closed, 

whichever comes first. Section III. A. iii. 

was intended to allow time for HUD to 

gather data needed to validate that a 

disaster met the eligibility thresholds 

established in the methodology. 

However, HUD has already received 

sufficient data to show these thresholds 

were far exceeded by Hurricane Harvey, 

and thus, the Department is rescinding 

section III. A. iii. of the August 7, 2017 

notice to expedite this allocation. 

Section III.A. also provided that HUD 

would use the detailed methodology 

specified in Appendix A of the January 

18, 2017 notice and make allocations 

equal to the lesser of 100 percent of the 

serious unmet needs or the remaining 

funds available from Public Law 115– 

31. Using updated data HUD received 

from the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) and the 

Small Business Administration (SBA), 

the unmet needs in Texas far exceed 

this allocation of the remaining 

$57,800,000 available from Public Law 

115–31. A detailed explanation of 

HUD’s allocation methodology 

applicable to the $57,800,000 is 

provided at Appendix A of the January 

18, 2017 notice. 

TABLE 1—QUALIFYING 2017 DISASTER AND ‘‘MOST IMPACTED AND DISTRESSED’’ AREA

FEMA 

Disaster No. Grantee 

Minimum amount that must be expended for 

recovery in the HUD-identified ‘‘most impacted 

and distressed’’ areas 

2017 Disasters 

4332 ........................ State of Texas ....................................... Harris County ($46,240,000). 

The grantee’s use of funds is limited 

to unmet recovery needs from Hurricane 

Harvey (FEMA Disaster No. 4332). Table 

2 shows the HUD-identified ‘‘most 

impacted and distressed’’ areas 

impacted by the identified disaster. At 

least 80 percent of the $57,800,000 must 

address unmet needs within Harris 

County, Texas, which is the ‘‘most 

impacted and distressed’’ area, as 

identified by HUD. Texas may spend the 

remaining 20 percent in Harris County 

or in other areas the grantee determines 

to be ‘‘most impacted and distressed’’ 

that a received a presidential disaster 

declaration pursuant to the disaster 

number listed in Table 1. 

B. Use of Funds 

Public Law 115–31 requires funds to 

be used only for specific disaster 

recovery related purposes. This 

allocation provides funds to the State of 

Texas for authorized disaster recovery 

efforts associated with Hurricane 

Harvey. Section III of the August 7, 2017 

notice describes the requirements 

governing the submission of action 

plans required for 2017 disasters. 

However, the State of Texas previously 

completed a CDBG–DR action plan for 

2016 disasters and that action plan is 

subject to the same requirements 

applicable to this allocation. Due to the 

severity of Hurricane Harvey and to 

help ensure funds reach those affected 

in a timely manner, HUD will allow 

Texas to adopt and incorporate into its 

Action Plan, for the funds allocated 

under this notice, any relevant 

information from the action plan that it 

previously completed for its 2016 

disaster allocation. Additionally, the 

scale of analysis for this allocation may 

be commensurate with the amount of 

the allocation and the limited data 

available this soon after the disaster. 

Accordingly, section III. B. of the 

August 7, 2017 notice is deleted and 

replaced with the following: 

B. Use of Funds 

Grantees receiving an allocation of 

funds under Public Law 115–31 for 

2017 and later disasters pursuant to a 

subsequent notice are subject to the 

requirements of the November 21, 2016 

notice, as amended, which require that 

prior to the obligation of CDBG–DR 

funds, a grantee shall submit a plan to 

HUD for approval detailing the 

proposed use of all funds, including 

criteria for eligibility, and how the use 

of these funds will address long-term 

recovery and restoration of 

infrastructure and housing and 

economic revitalization in the most 

impacted and distressed areas. The 

grantee’s Action Plan for 2017 disasters 

may adopt and incorporate applicable 

sections and any other relevant 

information from its Action Plan for 

2016 disasters, previously submitted 

pursuant to the November 21, 2016 

notice or January 18, 2017 notice. The 

grantee must include updated 

information specific to the 2017 

disasters, such as its analysis of unmet 

needs and use of funds to address these 

needs. The Action Plan for 2017 

disasters must describe uses and 

activities for all funds that: (1) Are 

authorized under title I of the Housing 

and Community Development Act of 

1974 (HCDA) or allowed by a waiver or 

alternative requirement; and (2) respond 

to disaster-related impact to 

infrastructure, housing, and economic 

revitalization in the most impacted and 

distressed areas. To inform the Action 

Plan, the grantee must conduct an 

updated assessment of community 

impacts and unmet needs to guide the 

development and prioritization of 

planned recovery activities, pursuant to 

paragraph A.2.a. in section VI of the 

November 21, 2016, notice, as amended. 

However, the scale of analysis for this 

allocation may be commensurate with 

the amount of the allocation and the 

limited data available. 

Public Law 115–31 requires the 

Secretary to certify, in advance of 

signing a grant agreement, that the 

grantee has in place proficient financial 

controls and procurement processes and 

has established adequate procedures to 

prevent any duplication of benefits as 

defined by section 312 of the Stafford 

Act, ensure timely expenditure of funds, 

maintain comprehensive websites 

regarding all disaster recovery activities 

assisted with these funds, and detect 

and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of 

funds. The November 21, 2016 notice 

further required grantees to submit risk 

analysis documentation and to certify to 

its capacity to administer CDBG–DR 

funds. To provide a basis for these 

certifications, grantees were required to 

submit documentation to the 

Department demonstrating compliance 

with the stated requirements of the 


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61322 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Notices 

statute and corresponding notice. The 

Department will not require grantees to 

resubmit its previous documentation to 

support the Secretary’s required 

certification before signing the grant 

agreement for funds under Public Law 

115–31 for 2017 disasters. Instead, 

grantees receiving an allocation of funds 

under Public Law 115–31 for 2017 

disasters may submit a new certification 

to HUD indicating that its submissions 

in response to the certification 

requirements of the November 21, 2016 

notice for its CDBG–DR grant for 2016 

disasters remain unchanged, and the 

policies and procedures on which HUD 

based its certification for 2016 disasters 

are adopted and will apply to the 

grantee’s CDBG–DR grant allocation for 

2017 disasters. Alternatively, grantees 

may provide a supplement updating its 

previous submissions in response to the 

certification requirements of the 

November 21, 2016 notice to indicate 

any changes that will apply to the use 

of funds for 2017 disasters, and will 

submit a certification that its 

submissions remain unchanged, except 

as indicated. 

Pursuant to the November 21, 2016 

notice, as amended, a grantee receiving 

an allocation of funds for 2017 disasters 

in a subsequent notice is also required 

to expend 100 percent of its allocation 

of CDBG–DR funds on eligible activities 

within 6 years of HUD’s execution of the 

grant agreement. 

A grantee receiving an allocation of 

funds for 2017 disasters will be subject 

to the grant process provided for in 

section V. of the November 21, 2016 

notice, as amended. The grantee and 

HUD will execute a separate grant 

agreement for funds for 2017 disasters. 

C. Grant Process 

To receive funds allocated by this 

notice, Texas may adopt and 

incorporate applicable sections and any 

other relevant information from its 

approved Action Plan for 2016 disasters, 

and include any additional information, 

as appropriate, to address recovery from 

Hurricane Harvey. In developing the 

resulting Action Plan for Hurricane 

Harvey (Public Law 115–31), Texas 

must meet the grant process 

requirements from the November 21, 

2016 notice, which include the 

following: 

• Consult with affected citizens, 

stakeholders, local governments, and 

public housing authorities to assess 

needs; 

• Publish the resulting Action Plan 

for Hurricane Harvey (Pub. L. 115–31) 

in accordance with the requirements set 

forth in section VI.A.4.a of the 

November 21, 2016 notice, including 

the requirement to prominently post the 

Action Plan on its official website for no 

less than 14 calendar days. The grantee 

must also ensure equal access for 

persons with disabilities and persons 

with limited English proficiency. The 

manner of publication must afford 

citizens, affected local governments, and 

other interested parties a reasonable 

opportunity to examine the Action Plan 

contents and provide feedback; 

• Respond to public comment and 

submit its resulting Action Plan for 2017 

disasters to HUD no later than 90 days 

after the effective date of this notice; 

• Enter the activities from its 

published Action Plan for Hurricane 

Harvey (Pub. L. 115–31) into the 

Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting 

(DRGR) system and submit the updated 

DRGR Action Plan to HUD within the 

system; 

• Sign and return the grant agreement 

to HUD; 

• Ensure that the HUD approved 

Action Plan for Hurricane Harvey (Pub. 

L. 115–31) is posted prominently on its 

official website; and 

• Amend its published Action Plan 

for Hurricane Harvey (Pub. L. 115–31) to 

include its projection of expenditures 

and outcomes within 90 days of the 

Action Plan approval. 

HUD will review Texas’s resulting 

Action Plan for Hurricane Harvey (Pub. 

L. 115–31) within 45 days from date of 

receipt and determine whether to 

approve the plan per criteria identified 

in this notice and all applicable prior 

notices. HUD will then send an 

approval letter, grant conditions, and an 

unsigned grant agreement to the grantee. 

If the state’s Action Plan is not 

approved, a letter will be sent 

identifying its deficiencies and the state 

must then re-submit the plan within 45 

days of the notification letter. 

Once HUD signs the grant agreement 

and revises the grantee’s line of credit 

amount, the state may draw down funds 

from the line of credit after the 

Responsible Entity completes applicable 

environmental review(s) pursuant to 24 

CFR part 58 or as authorized by Public 

Law 115–31 and, as applicable, receives 

from HUD or the state an approved 

Request for Release of Funds and 

certification. 

D. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, 

and Alternative Requirements 

The funds allocated under this notice 

are subject to the waivers and 

alternative requirements provided in the 

November 21, 2016, January 18, 2017, 

and August 7, 2017 notices governing 

the award of CDBG–DR funds to 2016 

grantees. These waivers and alternative 

requirements provide additional 

flexibility in program design and 

implementation to support full and 

swift recovery following the disasters, 

while also ensuring that statutory 

requirements are met. Texas may 

request additional waivers and 

alternative requirements from the 

Department, as needed, to address 

specific needs related to its recovery 

activities. Waivers and alternative 

requirements are effective five days after 

they are published in the Federal 

Register. 

E. Duration of Funding 

Public Law 115–31 provides that 

these funds will remain available until 

expended. However, consistent with 31 

U.S.C. 1555 and OMB Circular A–11, if 

the Secretary or the President 

determines that the purposes for which 

the appropriation has been made have 

been carried out and no disbursements 

have been made against the 

appropriation for two consecutive fiscal 

years, any remaining balance will be 

made unavailable for obligation or 

expenditure. Consistent with the 

November 21, 2016, January 18, 2017, 

and August 7, 2017 notices, the 

provisions at 24 CFR 570.494 and 24 

CFR 570.902 regarding timely 

distribution of funds are waived and 

replaced with alternative requirements. 

Grantees must expend 100 percent of 

their allocation of CDBG–DR funds on 

eligible activities within 6 years of 

HUD’s execution of the grant agreement. 

II. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, 

and Alternative Requirements 

This section of the notice provides a 

technical correction to the previously 

established alternative requirement on 

the low- and moderate- income (LMI) 

national objective criteria for grantees 

undertaking buyouts and housing 

incentives with CDBG–DR funding 

provided by Public Laws 113–2, 114– 

113, 114–223, 114–254 and 115–31. 

The Federal Register notice published 

by the Department on August 7, 2017 

(82 FR 36812) established additional 

opportunities for CDBG–DR grantees to 

meet the LMI national objective with 

respect to assistance provided to LMI 

persons through buyouts and housing 

incentives. After the publication of that 

notice, HUD determined that the 

language used would make it difficult 

for grantees to meet those objectives. 

Accordingly, starting at the fifth 

paragraph of Section V, the August 7, 

2017 notice is amended to read: 

For a buyout award or housing 

incentive to meet the new LMB and 

LMHI national objectives, grantees must 

demonstrate the following: 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Notices 61323 

(1) The CDBG–DR funds have been 

provided for an eligible activity that 

benefits LMI households by supporting 

their move from high risk areas. The 

following activities shall qualify under 

this criterion, and must also meet the 

eligibility criteria of the notices 

governing the use of the CDBG–DR 

funds: 

(a) Low/Mod Buyout (LMB). When 

CDBG–DR funds are used for a buyout 

award to acquire housing owned by a 

qualifying LMI household, where the 

award amount is greater than postdisaster (current) fair market value of 

that property; 

(b) Low/Mod Housing Incentive 

(LMHI). When CDBG–DR funds are used 

for a housing incentive award, tied to 

the voluntary buyout or other voluntary 

acquisition of housing owned by a 

qualifying LMI household, for which the 

housing incentive is for the purpose of 

moving outside of the affected 

floodplain or to a lower-risk area; or 

when the housing incentive is for the 

purpose of providing or improving 

residential structures that, upon 

completion, will be occupied by an LMI 

household. 

(2) Activities that meet the above 

criteria will be considered to benefit 

low- and moderate-income persons 

unless there is substantial evidence to 

the contrary. 

Any activities that meet the newly 

established national objective criteria 

described above will count towards the 

calculation of a CDBG–DR grantee’s 

overall LMI benefit to comply with the 

primary objective described in 24 CFR 

570.200(a)(3) and 24 CFR 570.484(b). 

Grantees receiving an allocation of 

CDBG–DR funds pursuant to the 

following appropriations acts must 

specifically request a waiver and 

alternative requirement from HUD in 

order apply the new national objective 

criteria established in this section of the 

notice: Public Law 109–148, 109–234, 

and 110–116 (Katrina, Rita, and Wilma); 

Public Law 110–252 and 110–328 (2008 

Disasters), Public Law 111–112 (2010 

disasters), and Public Law 112–55 (2011 

disasters). 

III. Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance numbers for the disaster 

recovery grants under this notice are as 

follows: 14.218; 14.228; and 14.269. 

IV. Finding of No Significant Impact 

A Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) with respect to the 

environment has been made in 

accordance with HUD regulations at 24 

CFR part 50, which implement section 

102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4332(2)(C)). The FONSI is available for 

public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 

p.m. weekdays in the Regulations 

Division, Office of General Counsel, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 

10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. 

Due to security measures at the HUD 

Headquarters building, an advance 

appointment to review the docket file 

must be scheduled by calling the 

Regulations Division at 202–708–3055 

(this is not a toll-free number). Hearingor speech-impaired individuals may 

access this number through TTY by 

calling the Federal Relay Service at 800– 

877–8339 (this is a toll-free number). 

Dated: December 20, 2017. 

Neal J. Rackleff, 

Assistant Secretary for Community Planning 

and Development. 

[FR Doc. 2017–27960 Filed 12–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

[18XD4523WS/DWSN0000.000000/ 

DS61500000/DP.61501] 

Invasive Species Advisory Committee; 

Request for Nominations 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the 

Interior, on behalf of the 

interdepartmental National Invasive 

Species Council (NISC), proposes to 

appoint new members to the Invasive 

Species Advisory Committee (ISAC). 

The Secretary of the Interior, acting as 

administrative lead, is requesting 

nominations for qualified persons to 

serve as members of the ISAC. 

DATES: Nominations must be 

postmarked by February 26, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be sent 

to Jamie K. Reaser, Executive Director, 

National Invasive Species Council (OS/ 

NISC), Regular/Express Mail: 1849 C 

Street NW (Mailstop 3530), Washington, 

DC 20240. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelsey Brantley, Coordinator for NISC 

and ISAC Operations, at (202) 208– 

4122, fax: (202) 208–4118, or by email 

at Kelsey_Brantley@ios.doi.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Advisory Committee Scope and 

Objectives 

Executive Order (E.O.) 13112 

authorized the National Invasive 

Species Council (NISC) to provide 

interdepartmental coordination, 

planning, and leadership for the Federal 

Government on the prevention, 

eradication, and control of invasive 

species. This authorization was recently 

reiterated in E.O. 13751. NISC is 

currently comprised of the senior-most 

leadership of thirteen Federal 

Departments/Agencies and three 

Executive Offices of the President. The 

Co-chairs of NISC are the Secretaries of 

the Interior, Agriculture, and 

Commerce. The Invasive Species 

Advisory Committee (ISAC) advises 

NISC. NISC is requesting nominations 

for individuals to serve on the ISAC. 

NISC provides high-level 

interdepartmental coordination of 

Federal invasive species actions and 

works with other Federal and nonFederal groups to address invasive 

species issues at the national level. 

NISC duties, consistent with E.O. 13751, 

are to provide national leadership 

regarding invasive species and: (a) Work 

to ensure that the Federal agency and 

interagency activities concerning 

invasive species are coordinated, 

complementary, cost-efficient, and 

effective; (b) undertake a National 

Invasive Species Assessment that 

evaluates the impact of invasive species 

on major U.S. assets, including food 

security, water resources, infrastructure, 

the environment, human, animal, and 

plant health, natural resources, cultural 

identity and resources, and military 

readiness, from ecological, social, and 

economic perspectives; (c) advance 

national incident response, data 

collection, and rapid reporting 

capacities that build on existing 

frameworks and programs and 

strengthen early detection of and rapid 

response to invasive species, including 

those that are vectors, reservoirs, or 

causative agents of disease; (d) publish 

an assessment by 2019 that identifies 

the most pressing scientific, technical, 

and programmatic coordination 

challenges to the Federal Government’s 

capacity to prevent the introduction of 

invasive species, and that incorporate 

recommendations and priority actions 

to overcome these challenges into the 

National Invasive Species Council 

Management Plan, as appropriate; (e) 

support and encourage the development 

of new technologies and practices, and 

promote the use of existing technologies 

and practices, to prevent, eradicate, and 

control invasive species, including 

those that are vectors, reservoirs, and 

causative agents of disease; (f) convene 

annually to discuss and coordinate 

interagency priorities and report 

annually on activities and budget 


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