II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3531 

To require the Federal Government to produce a national climate adaptation 

and resilience strategy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 20, 2022 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. 

CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Federal Government to produce a national 

climate adaptation and resilience strategy, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Climate Ad5 aptation and Resilience Strategy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADAPTATION.—The term ‘‘adaptation’’ 

9 means an adjustment in a natural or human system 


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1 in response to a new or changing environmental con2 dition, including such an adjustment associated with 

3 climate change, that exploits beneficial opportunities 

4 or moderates negative effects. 

5 (2) ADAPTIVE CAPACITY.—The term ‘‘adaptive 

6 capacity’’ means the ability of a system— 

7 (A) to adjust to climate vulnerabilities to 

8 moderate potential damage or harm; 

9 (B) to take advantage of new, and poten10 tially beneficial, opportunities; or 

11 (C) to cope with change. 

12 (3) CASCADING CLIMATE HAZARDS.—The term 

13 ‘‘cascading climate hazards’’ means a series of suc14 cessive environmental hazards triggered by an initial 

15 hazard that is driven or exacerbated by climate 

16 change, such that the impacts to vulnerable systems 

17 are amplified. 

18 (4) CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER.—The term 

19 ‘‘Chief Resilience Officer’’ means the Chief Resil20 ience Officer of the United States appointed by the 

21 President under section 3(a)(1). 

22 (5) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 

23 change’’ means changes in average atmospheric and 

24 oceanic conditions that persist over multiple decades 


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1 or longer and are natural or anthropogenic in origin, 

2 including— 

3 (A) both increases and decreases in tem4 perature; 

5 (B) shifts in precipitation; 

6 (C) shifts in ecoregion or biome geography 

7 and phenology, as applicable; 

8 (D) changing risk from certain types of 

9 rapid-onset climate hazards and slow-onset cli10 mate hazards; and 

11 (E) changes to other features of the cli12 mate system. 

13 (6) CLIMATE INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘cli14 mate information’’ means information, data, or 

15 products that enhance knowledge and understanding 

16 of climate science, risk, conditions, vulnerability, or 

17 impact, including— 

18 (A) climate data products; 

19 (B) historic or future climate projections 

20 or scenarios; 

21 (C) climate risk or vulnerability informa22 tion; 

23 (D) data or information related to climate 

24 adaptation and mitigation; and 

25 (E) other best available climate science. 


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1 (7) COMPOUND CLIMATE HAZARDS.—The term 

2 ‘‘compound climate hazards’’ means 2 or more envi3 ronmental hazards driven or exacerbated by climate 

4 change that occur simultaneously or successively, 

5 such that the impacts to vulnerable systems are am6 plified. 

7 (8) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

8 Partners Council on Climate Adaptation and Resil9 ience established by section 4(a). 

10 (9) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATE.—The term 

11 ‘‘Freely Associated State’’ means— 

12 (A) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

13 Mariana Islands; 

14 (B) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

15 (C) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

16 (D) the Republic of Palau; and 

17 (E) the United States Virgin Islands. 

18 (10) FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES.—The term 

19 ‘‘frontline communities’’ means human communities 

20 that— 

21 (A) are highly vulnerable to climate change 

22 or exposed to climate risk; 

23 (B) experience the earliest, most adverse 

24 impacts of climate change; and 


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1 (C) may have a reduced ability to adapt to 

2 climate change due to a lack of resources, polit3 ical power, or adaptive capacity. 

4 (11) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Im5 plementation Plan’’ means the Implementation Plan 

6 jointly developed by the Chief Resilience Officer and 

7 the Working Groups under section 6(b). 

8 (12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

9 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

10 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

11 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

12 (13) NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT.—The 

13 term ‘‘National Climate Assessment’’ means the as14 sessment delivered to Congress and the President 

15 pursuant to section 106 of the Global Change Re16 search Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2936). 

17 (14) NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

18 ‘‘natural infrastructure’’ means infrastructure 

19 that— 

20 (A) uses, restores, or emulates natural eco21 logical, geological, or physical processes; and 

22 (B)(i) is created through the action of nat23 ural physical, geological, biological, and chem24 ical processes over time; 


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1 (ii) is created by human design, engineer2 ing, and construction to emulate or act in con3 cert with natural processes; or 

4 (iii) involves the use of plants, soils, and 

5 other natural features, including through the 

6 creation, restoration, or preservation of natural 

7 areas using materials appropriate to the region 

8 to manage stormwater and runoff, to attenuate 

9 flooding and storm surges, to manage erosion 

10 and saltwater intrusion, and for other related 

11 purposes. 

12 (15) NON-FEDERAL PARTNER.—The term 

13 ‘‘non-Federal partner’’ means a member of a unit of 

14 State, local, or territorial government, the govern15 ment of an Indian Tribe, the government of a Freely 

16 Associated State, a private sector entity, or another 

17 individual or organization not affiliated with the 

18 Federal Government. 

19 (16) OPERATIONS REPORT.—The term ‘‘Oper20 ations Report’’ means the National Climate Adapta21 tion and Resilience Operations Report jointly devel22 oped by the Chief Resilience Officer and the Work23 ing Groups under section 5. 

24 (17) RAPID-ONSET CLIMATE HAZARD.—The 

25 term ‘‘rapid-onset climate hazard’’ means an abrupt 


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1 environmental hazard driven or exacerbated by cli2 mate change that occurs quickly or unexpectedly and 

3 triggers impacts that materialize rapidly and inter4 act with conditions of exposure and vulnerability to 

5 result in a disaster. 

6 (18) REPRESENTED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rep7 resented agency’’ means each Federal agency from 

8 which the Chief Resilience Officer appoints a mem9 ber to a Working Group under section 

10 3(b)(4)(B)(ii). 

11 (19) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ 

12 means the capacity of a social, physical, economic, or 

13 environmental system to cope with an environmental 

14 hazard event, trend, or disturbance that is driven or 

15 exacerbated by climate change by responding or re16 organizing in ways that maintain, to the greatest ex17 tent practicable, the essential function, identity, and 

18 structure of the system and ensure that, in the event 

19 of a rapid-onset climate hazard or a slow-onset cli20 mate hazard, basic human needs are met, while also 

21 maintaining the capacity for adaptation and trans22 formation. 

23 (20) RISK.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘risk’’ means 

2 the potential for consequences in a situation in 

3 which— 

4 (i) something of value is at stake; and 

5 (ii) the outcome is uncertain. 

6 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘risk’’ includes 

7 the potential for consequences described in sub8 paragraph (A) that is evaluated as the product 

9 obtained by multiplying— 

10 (i) the probability of a hazard occur11 ring; by 

12 (ii) the consequence that would result 

13 if the hazard occurred. 

14 (21) SLOW-ONSET CLIMATE HAZARD.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘slow-onset 

16 climate hazard’’ means an environmental haz17 ard driven or exacerbated by climate change 

18 that evolves gradually through time due to in19 cremental change or because of an increasing 

20 frequency or intensity of recurring climate im21 pacts. 

22 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘slow-onset 

23 climate hazard’’ includes hazards such as— 

24 (i) sea level rise; 

25 (ii) desertification; 


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1 (iii) biodiversity loss or the alteration 

2 of or shift in habitat range of individual 

3 species or entire biomes; 

4 (iv) increasing temperatures; 

5 (v) ocean acidification; 

6 (vi) saltwater intrusion; 

7 (vii) soil salinization; 

8 (viii) drought and water scarcity; 

9 (ix) reduced snow pack; 

10 (x) sea ice retreat; 

11 (xi) glacial ice treat; 

12 (xii) permafrost thaw; and 

13 (xiii) coastal and river bank erosion. 

14 (22) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘Strategy’’ means 

15 the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience 

16 Strategy required to be developed jointly by the 

17 Chief Resilience Officer and the Working Groups 

18 under section 6(a). 

19 (23) VULNERABILITY.—The term ‘‘vulner20 ability’’ means the propensity or predisposition of a 

21 human individual or community or physical, biologi22 cal, or socioeconomic system to be susceptible to and 

23 adversely affected by the impacts of climate change. 

24 (24) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

25 Group’’ means a National Climate Adaptation and 


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1 Resilience Working Group established by the Chief 

2 Resilience Officer under section 3(b). 

3 SEC. 3. CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER AND NATIONAL CLI4 MATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE WORK5 ING GROUPS. 

6 (a) CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi9 dent shall identify or appoint a Chief Resilience Offi10 cer of the United States to serve in the Executive 

11 Office of the President. 

12 (2) DUTIES.—The Chief Resilience Officer 

13 shall— 

14 (A) serve the President by directing a 

15 whole-of-government effort to build resilience to 

16 climate change vulnerabilities in the United 

17 States (as described in the National Climate 

18 Assessment or other relevant analyses identified 

19 by the Chief Resilience Officer) in collaboration 

20 with existing Federal initiatives and interagency 

21 adaptation efforts; and 

22 (B) establish Working Groups in accord23 ance with subsection (b) to facilitate inter24 agency coordination with respect to climate re25 silience and adaptation. 


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1 (b) WORKING GROUPS.— 

2 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara4 graph (B), the Chief Resilience Officer shall es5 tablish the minimum number of National Cli6 mate Adaptation and Resilience Working 

7 Groups that is necessary to carry out the duties 

8 and purposes described in paragraph (3). 

9 (B) LIMITATION.—The Chief Resilience 

10 Officer shall not establish more than 5 Working 

11 Groups. 

12 (2) FOCUS.—Each Working Group shall focus 

13 on a topic or series of related topics with respect to 

14 climate adaptation and resilience, as determined by 

15 the Chief Resilience Officer. 

16 (3) DUTIES AND PURPOSE.—Each Working 

17 Group shall, under the leadership of the Chief Resil18 ience Officer, with respect to the focus of the Work19 ing Group— 

20 (A) coordinate a whole-of-government plan 

21 to build resilience to the applicable climate 

22 change vulnerabilities described in the National 

23 Climate Assessment or other relevant analyses 

24 identified by the Chief Resilience Officer; and 


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1 (B) assist in the development of the appli2 cable portions of— 

3 (i) the Operations Report; 

4 (ii) the Strategy; and 

5 (iii) the Implementation Plan. 

6 (4) STRUCTURE.— 

7 (A) CHAIRPERSON.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Resil9 ience Officer shall serve as chairperson of 

10 each Working Group. 

11 (ii) TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON.—The 

12 President or the Chief Resilience Officer 

13 may designate another staff member or 

14 member of a Working Group to act tempo15 rarily as the chairperson of that Working 

16 Group in the absence of the Chief Resil17 ience Officer. 

18 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—In establishing a 

19 Working Group, the Chief Resilience Officer 

20 shall— 

21 (i) identify each Federal agency with 

22 operations or organizational units that are 

23 relevant to the focus of the Working 

24 Group; and 


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1 (ii) appoint 1 member of each Federal 

2 agency identified under clause (i) to rep3 resent that Federal agency on the Working 

4 Group. 

5 (C) REQUIREMENT.—In appointing a 

6 member of a Working Group under subpara7 graph (B)(ii), the Chief Resilience Officer shall, 

8 to the maximum extent practicable, appoint the 

9 head of the portion of the represented agency 

10 that is most relevant to the focus of the Work11 ing Group. 

12 (D) DUTIES OF MEMBERS.—Each member 

13 of a Working Group— 

14 (i) shall attend meetings of the Work15 ing Group; and 

16 (ii) work to support the duties of the 

17 Working Group. 

18 (5) MEETINGS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Working Group 

20 shall meet not less frequently than once every 

21 180 days. 

(B) QUORUM.—3 22 ⁄4 of the members of a 

23 Working Group shall constitute a quorum of 

24 the Working Group. 


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1 (C) REMOTE PARTICIPATION.—A member 

2 of a Working Group may participate in a meet3 ing of that Working Group through teleconfer4 ence or similar means. 

5 (6) SUPPORT PERSONNEL.— 

6 (A) EXECUTIVE SECRETARY.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Resil8 ience Officer shall appoint a permanent 

9 employee of a represented agency to serve 

10 as Executive Secretary of the Working 

11 Groups. 

12 (ii) EMPLOYMENT.—The employee ap13 pointed as Executive Secretary under 

14 clause (i) shall remain an employee of the 

15 agency, department, or program from 

16 which the employee was appointed. 

17 (B) NECESSARY ASSISTANCE.—To carry 

18 out the purposes of each Working Group, as de19 scribed in paragraph (3), each represented 

20 agency with a member on the Working Group 

21 shall furnish necessary assistance to that Work22 ing Group, such as— 

23 (i) the detail of employees to the 

24 Working Group to perform such functions, 

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1 ing Group described in paragraph (3), as 

2 the Chief Resilience Officer may assign, in3 cluding support staff for the Executive 

4 Secretary appointed under subparagraph 

5 (A)(i); and 

6 (ii) on request of the Chief Resilience 

7 Officer, undertaking special studies for the 

8 Working Group as may be appropriate to 

9 carry out the functions of the Working 

10 Group. 

11 SEC. 4. PARTNERS COUNCIL ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION 

12 AND RESILIENCE. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a coun14 cil, to be known as the ‘‘Partners Council on Climate Ad15 aptation and Resilience’’. 

16 (b) MISSION AND FUNCTION.—The Council shall 

17 work to improve the climate adaptation and resilience op18 erations of the Federal Government by providing rec19 ommendations through the Chief Resilience Officer, in20 cluding those recommendations contained in the report re21 quired under subsection (c), that identify how the Federal 

22 Government can better support non-Federal partners with 

23 equitable resources, technical assistance, improved poli24 cies, and other assistance to help frontline communities 

25 build resilience to climate change. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 16 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there3 after, the Council, acting through the Chief Resilience Of4 ficer, shall submit to the President and the Working 

5 Groups a report that includes— 

6 (1) an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in the 

7 climate resilience operations of the Federal Govern8 ment that reduce or fail to increase the capacity of 

9 non-Federal partners to adapt to climate change; 

10 (2) an identification of the resources, including 

11 Federal funding, necessary for non-Federal partners 

12 to adequately adapt to climate change; and 

13 (3) recommendations with respect to how the 

14 Federal Government could better support efforts by 

15 non-Federal partners to expeditiously address 

16 vulnerabilities associated with climate change and 

17 build climate resilience. 

18 (d) CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR.—The Chief Resilience 

19 Officer shall serve as chairperson of the Council and shall 

20 appoint a vice-chairperson from among the members of 

21 the Council appointed pursuant to subsection (e). 

22 (e) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the Chief Re24 silience Officer, the Council shall consist of 20 nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jan 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3531.IS S3531

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1 Federal partner members appointed by the Chief Re2 silience Officer. 

3 (2) APPOINTMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Resilience 

5 Officer shall appoint members of the Council 

6 who can support the Working Groups by articu7 lating how the Federal Government can better 

8 support State, local, and territorial govern9 ments, the governments of Indian Tribes, the 

10 governments of Freely Associated States, non11 profit organizations, or private sector entities to 

12 build resilience to climate change. 

13 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In appointing mem14 bers of the Council, the Chief Resilience Officer 

15 shall appoint— 

16 (i) 12 members who are employees of 

17 State, local, or territorial governments, the 

18 governments of Indian Tribes, or the gov19 ernments of Freely Associated States, of 

20 which— 

21 (I) not fewer than 2 shall be em22 ployees of a State government; 

23 (II) not fewer than 2 shall be 

24 employees of a unit of local govern25 ment; 


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1 (III) not fewer than 2 shall be 

2 employees of the government of an In3 dian Tribe; and 

4 (IV) not fewer than 2 shall be 

5 employees of a territorial government 

6 or the government of a Freely Associ7 ated State; and 

8 (ii) 8 members who represent non9 governmental organizations and the private 

10 sector, of which— 

11 (I) 3 shall represent nongovern12 mental organizations; 

13 (II) 3 shall represent the private 

14 sector; and 

15 (III) 2 shall represent academic 

16 institutions. 

17 (C) SELECTION.—To the maximum extent 

18 practicable, the Chief Resilience Officer shall 

19 seek to select members of the Council who— 

20 (i) possess firsthand, lived experience 

21 of climate vulnerability in the United 

22 States, including direct experience working 

23 with, or as members of, frontline commu24 nities; and 

25 (ii) represent a diversity of— 


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1 (I) perspectives; 

2 (II) demographics; 

3 (III) geographies; 

4 (IV) political affiliations; and 

5 (V) institution sizes, including 

6 representatives of both small and 

7 large units of government and busi8 nesses. 

9 (D) TERM.—Members appointed to the 

10 Council shall serve a single term of not more 

11 than 3 years, except that— 

12 (i) of the initial members appointed to 

13 the Council, the Chief Resilience Officer 

14 shall appoint— 

(I) 1 15 ⁄2 of the members to serve 

16 for a term of 18 months; and 

(II) 1 17 ⁄2 of the members to serve 

18 a term of 3 years; and 

19 (ii) the Chief Resilience Officer may 

20 extend the term of any member of the 

21 Council by a period of not more than 1 

22 year on a one-time basis, if the Chief Re23 silience Officer determines it necessary to 

24 support the work of the Council. 

25 (E) VACANCIES.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy in the 

2 Council shall be filled in the same manner 

3 in which the original selection was made. 

4 (ii) APPOINTMENT OF NEW MEM5 BERS.—After the expiration of the term 

6 for which a member of the Council is ap7 pointed, the member may continue to serve 

8 until a successor is appointed. 

9 (f) MEETINGS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall meet not 

11 less frequently than once every 180 days. 

(2) QUORUM.—3 12 ⁄4 of the members of the Coun13 cil shall constitute a quorum of the Council. 

14 (3) REMOTE PARTICIPATION.—A member of the 

15 Council may participate in a meeting of the Council 

16 through teleconference or similar means. 

17 (g) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—Section 14 of the 

18 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

19 apply to the Council. 

20 SEC. 5. NATIONAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE 

21 OPERATIONS REPORT. 

22 Not later than 16 months after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Chief Resil24 ience Officer and the Working Groups shall jointly submit 


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1 to the President and Congress a National Climate Adapta2 tion and Resilience Operations Report that includes— 

3 (1) a summary of the existing climate resilience 

4 operations of each represented agency that in5 cludes— 

6 (A) the roles and responsibilities of each 

7 represented agency in building national resil8 ience to the climate vulnerabilities described in 

9 the National Climate Assessment or other anal10 yses relevant to each represented agency; 

11 (B) the major findings and conclusions 

12 from climate adaptation plans or risk or vulner13 ability assessments prepared by each rep14 resented agency; 

15 (C) the mechanisms by which each rep16 resented agency supports the resilience efforts 

17 of non-Federal partners, such as by providing 

18 funding, resources, and technical assistance; 

19 and 

20 (D) an assessment of how each represented 

21 agency is working to ensure equitable adapta22 tion outcomes; and 

23 (2) a cross-agency analysis of the resilience op24 erations identified under paragraph (1) that— 

25 (A) identifies— 


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1 (i) the challenges, barriers, or dis2 incentives for the Federal Government to 

3 build resilience to climate change in the 

4 United States; 

5 (ii) the inconsistencies in goals, prior6 ities, or strategies underlying climate resil7 ience operations and policy across rep8 resented agencies that may inhibit effective 

9 interagency coordination to support na10 tional climate resilience, including— 

11 (I) the areas of necessary dif12 ferences in those goals, priorities, or 

13 strategies; and 

14 (II) the justifications for those 

15 inconsistencies; 

16 (iii) areas of overlap or redundant use 

17 of resources between or among represented 

18 agencies, including recommendations to 

19 eliminate any unnecessary or unintentional 

20 redundancy; 

21 (iv) gaps or deficiencies in resilience 

22 operations and policy that need to be ad23 dressed in the context of the Strategy; 

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1 cies to improve Federal Government resil2 ience operations and policy; and 

3 (vi) opportunities for greater collabo4 ration between the Federal Government 

5 and non-Federal partners to build local6 level adaptive capacity and resilience; and 

7 (B) includes a review and summary of all 

8 available Federal funding from represented 

9 agencies that is specifically allocated for climate 

10 adaptation activities to be undertaken by non11 Federal partners, including— 

12 (i) a summary of Federal funding 

13 available in appropriations accounts and 

14 subaccounts; 

15 (ii) disparities between the supply and 

16 demand for adaptation funding available to 

17 non-Federal partners; and 

18 (iii) existing mechanisms to ensure 

19 Federal funding allocations are being di20 rected to frontline communities with the 

21 greatest level of vulnerability. 

22 SEC. 6. NATIONAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE 

23 STRATEGY. 

24 (a) STRATEGY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Resil3 ience Officer and the Working Groups shall jointly 

4 submit to the President and Congress a National 

5 Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy. 

6 (2) UPDATES.—Not later than the date that is 

7 3 years after the date on which the Chief Resilience 

8 Officer and the Working Groups jointly submit the 

9 Strategy to the President and Congress under para10 graph (1), and every 3 years thereafter, the Chief 

11 Resilience Officer and the Working Groups shall 

12 jointly submit an updated version of the Strategy to 

13 the President and Congress to account for— 

14 (A) new science related to climate change, 

15 resilience, and adaptation; 

16 (B) relevant changes in Federal Govern17 ment structure, congressional authorities, or ap18 propriations; and 

19 (C) any other necessary improvements or 

20 changes identified by the Chief Resilience Offi21 cer. 

22 (3) PURPOSE AND SCOPE.—The Strategy shall 

23 describe strategies for the Federal Government, in 

24 partnership with non-Federal partners, to address 

25 the vulnerabilities of the United States to climate 


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1 change described in the National Climate Assess2 ment or other relevant analyses identified by the 

3 Chief Resilience Officer to ensure that— 

4 (A) the United States has an overarching 

5 strategic vision to respond to climate change 

6 that— 

7 (i) identifies national climate resil8 ience goals and guides national climate ad9 aptation efforts; 

10 (ii) facilitates the incorporation of the 

11 climate resilience goals identified under 

12 clause (i) into relevant national programs, 

13 operations, and strategies; 

14 (iii) develops proactive, long-term, sce15 nario-based strategies to plan for and re16 spond to current and future climate im17 pacts to human communities, natural re18 sources and public land, and infrastructure 

19 and other physical assets; 

20 (iv) emphasizes forward-thinking ad21 aptation strategies that seek to overcome 

22 repeated climate impacts to vulnerable sys23 tems and communities; 

24 (v) prioritizes climate resilience efforts 

25 to support the most vulnerable human 


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1 communities and the most urgent national 

2 resilience challenges, as determined by the 

3 Chief Resilience Officer in consultation 

4 with the Working Groups; 

5 (vi) avoids unnecessary redundancies 

6 and inefficiencies in the national planning 

7 for and response to climate change; and 

8 (vii) recognizes the vulnerability of 

9 natural systems to climate change and un10 derscores the importance of promoting eco11 system resilience to preserve the intrinsic 

12 value of nature and support ecosystem 

13 services relied on by human beings; 

14 (B) Federal investments in Federal and 

15 non-Federal infrastructure and assets promote 

16 climate resilience to the maximum extent prac17 ticable; and 

18 (C) the adaptive capacity and resilience of 

19 State, local, and territorial governments, gov20 ernments of Indian Tribes, and governments of 

21 Freely Associated States are maximized to the 

22 maximum extent practicable. 

23 (4) COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.—In devel24 oping the Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer and 


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1 Working Groups shall consider the recommendations 

2 of the Council. 

3 (5) INCLUSIONS.—In addition to the over4 arching strategies developed in accordance with 

5 paragraph (3), the Strategy shall include the fol6 lowing: 

7 (A) DIRECT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RE8 SPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.— 

9 (i) Strategies to address the limita10 tions, redundancies, and opportunities for 

11 improved resilience operations of the Fed12 eral Government that are identified in the 

13 Operations Report. 

14 (ii) Strategies to better prepare the 

15 United States for the adverse impacts ex16 perienced or anticipated to be experienced 

17 as a result of— 

18 (I) rapid-onset climate hazards; 

19 (II) slow-onset climate hazards; 

20 (III) compound climate hazards; 

21 and 

22 (IV) cascading climate hazards. 

23 (iii) 1 or more strategies to educate, 

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1 spect to topics related to climate change 

2 vulnerability and resilience to promote ef3 fective Federal resilience operations. 

4 (iv) An identification of opportunities 

5 and appropriate circumstances for rep6 resented agencies to better utilize natural 

7 infrastructure as an adaptation strategy. 

8 (B) SUPPORT OF NON-FEDERAL PART9 NERS’ RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.— 

10 (i) 1 or more strategies for rep11 resented agencies to better collaborate and 

12 work directly with non-Federal partners to 

13 increase the resilience and adaptive capac14 ity of State, local, and territorial govern15 ments, the governments of Indian Tribes, 

16 the governments of Freely Associated 

17 States, and other non-Federal partners. 

18 (ii) 1 or more strategies to educate 

19 non-Federal partners about the availability 

20 of Federal funding opportunities identified 

21 in the Operations Report under section 

22 5(2)(B), including the development of a 

23 centralized, cross-agency portal that allows 

24 non-Federal partners to easily identify and 

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1 portunities for the specific resilience needs 

2 of those non-Federal partners. 

3 (iii) 1 or more strategies to clarify, 

4 simplify, and harmonize the planning re5 quirements and application processes for 

6 State, local, and territorial governments, 

7 the governments of Indian Tribes, and the 

8 governments of Freely Associated States to 

9 access Federal funds for climate adapta10 tion and resilience efforts across rep11 resented agencies. 

12 (iv) 1 or more strategies to identify 

13 under-resourced communities and commu14 nities with low adaptive capacity and resil15 ience and to directly support those commu16 nities in applying for Federal funds for cli17 mate adaptation and resilience efforts. 

18 (v) 1 or more strategies to support 

19 the retreat or relocation of human commu20 nities in areas that are at increasing risk 

21 from climate change, in particular from 

22 slow-onset climate hazards, including strat23 egies to better manage equitable property 

24 buyouts, managed retreat, or relocation op25 tions for communities in those areas. 


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1 (C) CLIMATE INFORMATION.— 

2 (i) 1 or more strategies to increase 

3 the accessibility and utility of climate in4 formation that is produced, published, or 

5 hosted by the Federal Government, includ6 ing strategies to better collaborate across 

7 the represented agencies and work with 

8 non-Federal partners— 

9 (I) to provide the high-quality, lo10 cally relevant climate information and, 

11 where practicable and useful, trans12 parent and replicable downscaled cli13 mate projections that are necessary to 

14 support local-level adaptation efforts; 

15 (II) to establish improved meth16 ods of communicating climate risk 

17 and other relevant climate informa18 tion; 

19 (III) to better educate non-Fed20 eral partners about the available re21 sources for climate information; and 

22 (IV) to assist non-Federal part23 ners in selecting and using appro24 priate climate information or related 

25 tools. 


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1 (ii) Standardized procedures to syn2 thesize, align, and update climate informa3 tion produced, published, or hosted by the 

4 Federal Government to create arrays of 

5 standardized national, regional, and, where 

6 applicable, local climate information for 

7 adaptation planning. 

8 (iii) An assessment of the necessity 

9 and utility of developing or improving a 

10 centralized clearinghouse and dedicated 

11 Federal program for climate information to 

12 better provide climate information to end 

13 users. 

14 (iv) 1 or more strategies to develop 

15 the centralized clearinghouse or dedicated 

16 Federal program described in clause (iii), 

17 if such an effort is determined to be nec18 essary by the Chief Resilience Officer. 

19 (D) RESILIENCE METRICS AND INDICA20 TORS.—At the discretion of the Chief Resilience 

21 Officer, 1 or more strategies to develop or im22 prove resilience metrics and indicators to assist 

23 the Federal Government and non-Federal part24 ners— 


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1 (i) to the maximum extent practicable, 

2 to consistently measure the resilience of 

3 human communities, natural systems, and 

4 physical assets to climate change; 

5 (ii) to set baselines and targets to 

6 measurably increase climate resilience over 

7 time; and 

8 (iii) to better monitor and assess the 

9 effectiveness of various resilience-building 

10 activities after implementation. 

11 (E) FUNDING CLIMATE ADAPTATION.— 

12 (i) 1 or more strategies to help 

13 prioritize Federal funding expenditures for 

14 adaptation and resilience in consideration 

15 of the greatest vulnerabilities. 

16 (ii) 1 or more strategies to create fi17 nancial incentives for adaptation and resil18 ience efforts. 

19 (iii) A review of the cost-benefit anal20 ysis methodologies and discount rates used 

21 by represented agencies for all Federal in22 vestments, including a review of the impli23 cations of those methodologies and dis24 count rates for climate adaptation and re25 silience. 


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1 (iv) Recommendations to improve the 

2 methodologies described in clause (iii) to 

3 reflect— 

4 (I) the added value of resilience 

5 planning and construction methodolo6 gies over the lifetime of a project or 

7 unit of infrastructure; 

8 (II) the benefits of natural infra9 structure investments; 

10 (III) the potential value of re11 treat and relocation as adaptation so12 lutions; and 

13 (IV) to what extent existing cost14 benefit analysis methodologies lead to 

15 inequitable outcomes or outcomes that 

16 increase climate vulnerability. 

17 (F) SOCIAL EQUITY.— 

18 (i) Strategies to ensure that the costs, 

19 benefits, and risks resulting from climate 

20 resilience efforts, including funding alloca21 tions, the methodologies for determining 

22 funding allocations, and existing and fu23 ture policies, are equitably distributed 

24 among sectors of society, types of commu25 nities, and geographies. 


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1 (ii) Strategies to ensure that federally 

2 supported climate resilience efforts are— 

3 (I) designed in consultation with 

4 the communities that will be affected 

5 by those efforts; and 

6 (II) centered on the needs of 

7 those communities. 

8 (iii) To the greatest extent prac9 ticable, 1 or more strategies to integrate 

10 social equity considerations across all as11 pects of the Strategy. 

12 (b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Concurrently with the 

13 Strategy and each update of the Strategy, the Chief Resil14 ience Officer and the Working Groups shall jointly submit 

15 to the President and Congress an Implementation Plan 

16 that describes how represented agencies intend to carry 

17 out the Strategy, which shall include— 

18 (1) a description of the roles and responsibil19 ities of each represented agency in carrying out each 

20 element of the Strategy described in subsection (a); 

21 (2) a plan to enter into such interagency agree22 ments between and among represented agencies, 

23 partnerships with non-Federal entities, and other 

24 agreements for coordination between and among the 

25 Federal Government and non-Federal partners as 


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1 may be necessary to facilitate a unified national plan 

2 to build resilience to climate change; and 

3 (3) the use of any relevant metrics and indica4 tors described in subsection (a)(5)(D). 

5 (c) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 2 years following 

6 the completion of each Strategy under subsection (a)(1) 

7 and each Implementation Plan, the Comptroller General 

8 of the United States shall submit to the President and 

9 Congress a report that assesses— 

10 (1) the extent to which the Strategy and Imple11 mentation Plan have been carried out by the Federal 

12 Government, which shall be judged, as appropriate, 

13 based on any metrics and indicators developed to 

14 track progress in increasing resilience under sub15 section (a)(5)(D); 

16 (2) the effectiveness of the actions taken under 

17 the Strategy and Implementation Plan and the re18 sulting outcomes of those actions in building na19 tional resilience to climate change; and 

20 (3) the progress made towards the development 

21 of an effective whole-of-government effort to build 

22 resilience to the climate vulnerabilities described in 

23 the National Climate Assessment or other relevant 

24 analyses identified by the Chief Resilience Officer, 


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1 including recommendations for additional steps nec2 essary to reach this goal. 

3 (d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Chief Resilience Officer 

4 shall— 

5 (1) publish draft and final versions of the 

6 Strategy and Implementation Plan, and each update 

7 to the Strategy and Implementation Plan; and 

8 (2) through publication in the Federal Register, 

9 solicit comments from the public on the draft 

10 versions of the documents published under para11 graph (1) for a period of 60 days, which the Chief 

12 Resilience Officer and the Working Groups shall 

13 consider before submitting final versions of the 

14 Strategy and Implementation Plan, and updates to 

15 the Strategy and Implementation Plan, to the Presi16 dent and Congress. 

17 SEC. 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

18 (a) SUNSET.—This Act ceases to be effective on the 

19 date that is the earlier of— 

20 (1) the date on which the Comptroller General 

21 of the United States submits to the President and 

22 Congress the third assessment report under section 

23 6(c); and 

24 (2) the date that is the last day of fiscal year 

25 2032. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Executive Office of 

3 the President to carry out this Act $2,000,000 for each 

4 of fiscal years 2022 through the fiscal year in which this 

5 Act ceases to be effective under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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