S. 5035

119 S5035 IS: National Coordination on Resilience for Security Act of 2026
 U.S. Senate
 2026-07-20
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 5035  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   July 20, 2026   Mr. Coons  (for himself,  Ms. Murkowski , and  Mr. Bennet ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs    A BILL
To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Federal Government to produce a national resilience strategy, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   National Coordination on Resilience for Security Act of 2026  .
2.
Coordination on resilience
(a)
Interagency coordination
The National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating section 101A as section 101B; and
(2)
by inserting after section 101 the following new section 101A:
101A.
National resilience coordination
(a)
Chief resilience officer
The President shall designate an employee of the National Security Council to serve as the Chief Resilience Officer, who shall be responsible for the coordination of the interagency process regarding the resilience of the United States.
(b)
Duties
The Chief Resilience Officer shall coordinate with the departments and agencies of the Federal Government to—
(1)
build resilience to natural hazards in the United States based on the best available science, in collaboration with existing Federal initiatives and interagency resilience efforts;
(2)
bolster the short- and long-term national security posture of the United States by increasing resilience in the United States and abroad with regard to military installations of the United States, in collaboration with existing Federal initiatives and interagency resilience efforts;
(3)
analyze the extent to which the Federal Government considers, prioritizes, or promotes, through Federal investments and expenditures, resilience; and
(4)
improve the efficiency of Federal investments and expenditures to maximize resilience and minimize waste, fraud, and abuse.
(c)
Interagency working groups
(1)
Requirement
In carrying out subsection (b), the Chief Resilience Officer shall establish one or more interagency working groups to facilitate coordination with respect to resilience and the development of the National Resilience Strategy under subsection (e).
(2)
Request
The Chief Resilience Officer shall submit, in writing, a request to the head of any represented agency the Chief Resilience Officer determines appropriate for the participation of that agency in a working group. The head shall approve such request in writing by not later than 60 days after receipt of the request.
(3)
Support
The head of each represented agency participating in a working group shall ensure that the working group has the personnel and resources necessary as determined by the head, in consultation with the Chief Resilience Officer, including with respect to—
(A)
detailing employees of the agency to the working group to perform such functions as the Chief Resilience Officer may assign; and
(B)
at the request of the Chief Resilience Officer, carrying out studies for the working group.
(4)
Executive secretary detailees
The Chief Resilience Officer, in consultation with the heads of the represented agencies, shall designate one career employee of a represented agency to be detailed to serve as the Executive Secretary for each working group.
(5)
Status of detailees
An employee of a represented agency detailed under paragraph (3) or (4) shall remain an employee of the represented agency.
(d)
Partners council on resilience
(1)
Establishment
There is established a council, to be known as the  Partners Council on Resilience .
(2)
Mission and function
The Council shall work to improve the resilience operations of the Federal Government by providing recommendations to the Chief Resilience Officer, including those recommendations contained in the report under paragraph (3), that identify how the Federal Government can better support non-Federal partners with resources, technical assistance, improved policies, and other assistance to help communities, specifically rural and underresourced communities, build resilience to natural hazards.
(3)
Report
Not later than 16 months after the date of enactment of this section, and every 3 years thereafter, the Council, acting through the Chief Resilience Officer, shall submit to Congress and the President a report that includes—
(A)
an analysis of the deficiencies or gaps in the resilience operations of the Federal Government that reduce or fail to increase the capacity of non-Federal partners to adapt to natural hazards;
(B)
an identification of the resources, including Federal funding and other expenditures, necessary for non-Federal partners to adequately adapt to natural hazards; and
(C)
recommendations with respect to how the Federal Government could better support efforts by non-Federal partners to expeditiously address vulnerabilities associated with, and build resilience against, natural hazards over time.
(4)
Chair and vice chair
The Chief Resilience Officer shall—
(A)
serve as chairperson of the Council; and
(B)
appoint a vice chairperson from among the members of the Council appointed pursuant to paragraph (5), who shall perform the duties of the chairperson in the absence of the Chief Resilience Officer.
(5)
Membership
(A)
In general
In addition to the Chief Resilience Officer, the Council shall consist of not more than 24 members appointed by the Chief Resilience Officer.
(B)
Appointment
(i)
In general
The Chief Resilience Officer shall appoint members of the Council with relevant experiences to inform how the Federal Government can better support non-Federal partners build resilience to changing environmental conditions.
(ii)
Non-federal partner members
The Chief Resilience Officer shall ensure that 20 members of the Council represent non-Federal entities by appointing members as follows:
(I)
12 members shall be appointed who are employees of State governments, local governments, territorial governments, the governments of Indian Tribes, or the governments of Freely Associated States.
(II)
8 members shall be appointed who represent nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.
(iii)
Represented agency members
The Chief Resilience Officer may appoint not more than 4 representatives of represented agencies to the Council whom the Chief Resilience Officer determines would promote dialogue useful for implementation of the duties of the Council.
(iv)
Selection
To the extent practicable, the Chief Resilience Officer shall seek to appoint members of the Council who—
(I)
possess first-hand, lived experience of environmental or national security vulnerability to natural hazards, including direct experience working with, or as members of, communities, military installations, or other infrastructure; and
(II)
represent a diversity of—
(aa)
perspectives;
(bb)
demographics;
(cc)
geographies;
(dd)
political affiliations; and
(ee)
institution sizes, including representatives of both small and large units of government and businesses.
(v)
Term
Members appointed to the Council shall serve a single term of not more than 3 years, except that the Chief Resilience Officer may extend the term of any member of the Council by a period of not more than 1 year on a one-time basis, if the Chief Resilience Officer determines it necessary to support the work of the Council.
(vi)
Vacancies
A vacancy in the Council shall be filled by not later than 30 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs in the same manner in which the original selection was made.
(6)
Applicability of faca
Section 1013 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Council.
(e)
National resilience strategy
(1)
Strategy
(A)
In general
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Chief Resilience Officer shall submit to the President and Congress a strategy on the resilience of the United States, to be known as the  National Resilience Strategy .
(B)
Updates
Not later than the date that is 3 years after the date on which the Chief Resilience Officer submits to the President and Congress the first Strategy, and every 3 years thereafter, the Chief Resilience Officer shall submit an updated version of the Strategy to the President and Congress to account for—
(i)
evolving science related to natural hazards, as well as resilience to those hazards;
(ii)
relevant changes in Federal Government structure, programs, congressional authorities, or appropriations that were recommended or otherwise discussed by the Chief Resilience Officer or the working group; and
(iii)
additional recommendations or information identified by the Chief Resilience Officer.
(C)
Purpose and scope
The Strategy shall describe strategies for the Federal Government, in partnership with non-Federal partners, to address the vulnerabilities of the United States (as described in the best available science) to natural hazards to ensure that the United States—
(i)
through represented agencies—
(I)
develops proactive resilience strategies to plan for and respond to natural hazards threatening communities, natural resources and public land, infrastructure generally and other physical assets, including critical infrastructure, and including with respect to cascading effects on critical energy, transportation, communication, and supply chain systems;
(II)
emphasizes forward-thinking adaptation strategies, including predisaster mitigation, that seek to overcome repeated effects to vulnerable systems, military installations, and communities;
(III)
prioritizes resilience efforts to support the most vulnerable communities and the most urgent national resilience challenges, as determined by the Chief Resilience Officer in consultation with the working groups;
(IV)
identifies unnecessary redundancies and inefficiencies in national adaptation and resilience planning and response, including with regard to Federal funding and other expenditures; and
(V)
recognizes the vulnerability of natural systems to changing environmental conditions and that resilience strategies promote ecosystem resilience to the extent practicable;
(ii)
through Federal investments in Federal and non-Federal infrastructure and assets, promotes resilience and an improved national security posture to the extent practicable, including through the use of the information described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (D); and
(iii)
is working to improve the adaptive capacity and resilience of State governments, local governments, territorial governments, the governments of Indian Tribes, and governments of Freely Associated States, to the extent practicable.
(D)
Inclusions
The Strategy shall include the following:
(i)
Information relating to the support of the resilience of non-Federal partners, including—
(I)
best practices for represented agencies to better collaborate and work directly with non-Federal partners as determined by the Chief Resilience Officer, to increase resilience, particularly if such practices were recommended by the Council;
(II)
clarifying, simplifying, and harmonizing the planning requirements, application processes, and permitting processes across represented agencies for such non-Federal partners to access Federal funds for resilience efforts;
(III)
identifying opportunities for technical assistance for non-Federal partners, and rural and underresourced communities (as determined by the Chief Resilience Officer), in applying for Federal funds for resilience efforts; and
(IV)
analyzing the need for and opportunities to support the retreat or relocation of communities in the United States that are at increasing risk from natural hazards.
(ii)
At the discretion of the Chief Resilience Officer, information relating to developing or improving Federal metrics and indicators to assist the Federal Government and non-Federal partners—
(I)
to the extent practicable, to consistently measure the resilience of communities, natural systems, and physical assets to current and future natural hazards;
(II)
to set baselines and targets to measurably increase resilience over time and measure progress towards goals outlined in the Strategy; and
(III)
to better monitor and assess the effectiveness of Federal investments and expenditures related to resilience, and various resilience-building activities after implementation, in coordination with the information described in clause (iii)(II).
(iii)
Information relating to Federal funding and other expenditures, including—
(I)
strategies for helping to prioritize Federal funding expenditures for adaptation and resilience in consideration of the greatest vulnerabilities, including national security vulnerabilities;
(II)
a review of—
(aa)
Federal funding and other expenditures from represented agencies that is specifically allocated for resilience activities, including—
(AA)
a summary of Federal funding available in appropriations accounts and subaccounts;
(BB)
disparities between the supply and demand for resilience funding, including funding available to non-Federal partners; and
(CC)
existing mechanisms to ensure Federal funding allocations are being directed to non-Federal partners with the greatest level of vulnerability; and
(bb)
the cost-benefit analysis of the methodologies and discount rates used by represented agencies for Federal investments and expenditures related to resilience, as determined by the Chief Resilience Officer, including a review of the implications of those methodologies and discount rates for resilience; and
(III)
recommendations to improve the programs and methodologies described in subclause (II) to reflect—
(aa)
the added value of predisaster mitigation, resilience planning, and construction methodologies over the lifetime of a project or unit of infrastructure;
(bb)
the benefits of natural infrastructure investments and nature-based solutions;
(cc)
the potential value of retreat and relocation as adaptation solutions; and
(dd)
to what extent existing cost-benefit analysis methodologies lead to inequitable outcomes or outcomes that increase vulnerability natural hazards.
(2)
Implementation plan
Within the Strategy and within each update of the Strategy, the Chief Resilience Officer shall include an implementation plan that describes how the head of each represented agency intends to carry out the Strategy, including—
(A)
a description of the roles and responsibilities of the head of each represented agency in carrying out each element of the Strategy described in paragraph (1), including how that element affects existing resilience activities;
(B)
a plan to enter into such interagency agreements between and among represented agencies, partnerships with non-Federal entities, and other agreements for coordination between and among the Federal Government and non-Federal partners as may be necessary to facilitate a unified national plan to build resilience;
(C)
how represented agencies plan to incorporate the recommendations described in paragraph (1)(D)(iii)(III);
(D)
how represented agencies will leverage the clearinghouse under subsection (f) to share resilience, predisaster mitigation best practices, information, projects, technologies, and approaches; and
(E)
how represented agencies plan to address inconsistencies in goals, priorities, or strategies underlying resilience operations and policy across represented agencies that may inhibit effective interagency coordination to support national resilience, including—
(i)
areas of overlap or redundant use of resources, including Federal investments and other expenditures, between or among represented agencies, including recommendations to eliminate any unnecessary or unintentional redundancy;
(ii)
opportunities for greater collaboration between or among represented agencies to improve Federal Government resilience operations, policy, and use of Federal investments and expenditures; and
(iii)
opportunities for greater collaboration between represented agencies and non-Federal partners to build local-level adaptive capacity and resilience.
(3)
Assessment
Not later than 2 years after the completion of each Strategy and each implementation plan, and including each update to the Strategy and implementation plan, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the President and Congress a report that assesses—
(A)
the extent to which the implementation plan has been carried out by the Federal Government, which shall be judged, as appropriate, based on any metrics and indicators developed to track progress in increasing resilience under paragraph (1)(D)(iii);
(B)
the effectiveness of the actions taken under the Strategy and implementation plan and the resulting outcomes of those actions in building national adaptation and resilience planning and response; and
(C)
the progress made toward the development of an effective whole-of-government effort to build resilience to the vulnerabilities described in the best available science, including recommendations for additional steps necessary to build such resilience.
(4)
Public comment
The Chief Resilience Officer shall—
(A)
publish draft and final versions of the Strategy and implementation plan and each update to the Strategy and implementation plan; and
(B)
through publication in the Federal Register, solicit comments from the public on the draft versions of the documents published under subparagraph (A) for a period of 60 days, which the Chief Resilience Officer shall consider before submitting final versions of the Strategy and implementation plan, and updates to the Strategy and implementation plan, to the President and Congress.
(f)
Adaptation and resilience clearinghouse
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Chief Resilience Officer shall establish an adaptation and resilience clearinghouse to provide information that—
(1)
increases the accessibility and utility of adaptation and resilience data and information produced, published, or hosted by the Federal Government, including the work of the working groups and the Council; and
(2)
increases the accessibility and utility of technical assistance to non-Federal partners on adaptation and resilience planning and response, including strategies to better collaborate across the represented agencies and work with non-Federal partners to—
(A)
provide locally relevant resilience and adaptation information and, where practicable and useful, downscaled projections that are necessary to support local-level adaptation efforts;
(B)
establish improved methods of communicating resilience and adaptation risk and other information;
(C)
better educate non-Federal partners about the available resources;
(D)
streamline information about Federal adaptation and resilience resources in a single centralized location if determined necessary by the Chief Resilience Officer;
(E)
assist non-Federal partners in selecting and using appropriate information or related tools;
(F)
work with non-Federal partners to access existing Federal grant programs related to resilience and adaptation; and
(G)
standardize procedures to synthesize, align, and update adaptation and resilience information produced, published, or hosted by the Federal Government to create standardized national, regional, and, where applicable, local information for adaptation planning.
(g)
Sunset
The requirements under this section shall terminate on the date that is the earlier of—
(1)
the date on which the Comptroller General of the United States submits to the President and Congress the third assessment report under subsection (e)(3); and
(2)
the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this section.
(h)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Best available science
The term  best available science  means science that—
(A)
maximizes the quality, objectivity, and integrity of information, including statistical information;
(B)
uses peer-reviewed and publicly available data;
(C)
clearly documents and communicates risks and uncertainties in the scientific basis for any project;
(D)
utilizes methodologies that are capable of being substantially reproduced; and
(E)
incorporates, to the extent practicable, indigenous knowledge (as defined in section 6101.4(h) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on June 10, 2026).
(2)
Council
The term  Council  means the Partners Council on Resilience established under subsection (d).
(3)
Federal agency
The term  Federal agency  has the meaning given the term  Executive agency  in section 105 of title 5, United States Code.
(4)
Freely associated state
The term  Freely Associated State  has the meaning given the term in section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1411(b)(1)(C) ).
(5)
Implementation plan
The term  implementation plan  means the implementation plan jointly developed by the Chief Resilience Officer and the working groups.
(6)
Indian tribe
The term  Indian Tribe  has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ).
(7)
Natural hazard
The term  natural hazard  includes any risk due to significant—
(A)
shifts in ecoregion or biome geography and phenology, as applicable; and
(B)
changes to other features of the environment, including—
(i)
sea level rise;
(ii)
desertification;
(iii)
biodiversity loss or the alteration of or shift in habitat range of individual species or entire biomes;
(iv)
increases and decreases in temperature;
(v)
ocean acidification;
(vi)
saltwater intrusion;
(vii)
soil salinization;
(viii)
drought and water scarcity;
(ix)
reduced snow pack;
(x)
sea ice retreat;
(xi)
glacial ice retreat;
(xii)
permafrost thaw;
(xiii)
shifts in precipitation;
(xiv)
coastal and river bank erosion; and
(xv)
wildfire.
(8)
Non-federal partners
The term  non-Federal partners  means State governments, local governments, territorial governments, the governments of Indian Tribes, the governments of Freely Associated States, nonprofit organizations, and private sector entities.
(9)
Represented agency
The term  represented agency  means each Federal agency from which the Chief Resilience Officer appoints a member to a working group.
(10)
Resilience
The term  resilience  means the capability to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt to, and recover from, extreme weather, or from anticipated or unanticipated natural hazards, that do (or have the potential to) adversely affect the national security of the United States or of allies and partners of the United States.
(11)
Strategy
The term  Strategy  means the National Resilience Strategy under subsection (e).
(12)
Territorial government
The term  territorial government  means the government of a territory (as defined in section 602(g) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 802(g) )).
(13)
Working group
The term  working group  means a working group established under subsection (c).
 .
(b)
Clerical amendment
The table of contents for the National Security Act of 1947 is amended by striking the item relating to section 101A and inserting the following:
Sec. 101A. National resilience coordination.
Sec. 101B. Joint Intelligence Community Council.
  .
(c)
Appointment
The President shall appoint the first Chief Resilience Officer under section 101A of the National Security Act of 1947, as added by subsection (a), by not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.