[House Report 116-85] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] 116th Congress } { Report HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session } { 116-85 ====================================================================== TO REQUIRE A REPORT ON THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE COAST GUARD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES _______ May 24, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed _______ Mr. DeFazio, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, submitted the following R E P O R T [To accompany H.R. 1322] [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 1322) to require a report on the effects of climate change on the Coast Guard, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. CONTENTS Page Purpose of Legislation........................................... 2 Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2 Hearings......................................................... 2 Legislative History and Consideration............................ 2 Committee Votes.................................................. 3 Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4 New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 4 Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4 Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5 Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5 Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits....................................................... 5 Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5 Preemption Clarification......................................... 5 Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 6 Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6 Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6 Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 6 PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION The purpose of H.R. 1322 is to direct the Coast guard to submit a report on vulnerabilities of Coast Guard installations and mission capabilities resulting from the impacts of climate change over the next 20 years. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION The impacts of change on near coastal areas is a major concern for the Coast Guard, which has hundreds of properties and units located along the water's edge. Some of these facilities may be directly affected by the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise, storm surge, high winds, and severe flooding. It is important for the Coast Guard and Congress to understand the Coast Guard's climate change vulnerabilities. HEARINGS Pursuant to section 103(i) of H. Res. 6, 116th Cong. (2019), the Full Committee held the following hearing to develop or consider H.R. 1322: On February 26, 2018, the Committee held a hearing entitled ``Examining How Federal Infrastructure Policy Could Help Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change.'' Witnesses included: Dr. Daniel Sperling, Board Member, California Air Resources Board; Mr. Ben Prochazka, Vice President, Electrification Coalition; Ms. Vicki Arroyo, Executive Director, Georgetown Climate Center; Mr. James M. Proctor, II, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, McWane, Inc., testifying on behalf of the Build Strong Coalition; Mr. Kevin DeGood, Director, Infrastructure Policy, Center for American Progress; Ms. Lynn Scarlett, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, The Nature Conservancy; and Dr. Whitley J. Saumweber, Director, Stephenson Ocean Security (SOS) Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies. Topics discussed included impacts of climate change on Coast Guard facilities and operations in the Arctic. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION H.R. 1322 was introduced in the House on February 22, 2019, by Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Mr. Anthony Brown of Maryland, and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Within the Committee, H.R. 1322 was referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1322 on March 27, 2019. The Full Committee met in open session to consider H.R. 1322 on March 27, 2019, and ordered the measure to be reported favorably to the House without amendment by voice vote, with a quorum present. The Committee took the following actions: An amendment offered by Mr. Perry, (#1); At the end of section 1, add a new subsection entitled ``(d) Use of Products From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.''; was NOT AGREED TO by a record vote of 22 yeas and 33 nays (Roll Call Vote No. 1). COMMITTEE VOTES Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires each committee report to include the total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for and against. An amendment offered by Mr. Perry, (#1); At the end of section 1, add a new subsection entitled ``(d) Use of Products From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.''; was NOT AGREED TO by a record vote of 22 yeas and 33 nays (Roll Call Vote No. 1). The vote was as follows: ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS ROLL CALL VOTE NO. 1 On agreeing to amendment #1 offered by Mr. Perry to H.R. 1322. Not Agreed to: 22 yeas and 33 nays. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. DeFazio, Chair.......................... ....... X Mr. Graves of MO, Ranking X ....... Member. Ms. Norton.................................. ....... X Mr. Young..................... X ....... Ms. Johnson of TX........................... ....... X Mr. Crawford.................. X ....... Mr. Cummings................................ ....... ....... Mr. Gibbs..................... X ....... Mr. Larsen of WA............................ ....... X Mr. Webster of FL............. X ....... Mrs. Napolitano............................. ....... X Mr. Massie.................... X ....... Mr. Lipinski................................ ....... X Mr. Meadows................... X ....... Mr. Cohen................................... ....... X Mr. Perry..................... X ....... Mr. Sires................................... ....... X Mr. Davis of IL............... ....... ....... Mr. Garamendi............................... ....... ....... Mr. Woodall................... ....... ....... Mr. Johnson of GA........................... ....... ....... Mr. Katko..................... ....... X Mr. Carson of IN............................ ....... X Mr. Babin..................... X ....... Ms. Titus................................... ....... X Mr. Graves of LA.............. ....... X Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of NY.............. ....... X Mr. Rouzer.................... X ....... Mr. Huffman................................. ....... ....... Mr. Bost...................... X ....... Ms. Brownley of CA.......................... ....... X Mr. Weber of TX............... X ....... Ms. Wilson of FL............................ ....... X Mr. LaMalfa................... X ....... Mr. Payne................................... ....... ....... Mr. Westerman................. X ....... Mr. Lowenthal............................... ....... X Mr. Smucker................... X ....... Mr. DeSaulnier.............................. ....... X Mr. Mitchell.................. X ....... Ms. Plaskett................................ ....... ....... Mr. Mast...................... ....... X Mr. Lynch................................... ....... ....... Mr. Gallagher................. ....... X Mr. Carbajal................................ ....... X Mr. Palmer.................... X ....... Mr. Brown of MD............................. ....... X Mr. Fitzpatrick............... ....... ....... Mr. Espaillat............................... ....... X Miss Gonzalez-Colon of PR..... ....... ....... Mr. Malinowski.............................. ....... X Mr. Balderson................. X ....... Mr. Stanton................................. ....... X Mr. Spano..................... X ....... Ms. Mucarsel-Powell......................... ....... X Mr. Stauber................... X ....... Mrs. Fletcher............................... ....... ....... Mrs. Miller................... X ....... Mr. Allred.................................. ....... X Mr. Pence..................... X ....... Ms. Davids of KS............................ ....... X Ms. Finkenauer.............................. ....... X Mr. Garcia of IL............................ ....... X Mr. Delgado................................. ....... X Mr. Pappas.................................. ....... X Mrs. Craig.................................. ....... X Mr. Rouda................................... ....... X Vote Total:................... 22 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in this report. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included in this report. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1322 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, April 25, 2019. Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1322, a bill to require a report on the effects of climate change on the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. Sincerely, Keith Hall, Director. Enclosure. [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] H.R. 1322 would require the Coast Guard (USCG) to report to the Congress, within one year, on the agency's potential vulnerability to climate-related hazards. For example, the bill would require the USCG to identify the 10 installations that are most vulnerable to risks of rising sea tides, increased flooding, droughts, desertification, wildfires, thawing permafrost, or any other risks identified by the Commandant. The bill would require the USCG to report on potential means of mitigating such risks to those installations and, more broadly, to discuss how climate-related changes affect the agency's operations, particularly with regard to humanitarian assistance. Using information from the USCG, CBO expects that implementing H.R. 1322 would not significantly affect the federal budget. Based on the historical cost of similar efforts, CBO estimates that any change in federal spending to complete the required report--which would be subject to appropriation--would not exceed $500,000. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goal and objective of this legislation is to determine the Coast Guard installations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change over the next 20 years. DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision of H.R. 1322 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another federal program, a program that was included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule XXI. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Public Law 104-4). PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, or tribal law. The Committee finds that H.R. 1322 does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law. ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1). SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION Sec. 1. Report on effects of climate change on Coast Guard This section requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard to submit a report to Congress on the vulnerabilities of Coast Guard installations and requirements resulting from climate change over the next 20 years. Section 335 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-91) includes a similar requirement for the four other Armed Forces. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED As reported by the Committee, H.R. 1322 makes no changes in existing law. [all]