[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3076 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3076
To establish a national commission on the Federal response to the 2017
natural disasters in Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 14, 2018
Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Ms. Warren, Ms. Harris, Mr. Markey, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Nelson) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a national commission on the Federal response to the 2017
natural disasters in Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Commission of the Federal
Response to Natural Disasters in Puerto Rico Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a National Commission of
the Federal Response to Natural Disasters in Puerto Rico (in this Act
referred to as the ``Commission'').
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Commission is to examine the
Federal preparedness, response, and recovery to the 2017 natural
disasters in Puerto Rico, including the Federal Government's
consideration of the following aspects:
(1) Federal preparedness activities prior to Hurricanes
Irma and Maria, including Federal plans for the 2017 hurricane
season and decision-making regarding prepositioning contracts
and supplies.
(2) Federal response activities during Hurricanes Irma and
Maria, including Federal coordination, distribution of
assistance, and contracting.
(3) Federal recovery activities after Hurricanes Irma and
Maria, including Federal efforts to obtain accurate accounting
of the death toll, damage impacts, and long-term rebuilding
assistance for survivors.
SEC. 3. CONSIDERATIONS.
To carry out its examination, the Commission shall take into
consideration the Federal preparedness, response, and recovery efforts
in Puerto Rico as compared to other jurisdictions that were impacted by
the 2017 hurricane season, as well as the following issues:
(1) The impact and destruction of Hurricane Irma, Hurricane
Maria, the resulting landslides, and flooding.
(2) The adequacy of the death toll methodology and
processes, and whether previous death counts and mortality
estimates slowed or otherwise affected Federal response
efforts.
(3) The Federal emergency and contingency plans in place
before the 2017 hurricane season.
(4) The Federal preparedness guidelines issued ahead of the
2017 hurricane season.
(5) The vulnerability of Puerto Rico's economic situation
on preparedness.
(6) The implications of Puerto Rico's reliance on imported
oil for power generation.
(7) The adequacy of the telecommunications network in
Puerto Rico.
(8) The capacity of the local government and Federal
Government to quickly mobilize and respond to disasters and
emergencies in Puerto Rico.
(9) The impact of the uncertainty in long-term Federal
health care funding on medical and emergency readiness.
(10) The implication of Puerto Rico's treatment under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and its impact on readiness.
(11) The adequacy of available data and its effects on the
Federal response.
(12) The geographic, ecological, and infrastructure issues
that could have affected response efforts.
(13) A comparison of response efforts in other United
States jurisdictions vis-a-vis efforts in Puerto Rico for the
2017 hurricane season.
SEC. 4. COMPOSITION AND COMPENSATION OF COMMISSION.
(a) Members.--The Commission shall be composed of 8 members, of
whom 2 shall be appointed by Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2
shall be appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate, 2 shall be
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and 2
shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.
(b) Chair and Vice Chair.--The Commission, by majority vote, shall
choose a Chair and Vice Chair.
(c) Qualifications and Restrictions.--
(1) In general.--Individuals shall be selected for
appointment on the Commission solely on the basis of their
professional qualifications, experience, and expertise in
relevant fields, including disaster response and emergency
preparedness.
(2) Restrictions.--Individuals may not be an officer or
employee of the Federal Government or any State, or a current
elected official of the local government.
(d) Appointment.--
(1) In general.--All members of the Commission shall be
appointed not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) Presidential authority.--The President shall have no
authority to terminate the appointment of any member of the
commission.
(e) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its
powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which the original
appointment was made not later than 60 days after the date on which the
vacancy occurs.
(f) Compensation.--
(1) In general.--Members of the Commission may be
compensated for travel expenses necessary to conduct the work
and services for the Commission.
(2) Travel expenditures.--Members shall be allowed travel
expenditures, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the
same manner as persons employed intermittently in the
Government service are allowed expenses under section 5703 of
title 5, United States Code.
(g) Staff.--
(1) In general.--With a majority vote of the Commission,
members may recruit personnel to assist with the Commission's
work, including the creation of the report.
(2) Personnel.--Any such personnel may include private
citizens, employees or detailees of the Federal Government, or
employees of the territorial government.
SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Quorum.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date on
which all members of the Commission have been appointed, the
Commission shall meet and begin the operations of the
Commission.
(2) Subsequent meetings.--Each subsequent meeting shall
occur upon the call of the Chair or a majority of its members.
(3) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold
meetings.
(b) Public Meetings.--The Commission shall host not less than 10
public meetings in locations that are accessible to individuals of
every municipality with elected officials, local community leaders,
academic institutions, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and
individuals in Puerto Rico to the extent appropriate.
(c) Written Input.--The Commission shall allow participants both in
Puerto Rico and the mainland to provide written input to be included in
an appendix of the final report.
(d) Hearings.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may hold hearings, take
testimony, and receive evidence for its investigation.
(2) Protection of information.--Any public hearings of the
Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the
protection of information provided to or developed for or by
the Commission as required by any applicable statute,
regulation, or Executive order.
(e) Subpoenas.--The Commission may issue subpoenas requiring the
attendance and testimony of witnesses, and requiring the submission of
data, books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents,
electronic files, metadata, tapes, and materials of any nature relating
to any matter under investigation.
(f) Information From Agencies.--The Commission may secure directly
from any executive department, bureau, agency, board, commission,
office, independent establishment, or instrumentality of the
Government, information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics.
(g) GSA Services.--The Administrator of General Services shall
provide to the Commission on a reimbursable basis administrative
support and other services for the performance of the Commission's
functions.
(h) Federal Assistance From Other Agencies.--Departments and
agencies of the United States may provide to the Commission such
services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support services as they
may determine advisable and as may be authorized by law.
(i) Postal Services.--The Commission may use the United States
mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other
departments and agencies of the United States.
SEC. 6. REPORTS OF COMMISSION.
(a) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the President and
Congress a final report on the causes and circumstances surrounding the
natural disasters in Puerto Rico, including preparedness and immediate
response, and providing recommendations to guard against future natural
disasters outside of the continental United States, which shall contain
findings, conclusions, and recommendations as have been agreed to by a
majority of Commission members and shall--
(1) be made available to the public in the English and
Spanish languages;
(2) include findings for the issues described in section 2;
and
(3) include--
(A) the number and nature of complaints filed to
the Inspectors General for Federal agencies responsible
in the aftermath of the 2017 natural disasters;
(B) details on Federal procurement and acquisition
practices in the aftermath of the 2017 natural
disasters;
(C) details on disaster mitigation protocols given
cultural and language differences; and
(D) disaster response processes taking into account
demographics (age, race, gender, income) and the impact
on segments of the population with disabilities.
(b) Appendix.--An appendix to the final report shall include
written input of participants in Puerto Rico and the mainland.
(c) Interim Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall provide to Congress an
interim report.
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
The Commission shall terminate on the day that is 90 days after the
date on which the final report is submitted.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 to carry out this
Act, to remain available until expended.
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