U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced Tuesday a bill that requires federal agencies to consider disaster resilience when investing in and managing federal property and assets.
The legislators noted the Disaster Resiliency Planning Act stems from a 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which determined that over the past five years, the government spent billions of dollars to repair federal property damage resulting from natural disasters.
According to the GAO report, while some government agencies have taken steps to incorporate disaster resilience, many have not taken action to mitigate the effects of extreme weather.
“Natural disasters, such as extreme flooding and wildfires, are only worsening due to climate change,” Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “As the largest property owner in the nation, the federal government must take action to mitigate the physical and financial damage caused by extreme weather events.”
Peters said the bill would ensure federal agencies plan for natural disaster impacts when maintaining, updating, and purchasing property – using taxpayer dollars as responsibly as possible.
“Florida is resilient because we prepare,” Scott said. “We invested in pre-disaster mitigation and saw big returns for Florida families and our communities after each storm. Preparedness saves dollars and lives. It’s time to bring this commonsense approach to the federal government, and with our bipartisan Disaster Resiliency Planning Act, we can make sure core federal assets and federal property, like hospitals and critical infrastructure, are safer when disaster strikes.”