LWVUS Urges Congress to Support the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (NCARS) 

The League signed onto a letter to select legislators urging them to support the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (NCARS; S. 3531). This bill would require the federal government to create a national strategy to prepare for climate hazards. It would establish a White House Chief Resilience Officer, interagency working groups, and a non-federal partners council. It would also incentivize funding for resilience planning. 

The Honorable Gary Peters Chairman
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Jack Reed
Chairman
Committee on Armed Services 
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Rob Portman
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
ashington, DC 20510

The Honorable James Inhofe
Ranking Member
Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Peters, Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Portman, and Ranking Member Inhofe:

Re: Support for S. 3531, the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act

The undersigned organizations strongly support S. 3531, the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act.

In the last 20 years, natural disasters have caused more than $1.5 trillion in damage and economic losses across the United States. Increasing disaster costs and impacts pose a growing threat to American lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, supply chains, and military readiness. These issues must be met with whole-of-government approaches to proactively reduce risk and eliminate the siloed tendency of federal resilience programs that are contributing to ongoing project and planning challenges faced by state and local partners.

The National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act would augment federal resilience initiatives to strengthen national security and ensure that small businesses, disadvantaged communities, other localities, states, and regions have the necessary tools and coordinated funding, guidance, and support to prepare before disasters strike. The effectiveness of federal efforts would be improved by establishing a chief resilience officer within the White House that works with the interagency community and nonfederal entities to identify barriers to building smart, modern, resilient infrastructure, and opportunities to address them. Further, communities would be better able to withstand future climate threats through the development of a national strategy to improve intergovernmental coordination, incentivize funding for predisaster mitigation and resilience planning, enhance technical assistance and capacity building, and leverage nature-based solutions.

We urge Congress to take up and pass this important legislation.

Sincerely,

See Attached Letter for All Signatories