S. 5035: National Coordination on Resilience for Security Act of 2026

This bill would require the federal government to create a more organized, government-wide approach to resilience planning. In plain terms, it sets up a senior White House official, called the Chief Resilience Officer, to coordinate how federal agencies prepare for, reduce, and recover from natural hazards that can affect communities, infrastructure, and national security.

What the bill sets up

The President would have to appoint a Chief Resilience Officer within 120 days after enactment. That person would sit on the National Security Council staff and be responsible for coordinating resilience work across agencies.

The bill would also create:

• Interagency working groups to coordinate resilience efforts among federal agencies;
• A Partners Council on Resilience, made up mostly of non-federal members, to advise the Chief Resilience Officer;
• An adaptation and resilience clearinghouse to make federal resilience data, tools, and technical assistance easier to find and use.

What the Chief Resilience Officer would do

The Chief Resilience Officer would coordinate federal efforts to:

• build resilience to natural hazards using the best available science;
• improve resilience for military installations and other national security-related assets;
• review how federal spending already supports resilience; and
• make federal investments more efficient and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

The officer would also help agencies work together, request participation from relevant agencies, and oversee the development of a national resilience strategy.

National Resilience Strategy

Within 2 years, the Chief Resilience Officer would have to submit a National Resilience Strategy to the President and Congress. After that, it would have to be updated every 3 years.

The strategy would be required to describe how the federal government, working with states, localities, Tribes, territories, nonprofit groups, private companies, and other partners, can better address vulnerabilities from natural hazards. Those hazards are defined broadly and include things like:

• sea level rise;
• drought and water scarcity;
• wildfires;
• flood-related erosion;
• temperature changes;
• permafrost thaw; and
• saltwater intrusion.

The strategy would need to cover:

• how agencies can plan ahead for hazards and reduce damage before disasters happen;
• how to support the most vulnerable communities first;
• how to reduce duplication and inefficiency in federal programs;
• how to better support natural systems and ecosystem resilience where possible;
• how federal funding for resilience is being used; and
• how cost-benefit methods used by agencies may affect resilience decisions.

Support for states, local governments, and other partners

The bill puts strong emphasis on helping non-federal partners, especially rural and underresourced communities. The Partners Council on Resilience would advise on how the federal government can better provide:

• resources;
• technical assistance;
• improved policies; and
• other support for resilience planning and response.

The strategy would also have to look at ways to simplify and align federal application, planning, and permitting processes so non-federal partners can more easily access resilience funding.

Reporting and oversight

The bill would require periodic reporting:

• The Partners Council would report within 16 months and then every 3 years after that;
• The Comptroller General (GAO) would assess progress 2 years after each strategy and implementation plan is completed, and after each update.

These reports would evaluate whether the plan is being carried out, whether it is effective, and whether the federal government is moving toward a more coordinated resilience effort.

Public input and information sharing

The bill would require draft and final versions of the strategy and implementation plan to be published, and it would create a 60-day public comment period before final versions are issued.

The clearinghouse would centralize federal resilience information and make it easier for non-federal partners to:

• find relevant data and guidance;
• get local or downscaled projections where useful;
• learn about available resources;
• access grant programs; and
• use standardized national, regional, and local information for planning.

How long the requirements would last

These requirements would end when either:

• GAO submits its third assessment report, or
• 10 years have passed since enactment,

whichever comes first.

Relevant Companies

None found