National Landslide Preparedness Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 859.
National Landslide Preparedness Act
This bill: (1) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program to identify and understand landslide hazards and risks, reduce losses from landslides, protect communities at risk of landslide hazards, and help improve communication and emergency preparedness; and (2) establishes the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslide Hazards to oversee the program.
The USGS shall:
develop and publish a national strategy for landslide hazards and risk reduction in the United States;
develop and maintain a publicly accessible national landslide hazard and risk inventory database;
disseminate landslide planning and risk reduction materials;
expand the early warning system for flash floods and debris flow;
establish emergency response procedures for the rapid deployment of federal scientists, equipment, and services to areas impacted by a significant landslide event;
support emergency response efforts and improve the safety of emergency responders
establish the Advisory Committee on Landslides; and
support the identification, mapping, research, and monitoring of subsidence and groundwater resource accounting.
The USGS may provide competitive grants to state, local, and tribal governments to research, map, assess, and collect data on landslide hazards.
The National Science Foundation shall ensure that landslide research grants are provided on a competitive basis to advance the goals and priorities of the national strategy.
The USGS shall establish the 3D Elevation Program and the 3D Elevation Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee. The program shall:
provide 3D elevation data coverage for the United States;
coordinate and facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of 3D elevation data among federal agencies and non-federal entities;
produce standard, publicly accessible 3D elevation data products for the United States; and
promote the collection, dissemination, and use of 3D elevation data among federal, state, local, and tribal governments, communities, institutions of higher education, and the private sector.
The USGS may make grants and enter into cooperative agreements to facilitate the improvement of nationwide coverage of 3D elevation data.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 22, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 28, 2018: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 859.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Suzan DelBene (D-WA) introduced it on March 22, 2017, and 11 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 10 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 22, 2017, 3459 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2813 days ago, on December 28, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers