H.R. 1322 would require the Coast Guard (USCG) to report to the Congress, within one year, on the agency’s potential vulnerability to climate-related hazards. For example, the bill would require the USCG to identify the 10 installations that are most vulnerable to risks of rising sea tides, increased flooding, droughts, desertification, wildfires, thawing permafrost, or any other risks identified by the Commandant. The bill would require the USCG to report on potential means of mitigating such risks to those installations and, more broadly, to discuss how climate-related changes affect the agency’s operations, particularly with regard to humanitarian assistance.
Using information from the USCG, CBO expects that implementing H.R. 1322 would not significantly affect the federal budget. Based on the historical cost of similar efforts, CBO estimates that any change in federal spending to complete the required report—which would be subject to appropriation—would not exceed $500,000.