A coalition of East Coast senators led by Sen. John Kerry today floated legislation aimed at reforming disaster resiliency efforts.

The bill, S. 3691, from Kerry (D-Mass.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), comes in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which wreaked havoc and caused billions of dollars in damage to East Coast communities, and amid a lingering drought that has affected large swaths of the country.

The measure would call on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to lead an interagency working group to evaluate the federal government's current extreme-weather resiliency efforts. Then the office would put together a plan to better aid resiliency efforts at the state and local levels in both the private and public sectors.

According to a statement from Kerry's office, extreme weather -- including droughts, wildfires and tropical storms -- has affected every region of the country this year. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties and the National Weather Association have all endorsed the legislation.

Similar legislation is not currently pending in the House, said Alec Gerlach, Kerry's spokesman.

A recent discussion hosted by the National Academy of Sciences emphasized the importance of communities in resiliency planning (Greenwire, Dec. 3). The discussion referenced a report from the National Academies that pointed to several ways to increase disaster resilience -- including supporting community resilience coalitions and asking the federal government to implement resilience as a guiding principle. Gerlach said Kerry's staff was familiar with the report.

"That report reached kind of the same conclusion that Sen. Kerry has reached," Gerlach said. "And in that way, it was helpful."