S.Amdt. 2355

SA 2355. Mr. SCHATZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1266. PACIFIC ISLANDS STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE
INITIATIVE.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in concurrence
with the Director of the United States Trade and Development
Agency, and in collaboration with the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, the
Secretary of Transportation, the Chief of Engineers, and the
Secretary of Energy, working through the directors of the
national laboratories of the Department of Energy, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Defense,
shall develop a program to catalyze sustainable, resilient
infrastructure throughout the Pacific Islands, including by
providing frequent and meaningful technical assistance to
inform the needs assessments and planning of Pacific Island
countries to protect against threats to critical
infrastructure.
(b) Goals.--The goal of the program established under
subsection (a) is to strengthen United States support of
Pacific Island countries in assessing--
(1) existing and forecasted threats to the functionality
and safety of infrastructure resulting from sea-level
fluctuation, salt water intrusion, extreme weather, or other
severe changes in the environment, as well as cyber threats
and any other security risks that disrupt essential services
or threaten public health;
(2) the strategies, designs, and engineering techniques for
reinforcing or rebuilding failing infrastructure in ways that
with withstand and maintain function in light of existing and
forecasted threats to community infrastructure;
(3) the rate and sources of deterioration, structural
deficiencies, and most pressing risks to public safety from
aging and failing infrastructure;
(4) priorities for infrastructure improvement,
reinforcement, re-engineering, or replacement based on the
significance of infrastructure to ensuring public health,
safety, and economic growth;
(5) risks associated with the interconnectedness of supply
chains and technology, communications, and financial systems;
(6) the policy and governance needed to strengthen critical
infrastructure resilience,

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including with respect to infrastructure financing to meet
the contemporary needs of Pacific Islanders; and
(7) the plan for leveraging regional funding mechanisms,
including the Pacific Resilience Facility, as well as
bilateral assistance and global multilateral financing to
coordinate international financial support for infrastructure
projects.
(c) Activities.--To achieve the purpose of the program
established under subsection (a), the Secretary is encouraged
to consider the following activities:
(1) Educational and information sharing with Pacific Island
countries that helps develop the local capacity of government
and civil society leaders to evaluate localized critical
infrastructure risks, interdependencies across systems, and
risk-mitigation solutions.
(2) Technology exchanges that provide Pacific Island
countries with access to proven, cost-effective solutions for
mitigating the risks associated with critical infrastructure
vulnerabilities and related interdependencies.
(3) Financial and budget management and related technical
assistance that provide Pacific Island countries with
additional capacity to access, manage, and service financing
for contemporary infrastructure projects to support the
resilience needs of communities in the Pacific Islands.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029
$20,000,000 to the United States Trade and Development
Agency, to be used in consultation with the Secretary of
State, to carry out this section.
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