Sponsors (9)
The resolution strengthens the scientific and policy case for federal coastal resilience, planning, and targeted water-resource protections, but it also raises near-term economic costs and political friction that could burden homeowners, taxpayers, insurers, and local governments.
Coastal local governments, homeowners, and coastal communities would have stronger justification to obtain expanded federal coastal resilience investments (e.g., seawalls, flood protection), increasing funding to protect homes and infrastructure.
Local governments, taxpayers, and homeowners would gain an evidence base to plan and fund disaster recovery, managed retreat/relocation, and other preparedness measures, potentially reducing future emergency costs and loss of life.
Local governments and urban communities would be better able to identify risks to freshwater and drinking-water supplies and target funding and adaptation to protect those resources.
Homeowners and taxpayers could face higher costs — including increased insurance premiums, higher taxes, or expenses from property buyouts and adaptation projects (seawalls, relocations) — to address sea-level rise.
Homeowners and renters in at-risk coastal areas could see depressed property values and reduced insurance availability as displacement risk becomes more widely recognized, eroding household wealth and housing stability.
Federal adaptation or mitigation measures implied by the findings could require increased federal spending, potentially raising taxes or diverting funds from other programs and priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes congressional findings that sea-level rise is accelerating, describes causes and risks, and attributes the trend to fossil-fuel-driven warming.
Declares that accelerating sea-level rise is a serious, scientifically documented threat driven largely by fossil-fuel emissions and warming, and outlines current and projected impacts on U.S. coasts, people, infrastructure, and the economy. It summarizes observed trends (faster rates of rise, more frequent high-tide flooding), projected future rises depending on emissions pathways, and potential large-scale consequences including major population displacement and disruptions to water supplies, insurance, and real estate markets.
Official title: Recognizing that sea levels are rising at accelerated rates due to human-caused climate change.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress December 17, 2025