II 

Calendar No. 505 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4599 

[Report No. 117–163] 

To streamline the sharing of information among Federal disaster assistance 

agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster 

survivors, to speed the recovery of communities from disasters, to protect 

the security and privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2022 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To streamline the sharing of information among Federal 

disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of 

life-saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the 

recovery of communities from disasters, to protect the 

security and privacy of information provided by disaster 

survivors, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Assistance 

5 Simplification Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The disaster response framework of the 

9 United States relies on a unified, integrated, agile, 

10 and adaptable whole-of-community effort by Federal, 

11 State, and local disaster assistance agencies, and by 

12 voluntary organizations, to respond to any natural 

13 and man-made disasters that may strike commu14 nities. 

15 (2) Federal disaster assistance agencies must 

16 be ready to support States, communities, and volun17 teer agencies immediately after unpredictable cata18 strophic disasters that occur without notice. 

19 (3) The immediate sharing of information is es20 sential to an efficient and effective delivery of dis21 aster assistance— 

22 (A) when lives and property are at risk; 

23 and 

24 (B) as communities seek to recover from 

25 disasters as quickly as possible. 


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1 (4) Section 552a of title 5, United States Code 

2 (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act of 1974’’) 

3 and subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

4 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork 

5 Reduction Act’’) require multiple layers of review, 

6 notice, and publication in the Federal Register be7 fore Federal disaster assistance agencies can amend 

8 or adapt their information sharing practices. 

9 (5) Such extended review processes can have 

10 the effect of inhibiting efficiency, innovation, and 

11 interoperability among Federal, State, Tribal, terri12 torial, local, private, and volunteer partners in deliv13 ering disaster assistance within a whole-of-commu14 nity disaster assistance effort. 

15 (6) Legal, regulatory, and policy limitations on 

16 the interagency sharing of information submitted by 

17 applicants for disaster assistance may require those 

18 applicants to submit separate applications to mul19 tiple Federal disaster assistance agencies, which in20 creases the burden on those applicants, reduces the 

21 efficiency of disaster assistance programs, and 

22 places additional costs on taxpayers. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

24 (1) streamline the sharing of information 

25 among Federal disaster assistance agencies; 


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1 (2) modernize the legal safeguards against the 

2 unauthorized disclosure or misuse of information 

3 about applicants for disaster assistance; and 

4 (3) modernize, streamline, and consolidate the 

5 overlapping requirements of section 552a of title 5, 

6 United States Code, subchapter I of chapter 35 of 

7 title 44, United States Code, and the agency policies 

8 that implement those authorities to improve the 

9 speed, convenience, efficiency, and effectiveness of 

10 disaster relief programs. 

11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV 

12 ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

13 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer14 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 707. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV 

17 ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis20 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

21 Emergency Management Agency. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ 

23 means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an individual or organization who ap2 plies for disaster assistance from a disaster as3 sistance program; and 

4 ‘‘(B) an individual or organization on be5 half of which an individual described in sub6 paragraph (A) applies for disaster assistance 

7 from a disaster assistance program. 

8 ‘‘(3) DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV.—The term 

9 ‘DisasterAssistance.gov’ means the electronic infor10 mation system established under subsection (b)(1). 

11 ‘‘(4) DISASTER ASSISTANCE AGENCY.—The 

12 term ‘disaster assistance agency’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Federal Emergency Management 

14 Agency; 

15 ‘‘(B) the Department of Housing and 

16 Urban Development; 

17 ‘‘(C) the Small Business Administration; 

18 ‘‘(D) the Department of Agriculture; and 

19 ‘‘(E) any Federal agency that provides dis20 aster assistance to individuals that the Adminis21 trator certifies as a disaster assistance agency 

22 in accordance with subsection (f) to carry out 

23 the purposes of a disaster assistance program. 

24 ‘‘(5) DISASTER ASSISTANCE INFORMATION.— 

25 The term ‘disaster assistance information’ includes 


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1 any personal, biographical, demographic, geo2 graphical, financial, or application decision informa3 tion that a disaster assistance agency is authorized 

4 to collect, maintain, share, or use to— 

5 ‘‘(A) process an application for disaster as6 sistance from a disaster assistance program; or 

7 ‘‘(B) otherwise carry out the purpose of a 

8 disaster assistance program. 

9 ‘‘(6) DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The 

10 term ‘disaster assistance program’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a program that provides disaster as12 sistance to individuals and households under 

13 title IV or V in accordance with sections 408 

14 and 502; or 

15 ‘‘(B) any other assistance program author16 ized by a Federal statute under which a dis17 aster assistance agency awards or distributes 

18 disaster assistance to an individual, household, 

19 or organization that arises from a major dis20 aster or emergency declared under section 401 

21 or 501, respectively, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) disaster assistance; 

23 ‘‘(ii) long-term disaster recovery as24 sistance; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the post-disaster restoration of 

2 infrastructure and housing; 

3 ‘‘(iv) post-disaster economic revitaliza4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(v) pre-disaster mitigation under 

6 title I of the Housing and Community De7 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et 

8 seq.); 

9 ‘‘(vi) a loan authorized under section 

10 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 636(b)); and 

12 ‘‘(vii) food benefit allotments under 

13 section 412 of this Act and Section 5(h) of 

14 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

15 U.S.C. 2014(h)). 

16 ‘‘(7) RECORD.—The term ‘record’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 552a of title 5, 

18 United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSOLIDATED APPLICA20 TION SYSTEM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of enactment of the Disaster Assist23 ance Simplification Act, the Administrator shall es24 tablish a web-based, interagency electronic informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 27, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4599.RS S4599

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1 tion system to be known as DisasterAssistance.gov 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(A) facilitate a consolidated application 

4 for any form of disaster assistance provided by 

5 a disaster assistance agency; 

6 ‘‘(B) carry out the purposes of disaster as7 sistance programs swiftly, efficiently, equitably, 

8 and in accordance with applicable laws and the 

9 privacy and data protections provided under 

10 this section; and 

11 ‘‘(C) detect, prevent, and investigate waste, 

12 fraud, abuse, or discrimination in the adminis13 tration of disaster assistance programs. 

14 ‘‘(2) CAPABILITIES OF THE CONSOLIDATED AP15 PLICATION SYSTEM.—DisasterAssistance.gov shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) allow for applicants to receive status 

17 updates on applications for disaster assistance 

18 programs through DisasterAssistance.gov; 

19 ‘‘(B) allow for applicants to update dis20 aster assistance information throughout the re21 covery journeys of those applicants; 

22 ‘‘(C) allow for the distribution of addi23 tional recovery resource information to disaster 

24 survivors that may be available in a disaster 

25 stricken jurisdiction; 


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1 ‘‘(D) provide disaster survivors with infor2 mation and documentation on the applications 

3 of those disaster survivors for a disaster assist4 ance program; and 

5 ‘‘(E) contain other capabilities determined 

6 necessary by the heads of disaster assistance 

7 agencies. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITIES OF ADMINISTRATOR.—The Ad9 ministrator may— 

10 ‘‘(1) collect, maintain, share, and use disaster 

11 assistance information using DisasterAssistance.gov 

12 or received from any disaster assistance agency with 

13 any other disaster assistance agency; and 

14 ‘‘(2) subject to subsection (d), authorize the col15 lection, sharing, and use of disaster assistance infor16 mation collected on or after the date of enactment 

17 of the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act by pub18 lishing a notice on DisasterAssistance.gov that— 

19 ‘‘(A) includes a detailed description of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the specific disaster assistance in21 formation authorized to be collected, main22 tained, and shared; 

23 ‘‘(ii) why the collection, maintenance, 

24 or sharing of the disaster assistance infor25 mation is— 


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1 ‘‘(I) necessary to carry out the 

2 purpose of a disaster assistance pro3 gram; and 

4 ‘‘(II) consistent with fair infor5 mation practice principles; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the disaster assistance agencies 

7 that will be granted access to the disaster 

8 assistance information to carry out the 

9 purpose of any disaster assistance pro10 gram; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the submission of an application 

12 through DisasterAssistance.gov constitutes 

13 prior written consent to disclose disaster assist14 ance information to disaster assistance agencies 

15 for the purpose of section 552a(b) of title 5, 

16 United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION AND SHARING OF RECORDS AND

18 INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) EFFECT OF PUBLICATION OF NOTICE ON

20 DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV.—The publication of a 

21 notice by the Administrator on 

22 DisasterAssistance.gov of a revision to the 

23 DisasterAssistance.gov system of records on 

24 DisasterAssistance.gov prior to any new collection, 

25 or uses, of records, to carry out the purposes of a 


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1 disaster assistance program with respect to a major 

2 disaster or emergency declared by the President 

3 under section 401 or 501, respectively, of this Act 

4 shall be deemed to satisfy the notice and publication 

5 requirements of section 552a(e)(4) of title 5, United 

6 States Code, for a period of not more than 90 days 

7 following such declaration, unless such revision has 

8 been published in the Federal Register earlier than 

9 90 days after the date of such declaration. 

10 ‘‘(2) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT WAIVER.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the declaration 

12 of a major disaster or emergency pursuant to 

13 section 401 or 501, respectively, of this Act, the 

14 President, without delegation, may direct the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security to waive the 

16 requirements of subchapter I of chapter 35 of 

17 title 44, United States (commonly known as the 

18 ‘Paperwork Reduction Act’) with respect to vol19 untary collection of information to carry out the 

20 purposes of a disaster assistance program. 

21 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A waiver described in 

22 subparagraph (A) shall be in effect for the du23 ration of the major disaster or emergency, as 

24 applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(C) TRANSPARENCY.—If the Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security waives the requirements de3 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) promptly post on the internet 

6 website of the Department of Homeland 

7 Security— 

8 ‘‘(I) a brief justification for the 

9 waiver; and 

10 ‘‘(II) the agencies and offices to 

11 which the waiver shall apply; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) update the information posted 

13 under clause (i), as applicable. 

14 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVER.—Any 

15 waiver under subparagraph (A) shall take effect 

16 on the date on which the Secretary of Home17 land Security posts information on the internet 

18 website as provided for under subparagraph 

19 (C). 

20 ‘‘(e) DATA SECURITY.—The Administrator shall fa21 cilitate the collection of disaster assistance information 

22 into DisasterAssistance.gov only after— 

23 ‘‘(1) the Administrator certifies that 

24 DisasterAssistance.gov substantially complies with 


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1 the data security standards and best practices of the 

2 National Institute of Standards and Technology; 

3 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Homeland Security pub4 lishes a privacy impact assessment for 

5 DisasterAssistance.gov that is similar to the privacy 

6 assessment conducted under section 222(a)(4) of the 

7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

8 142(a)(4)); and 

9 ‘‘(3) the Administrator publishes standard rules 

10 of behavior for disaster assistance agencies and per11 sonnel granted access to disaster assistance informa12 tion to protect such information from improper dis13 closure. 

14 ‘‘(f) CERTIFICATION OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE

15 AGENCIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

17 certify a Federal agency as a disaster assistance 

18 agency after posting an agreement between the Ad19 ministrator and the Federal agency on 

20 DisasterAssistance.gov that contains the detailed 

21 terms of the agreement. 

22 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENT.—An agree23 ment between the Administrator and a Federal 

24 agency described in paragraph (1) shall state that 

25 the Federal agency will— 


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1 ‘‘(A) collect, share, maintain, and use dis2 aster assistance information— 

3 ‘‘(i) in accordance with this section; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in substantial compliance with 

6 the data security standards and best prac7 tices of the National Institute of Standards 

8 and Technology; 

9 ‘‘(B) train any personnel granted access to 

10 disaster assistance information on the rules of 

11 behavior established by the Administrator under 

12 subsection (e)(3); 

13 ‘‘(C) in the event of any unauthorized dis14 closure of disaster assistance information— 

15 ‘‘(i) not later than 24 hours after dis16 covering the unauthorized disclosure, no17 tify the Administrator of the disclosure; 

18 ‘‘(ii) cooperate fully with the Adminis19 trator in the investigation and remediation 

20 of the disclosure; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) cooperate fully in the prosecu22 tion of a person responsible for the disclo23 sure; and 

24 ‘‘(D) assume the responsibility for any 

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1 ation measure awarded by a judgment of a 

2 court or agreed as a compromise of any poten3 tial claim by or on behalf of an applicant, in4 cluding by obtaining credit monitoring and re5 mediation services, for an improper disclosure 

6 of disaster assistance information that is— 

7 ‘‘(i) caused, directly or indirectly, by 

8 the acts or omissions of an officer, em9 ployee, or contractor of the disaster assist10 ance agency; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) from any electronic system of 

12 records that created or maintained by the 

13 disaster assistance agency pursuant to sec14 tion 552a(e) of title 5, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) INAPPLICABILITY OF MATCHING PROGRAM

17 PROVISIONS.—The sharing of disaster assistance in18 formation subject to the requirements of section 

19 552a of title 5, United States Code among disaster 

20 assistance agencies or with State, local, or Tribal 

21 governments carrying out disaster assistance pro22 grams shall not— 

23 ‘‘(A) be construed as a matching program 

24 for the purpose of section 552a(a)(8) of title 5, 

25 United States Code; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) be subject to subsection (e)(12), (o), 

2 (p)(1)(A)(ii), (q), (r), or (u) of section 552a of 

3 title 5, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITIES IN OTHER LAWS.—Nothing 

5 in this section shall be construed to affect the au6 thority of an entity to share information in accord7 ance with any other law.’’. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Assistance Sim10 plification Act’’. 

11 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

13 (1) The disaster response framework of the 

14 United States relies on a unified, integrated, agile, 

15 and adaptable whole-of-community effort by Federal, 

16 State, and local disaster assistance agencies, and by 

17 voluntary organizations, to respond to any natural 

18 and man-made disasters that may strike commu19 nities. 

20 (2) Federal disaster assistance agencies must be 

21 ready to support States, communities, and volunteer 

22 agencies immediately after unpredictable catastrophic 

23 disasters that occur without notice. 


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1 (3) The immediate sharing of information is es2 sential to an efficient and effective delivery of disaster 

3 assistance— 

4 (A) when lives and property are at risk; 

5 and 

6 (B) as communities seek to recover from 

7 disasters as quickly as possible. 

8 (4) Section 552a of title 5, United States Code 

9 (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act of 1974’’), and 

10 subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 

11 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

12 Act’’), require multiple layers of review, notice, and 

13 publication in the Federal Register before Federal dis14 aster assistance agencies can amend or adapt their 

15 information sharing practices. 

16 (5) Such extended review processes can have the 

17 effect of inhibiting efficiency, innovation, and inter18 operability among Federal, State, Tribal, territorial, 

19 local, private, and volunteer partners in delivering 

20 disaster assistance within a whole-of-community dis21 aster assistance effort. 

22 (6) Legal, regulatory, and policy limitations on 

23 the interagency sharing of information submitted by 

24 applicants for disaster assistance may require those 

25 applicants to submit separate applications to mulVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 27, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4599.RS S4599

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1 tiple Federal disaster assistance agencies, which in2 creases the burden on those applicants, reduces the ef3 ficiency of disaster assistance programs, and places 

4 additional costs on taxpayers. 

5 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

6 (1) streamline the sharing of information among 

7 Federal disaster assistance agencies; 

8 (2) modernize the legal safeguards against the 

9 unauthorized disclosure or misuse of information 

10 about applicants for disaster assistance; and 

11 (3) modernize, streamline, and consolidate the 

12 overlapping requirements of section 552a of title 5, 

13 United States Code, subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 

14 44, United States Code, and the agency policies that 

15 implement those authorities to improve the speed, con16 venience, efficiency, and effectiveness of disaster relief 

17 programs. 

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV 

19 ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

20 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

21 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 707. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV 

24 ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

25 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis2 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Emer3 gency Management Agency. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) an individual or organization that ap6 plies for disaster assistance from a disaster as7 sistance program; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an individual or organization on be9 half of which an individual described in sub10 paragraph (A) applies for disaster assistance 

11 from a disaster assistance program. 

12 ‘‘(3) DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV.—The term 

13 ‘DisasterAssistance.gov’ means the electronic informa14 tion system established under subsection (b)(1). 

15 ‘‘(4) DISASTER ASSISTANCE AGENCY.—The term 

16 ‘disaster assistance agency’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Federal Emergency Management 

18 Agency; and 

19 ‘‘(B) any Federal agency that provides dis20 aster assistance to individuals that the Adminis21 trator certifies as a disaster assistance agency in 

22 accordance with subsection (f) to carry out the 

23 purposes of a disaster assistance program. 

24 ‘‘(5) DISASTER ASSISTANCE INFORMATION.—The 

25 term ‘disaster assistance information’ includes any 


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1 personal, biographical, demographic, geographical, fi2 nancial, application decision, or other information 

3 that a disaster assistance agency is authorized to col4 lect, maintain, share, or use to— 

5 ‘‘(A) process an application for disaster as6 sistance from a disaster assistance program; or 

7 ‘‘(B) otherwise carry out the purpose of a 

8 disaster assistance program. 

9 ‘‘(6) DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The 

10 term ‘disaster assistance program’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a program that provides disaster as12 sistance to individuals and households under 

13 title IV or V in accordance with sections 408 and 

14 502; or 

15 ‘‘(B) any other assistance program author16 ized by a Federal statute or funded with Federal 

17 appropriations under which a disaster assistance 

18 agency awards or distributes disaster assistance 

19 to an individual, household, or organization that 

20 arises from a major disaster or emergency de21 clared under section 401 or 501, respectively, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(i) disaster assistance; 

24 ‘‘(ii) long-term disaster recovery assist25 ance; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the post-disaster restoration of 

2 infrastructure and housing; 

3 ‘‘(iv) post-disaster economic revitaliza4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(v) pre-disaster mitigation under title 

6 I of the Housing and Community Develop7 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(vi) a loan authorized under section 

9 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 636(b)); and 

11 ‘‘(vii) food benefit allotments under 

12 section 412 of this Act and section 5(h) of 

13 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

14 U.S.C. 2014(h)). 

15 ‘‘(7) RECORD.—The term ‘record’ has the mean16 ing given the term in section 552a of title 5, United 

17 States Code. 

18 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSOLIDATED APPLICA19 TION SYSTEM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of the Disaster Assistance 

22 Simplification Act, the Administrator shall establish 

23 a web-based, interagency electronic information sys24 tem to be known as DisasterAssistance.gov to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) facilitate a consolidated application 

2 for any form of disaster assistance provided by 

3 a disaster assistance agency; 

4 ‘‘(B) carry out the purposes of disaster as5 sistance programs swiftly, efficiently, equitably, 

6 and in accordance with applicable laws and the 

7 privacy and data protections provided under 

8 this section; and 

9 ‘‘(C) support the detection, prevention, and 

10 investigation of waste, fraud, abuse, or discrimi11 nation in the administration of disaster assist12 ance programs. 

13 ‘‘(2) CAPABILITIES OF THE CONSOLIDATED AP14 PLICATION SYSTEM.—DisasterAssistance.gov shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) allow for applicants to receive status 

16 updates on applications for disaster assistance 

17 programs through DisasterAssistance.gov; 

18 ‘‘(B) allow for applicants to update disaster 

19 assistance information throughout the recovery 

20 journeys of those applicants; 

21 ‘‘(C) allow for the distribution of additional 

22 recovery resource information to disaster sur23 vivors that may be available in a disaster strick24 en jurisdiction; 


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1 ‘‘(D) provide disaster survivors with infor2 mation and documentation on the applications 

3 of those disaster survivors for a disaster assist4 ance program; and 

5 ‘‘(E) contain other capabilities determined 

6 necessary by the heads of disaster assistance 

7 agencies. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITIES OF ADMINISTRATOR.—The Admin9 istrator may— 

10 ‘‘(1) collect, maintain, share, and use disaster 

11 assistance information, including such information 

12 received from any disaster assistance agency, with 

13 any other disaster assistance agency for purposes of 

14 subsection (b)(1), and may use DisasterAssistance.gov 

15 for these purposes; and 

16 ‘‘(2) subject to subsection (d), authorize the col17 lection, sharing, and use of disaster assistance infor18 mation collected on or after the date of enactment of 

19 the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act by pub20 lishing a notice on DisasterAssistance.gov that— 

21 ‘‘(A) includes a detailed description of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the specific disaster assistance in23 formation authorized to be collected, main24 tained, and shared; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) why the collection, maintenance, 

2 or sharing of the disaster assistance infor3 mation is— 

4 ‘‘(I) necessary to carry out the 

5 purpose of a disaster assistance pro6 gram; and 

7 ‘‘(II) consistent with fair infor8 mation practice principles; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the disaster assistance agencies 

10 that will be granted access to the disaster 

11 assistance information to carry out the pur12 pose of any disaster assistance program; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) the submission of an application 

15 through DisasterAssistance.gov constitutes prior 

16 written consent to disclose disaster assistance in17 formation to disaster assistance agencies for the 

18 purpose of section 552a(b) of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION AND SHARING OF RECORDS AND IN21 FORMATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) EFFECT OF PUBLICATION OF NOTICE ON

23 DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV.—The publication of a no24 tice by the Administrator on DisasterAssistance.gov of 

25 a revision to the DisasterAssistance.gov system of 


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1 records on DisasterAssistance.gov prior to any new 

2 collection, or uses, of records, to carry out the pur3 poses of a disaster assistance program with respect to 

4 a major disaster or emergency declared by the Presi5 dent under section 401 or 501, respectively, of this 

6 Act shall be deemed to satisfy the notice and publica7 tion requirements of section 552a(e)(4) of title 5, 

8 United States Code, for a period of not more than 90 

9 days following such declaration, unless such revision 

10 has been published in the Federal Register earlier 

11 than 90 days after the date of such declaration. 

12 ‘‘(2) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT WAIVER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the declaration of 

14 a major disaster or emergency pursuant to sec15 tion 401 or 501, respectively, of this Act, the Ad16 ministrator may waive the requirements of sub17 chapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 

18 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction 

19 Act’), with respect to voluntary collection of in20 formation to carry out the purposes of a disaster 

21 assistance program. 

22 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A waiver described in 

23 subparagraph (A) shall be in effect for the dura24 tion of the major disaster or emergency, as ap25 plicable. 


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1 ‘‘(C) TRANSPARENCY.—If the Administrator 

2 waives the requirements described in subpara3 graph (A), the Administrator shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) promptly post on the internet 

5 website of the Federal Emergency Manage6 ment Agency— 

7 ‘‘(I) a brief justification for the 

8 waiver; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the agencies and offices to 

10 which the waiver shall apply; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) update the information posted 

12 under clause (i), as applicable. 

13 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVER.—Any 

14 waiver under subparagraph (A) shall take effect 

15 on the date on which the Administrator posts in16 formation on the internet website as provided for 

17 under subparagraph (C). 

18 ‘‘(e) DATA SECURITY.—The Administrator shall facili19 tate the collection of disaster assistance information into 

20 DisasterAssistance.gov only after— 

21 ‘‘(1) the Administrator certifies that 

22 DisasterAssistance.gov substantially complies with the 

23 data security standards established pursuant to sub24 chapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 


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•S 4599 RS

1 Code, and any other applicable Federal information 

2 security policy; 

3 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Homeland Security pub4 lishes a privacy impact assessment for 

5 DisasterAssistance.gov that is similar to the privacy 

6 assessment conducted under section 208(b)(1)(B) of 

7 the E-Government Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(3) the Administrator publishes standard rules 

10 of behavior for disaster assistance agencies and per11 sonnel granted access to disaster assistance informa12 tion to protect such information from improper dis13 closure. 

14 ‘‘(f) CERTIFICATION OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE AGEN15 CIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may cer17 tify a Federal agency as a disaster assistance agency 

18 after posting an agreement between the Administrator 

19 and the Federal agency on DisasterAssistance.gov that 

20 contains the detailed terms of the agreement. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENT.—An agreement 

22 between the Administrator and a Federal agency de23 scribed in paragraph (1) shall state that the Federal 

24 agency will— 


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1 ‘‘(A) collect, share, maintain, and use dis2 aster assistance information in accordance 

3 with— 

4 ‘‘(i) this section; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) any existing policies of the Fed6 eral Emergency Management Agency and 

7 the Federal agency for information protec8 tion and use; 

9 ‘‘(B) train any personnel granted access to 

10 disaster assistance information on the rules of 

11 behavior established by the Administrator under 

12 subsection (e)(3); 

13 ‘‘(C) in the event of any unauthorized dis14 closure of disaster assistance information— 

15 ‘‘(i) not later than 24 hours after dis16 covering the unauthorized disclosure, notify 

17 the Administrator of the disclosure; 

18 ‘‘(ii) cooperate fully with the Adminis19 trator in the investigation and remediation 

20 of the disclosure; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) cooperate fully in the prosecution 

22 of a person responsible for the disclosure; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(D) assume the responsibility for any com25 pensation, civil liability, or other remediation 


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•S 4599 RS

1 measure awarded by a judgment of a court or 

2 agreed as a compromise of any potential claim 

3 by or on behalf of an applicant, including by ob4 taining credit monitoring and remediation serv5 ices, for an improper disclosure of disaster as6 sistance information that is— 

7 ‘‘(i) caused, directly or indirectly, by 

8 the acts or omissions of an officer, employee, 

9 or contractor of the disaster assistance agen10 cy; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) from any electronic system of 

12 records that created or maintained by the 

13 disaster assistance agency pursuant to sec14 tion 552a(e) of title 5, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) INAPPLICABILITY OF MATCHING PROGRAM

17 PROVISIONS.—The sharing of disaster assistance in18 formation subject to the requirements of section 552a 

19 of title 5, United States Code, among disaster assist20 ance agencies or with State, local, or Tribal govern21 ments carrying out disaster assistance programs shall 

22 not— 

23 ‘‘(A) be construed as a matching program 

24 for the purpose of section 552a(a)(8) of title 5, 

25 United States Code; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) be subject to subsection (e)(12), (o), 

2 (p)(1)(A)(ii), (q), (r), or (u) of section 552a of 

3 title 5, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITIES IN OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

5 this section shall be construed to affect the authority 

6 of an entity to share information in accordance with 

7 any other law.’’. 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 505 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4599 

[Report No. 117–163] 

A BILL 

To streamline the sharing of information among 

vivors, and for other purposes. vacy of information provided by disaster surfrom disasters, to protect the security and prisurvivors, to speed the recovery of communities the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster Federal disaster assistance agencies, to expedite 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS